Online identification failure

Miikecb1

Over the years I have opened several online accounts with building societies without any difficulty. However, my wife is invariably asked to supply certificated copies of documents such as passport and driving licence, and sometimes copies of bank statements, to prove her identity. This is very tedious and time consuming, My wife has been in full time employment for over 40 years since leaving university, pays her taxes, has her own bank account and several savings accounts, owns shares, is on the electoral roll, has lived with me for several years at the same address and has her own credit and debit cards. I am at a loss to understand why she consistently has a problem opening new building society accounts. The societies themselves will offer no explanation. What does she need to do to overcome this problem?

Ed-1

Miikecb1 wrote: »

Over the years I have opened several online accounts with building societies without any difficulty. However, my wife is invariably asked to supply certificated copies of documents such as passport and driving licence, and sometimes copies of bank statements, to prove her identity. This is very tedious and time consuming, My wife has been in full time employment for over 40 years since leaving university, pays her taxes, has her own bank account and several savings accounts, owns shares, is on the electoral roll, has lived with me for several years at the same address and has her own credit and debit cards. I am at a loss to understand why she consistently has a problem opening new building society accounts. The societies themselves will offer no explanation. What does she need to do to overcome this problem?

Has she checked her Experian credit report via MSE Credit Club to check everything shows as correct?

lisyloo

I would get all 3 credit reports (for free) e.g. noddle for call credit as not all banks report to 1.

Taxes, employment, bank accounts, debit card, savings accounts will not show up.
Only electoral role and any credit.
Perhaps she hasn't had credit cards long enough?

but the first place to start is with the reports. Don't bother paying for credit scores they are made up by credit reference agencies to generate income and not directly related to any lenders systems, so largely considered useless and a "cash cow".

ctdctd

I have the same problem with the Nottingham and the Chorley B/S's for savings accounts - despite holding existing accounts with them. I have lived at my current address for 20+ years and have multiple accounts with several providers.

The Chorley use Equifax so I ordered a trial credit report with them - I can't see any problems or errors with it.

So, there is something an ID check shows that is not revealed on a credit report.
Equifax were no help when I contacted them.

westv

I think the only time I had a problem was when I excluded myself from the "open" electoral roll - even though that isn't supposed to make any difference.

Miikecb1

Thanks for the comments.

My wife does not have any credit, not that I can see why credit should have anything to do with verifying identity. She is on the restricted version of the electoral role, but then so am I, and I have never been asked to verify my identity or address. Like ctdctd I think there is some unpublicised reference which is used. Someone suggested to me that it might be to do with being named on utility bills and council tax accounts. This would fit because all such accounts are in my sole name, but I don’t know how to check this.

fwor

In my experience there is no practical way to find out for a member of the public. One of the main principles behind banking security policy is that they don't tell anyone outside of their organisation what their security procedures are - because giving that information away may give an advantage to someone with bad intent. And also, if they were to tell you what the procedures are today, there is nothing to say that they won't change tomorrow.

The best approach is probably just to put up with it, and you'll probably find that the problem just goes away the next time that bank's procedures are updated.

Rich2808

I often encounter this problem as I live in a flat. So many combos (not my real one but examples).

Flat 23 Robert House 15 High Street
23 Robert House, High Street
23,15 Robert House, High Street

Yesterday I tried to open a second post office savings account online - despite using the same details as the one I applied for 5 weeks ago (which I needed certified id and copies of statements for) they want me to provide certified ID (must be black and white and correctly worded or they wont accept it) and statements AGAIN! All just so I can give them money! I rang them up to ask couldn't they just link the two - but no.

I wonder how oligarchs managed to pay tens of millions for a London apartment without much interest - yet putting £100 into a post office account is such a money laundering risk!

lisyloo

not that I can see why credit should have anything to do with verifying identity

I'm guessing but if you had been verified already by a number of lenders then that will give confidence.
They all rely on each other which makes a bit of a mockery of it.
For example if they ask for a passport or driving licence then they are relying on the passport office or DVLA.
Similarly if you have a number of credit accounts they know you have been verified by those organisations.
A criteria could be at least 3 accounts with a list or highly rergarded names.
Just guesswork but having credit accounts does seem to help.

Kim_13

The MSE article on credit reports has a section on how to check all three agencies for free, if you haven't already done so: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/check-free-credit-report#free

nilrem_2

Miikecb1 wrote: »

Over the years I have opened several online accounts with building societies without any difficulty. However, my wife is invariably asked to supply certificated copies of documents such as passport and driving licence, and sometimes copies of bank statements, to prove her identity. This is very tedious and time consuming, My wife has been in full time employment for over 40 years since leaving university, pays her taxes, has her own bank account and several savings accounts, owns shares, is on the electoral roll, has lived with me for several years at the same address and has her own credit and debit cards. I am at a loss to understand why she consistently has a problem opening new building society accounts. The societies themselves will offer no explanation. What does she need to do to overcome this problem?

I understand exactly how you feel, We have the same problem opening accounts for my wife, she has no passport or driving licence, I even went to the length of getting a provisional licence not for her to drive but for ID purposes and even though it carried her photo Virgin said it was no use, it had to be a Full licence to which I replied "So a condition of opening an account is that she has to take and pass a driving test too!" I found it quite ridiculous.