Proof of Identity problems.

Freddiejo

I hope somebody somewhere will give me some input ideas and information?
My apologies first if you find my post complicated in content, since 1989 I have had 16 mini strokes which have made a mess of my short term memory, the long term is still fine!
Up to five years ago our investments were in the hands of an Investment Advisor from when we sold our engineering business in 1987. These old investments are still ticking over on their own! He had his client area and the money investment limit increased so I was no longer part of it. He helped me online invest an another amount with a good company so I have an E-Bond and Isa's that have just matured. A friend in the financial world recommended a company which is also listed on this website as being a good company for investments this year.
I struggled to set up an E-bond and Isa on their website. new Websites are a nightmare for me! I had to do quite a few phone calls to the company, Their customer services were polite and helpful, some of my questions they had to go and ask about with me on hold. So I never got to talk to anybody other than the Customer Services. Creating the Memorable Question/Answers was a big problem (hence the many phone calls) I also got timed out three times which I was told had messed things up! Every "Answer" had to be typed in without the standard space in between each word and no explanation marks or dots etc. We eventually got it sorted out and they sent confirmation and a list of Proof of Identity and Address what they required. Address no problem for that.
There is only one I can used for the Identity!
I don't now have a UK passport, or a Firearms certificate or Benefits or Government Agency or a HM Revenue correspondence either. The only thing I have is my Driving Licence!
The next problem was who was allowed to help me with the certified copies.
I rang my doctor and my Bank Manager and neither do this service now. Due to my knees I am unable to walk far, my solicitor has his office in a town 14 miles away, with virtually no car parking (not even for the staff) My accountant is 10 miles the other way and they have new premises in a town with no car parking at all! The only thing they would accept is the Post Office doing the certified copies. I went up and requested this along with £12.75 the lady partner of the Post Master got her P.O.Stamps and she signed and printed her name on each copy.(I needed two for both the new E-Bond and Isa's. I sent them off and they came back a few days ago. They said it was not good enough as it had to have writing on each copy certifing that "I ...... do here certify that ....) etc etc. The only alternative is to send my Driving Licence off and I am a bit reluctant with that but I would be quite happy to pay for a R.D. Envelope to be enclosed for the return of the documents/Licence and a R.D. to send it to them. I am a bit reluctant to send mine as I had to renew in March when I remarried and changed my name. It is such a difficult job if it gets lost to replace it!
Do all the Investment Banks do this way of doing documentation?
Is there another way of getting around this without sending my licence to them? I got so upset with the whole thing I put the ISA's and part E-Bond money back with the original investor, the rates are not as good, I have to be careful of the stress level as these create my MIni Strokes.
I still have some money to invest and I have resigned myself to paying another £12.75 and get the documentation witnessed by the Post Master himself, he is not always there as he does other P.O. offices as well. I had assumed wrongly that she was going to do what should have been done! I just thought the it was the new up to date way of doing it!
If anybody has any ideas or suggestions it would be most appreciated.

polymaff

A couple of hints about posting on MSE.


1. Keep it brief and to the point.


2. Don't anonymise. Exactly who is the provider and exactly which account(s) are you talking about?

DrSyn

I agree with Post 2 above.

Why do you want E Bonds, which I believe are US government bonds when you are in the UK?

Why do you not find an IFA near you?

Have you asked your solicitor or accountant how much they charge to come and see you?

I understand that when you open an ISA on line nowadays, the company checks your ID electronically in various ways, so why are they not doing this with you? Have you asked them this?


You could :-
Get a new Passport.
Find a new IFA.
Find a different financial firm to deal with.
Use a solicitor near to you.
Give your business to an accountant close to where you live

Freddiejo

Good morning,
Thank you for responding to my post yesterday. Yes it is a bit long, due to my TIA's when I speak to a person face to face I don't always explain what I am trying to explain. The biggest nuisance is suddenly losing the memory of what I was going to say. When I bank online I make a daily note while working, if I don't the figures are forgotten before they go on the spreadsheet! So I tend to do too much in writing in case I have forgotten something. It is no good if one has only one opportunity to put only half of the information down. The only reason I did not say the company was having read the FAQ's I did not want it to be deemed as advertising. The investments I looked at were with Aldermore.
I had an invasion in 2016 into my Bank Account with a Visa Card I never use. Do to my health I rarely go out to shop, I suddenly became two 23 year olds, booking an Internal Flight in Thailand with a UK based travel company. So one has to be very cautious in something like investments!!
Many Thanks.

Freddiejo

Good morning,
Thank you for responding to my post yesterday. As I am not used to this site my title "With reference to the above post" I expected it to be under the polymaff post as my response to it. So I am titling this for the DrSyn post.
New passport:- There is no point as my first passport in 1985 was used twice, it expired and the next one expired in 2014 with nothing on it!
Get a new IFA - As my old system was and still is working well I let Scottish Widows run it as they have since the 1980's. The five year old matured investments I simply wanted to get a reasonable rate. My deceased and I left the High risk shares a long while ago, the investments without it are never as good, a little less is better than the risk of another stroke! 16 over 30 years is too many at 77.
I need to see my solicitor as the only thing not changed is my new married name on our wills, he has been to see me many years ago.
Get a new accountant - That was going to be done anyway.
Thank you so much for your time.

IanSt

Do you normally find it a problem in getting new banks/companies to identify you?

I'm a prolific opener of new accounts as I am an avid chaser of the best returns for my cash/investments and I have to say that I can't remember the last time that an electronic means of identification has failed and that I've had to send proof of id.

So I just wondered whether you might have more success if you were to open an account elsewhere and they were able to identify you electronically. This does of course rely on their being an account elsewhere similar to that you're trying to open.

If it is a general problem then you might wish to look into rectifying why the electronic methods are failing. For instance I believe one of the main reasons is when you're not on the electoral roll.

Alexland

IanSt wrote: »

I'm a prolific opener of new accounts as I am an avid chaser of the best returns for my cash/investments and I have to say that I can't remember the last time that an electronic means of identification has failed and that I've had to send proof of id.

We also open a lot of accounts and get followup ID checked about 20% of the time. No idea why as we were born in the UK, are stable long term homeowners, on the electoral roll, never defaulted or been in unmanageable debt, etc. We did an Experian one month free trial a few years ago (for some cashback) and everything on our credit records looked fine. It just seems to happen sometimes.

Alex

Freddiejo

Good morning,
Thank you for your post.
If you and Alexland are avid openers of accounts then you both must surely have come across the Aldermore Savings people? I would be interested in your opinion if you have? The Proof of Identity and Address list came thru after I did the online form. There are 8 in the list for Identity and I have only one, and yes it crossed my mind what is wrong with the electronic method? I had to re do my Electoral Roll Register when I remarried in March so it is OK! My Lloyds Bank is rubbish for their investment rates so I will never do any of theirs! I have been with them since 1970! My parents bought this house in 1952 and I bought it from them in 1970. I have no morgage, I owe no money and I sleep well at night! I did a free trial with a similar company to Experian last year and my rating was nearly 800. (11/2 years left for the car)
And yes I will be looking elsewhere, I admit it makes me nervous applying online in case I have to do another proof of Identity.
Thank you! Jo

Alexland

While I am aware of Aldermore we have never held accounts as we generally hold our cash in regular savers (although that's becoming more of a challenge as they expire and cannot be renewed) with most of our money in long term S&S products.

Freddiejo

To all who have replied to my post, it has just occurred to me that yes we are on the Electoral Register but there is a box you can tick to stop people checking up on you or pestering you, is that where the problem lies?
Mind you the Aldermore I.D. form was in a standard issued to everybody format.

IanSt

Alexland wrote: »

While I am aware of Aldermore we have never held accounts as we generally hold our cash in regular savers (although that's becoming more of a challenge as they expire and cannot be renewed) with most of our money in long term S&S products.

I'm afraid I've never used Aldemore either. If you're looking around for the best rates then MSE has its own links at the top, but I've also found https://www.which.co.uk/money/savings-and-isas/compare-savings to be good for things like notice accounts where moneysavingexpert seems to be a bit sparse.