Surname On UK Passport Problem

Bulld0g

Hi guys

Before I begin I apologise if this post is long but i think you nee to know some of the details.

I really could to with a bit of advice.

I have used the surname A (we will call it that to help with the explanation....lol) all my life.

Name A is on everything i need my name for on a regular basis (my birth certificate, driving licence, bank accounts, utility bills, doctors....etc).

Now as a child my mum remarried and thought it a good idea in all her wisdom to ask the school to put a name B on my file.

So when it came time for my national insurance number came it had the name B on it.

Inland revenue said that there wasn’t a problem with this as long as i never try and do anything fraudulently (trying to obtain benefits in two names…etc) but later in life there was a few problems with ID not matching, so I spoke to a solicitor and they wrote me out a stator declaration stating that the person with the surname B and national insurance number is the same person as the person with name A.

This has always worked perfectly with any issues that arose up until I applied for a passport.

Now on to my actual problem….

I’ll try and keep this a bit shorted as the passport office has constantly messed things up and either contradicted themselves or apologised.  

I applied for a first UK passport and as I’m English and fall within a certain age bracket all I had to send them was a form filled in by someone that has known me for a number of years.

I sent this off and received a letter stating they needed more information and I needed to contact them. This then turned into the actual decision maker calling me back the following day.

She said that because I had put that I had been known by name B once that they would need to see that I have changed my name to name A.
After explaining the situation with her about name B and that there is nothing really that I can change as I only use name A, she requested that I send in my birth certificate so she could complete the application.

I sent this in and had a repeat letter from them saying they needed more information and I had to get the decision maker to call me back again.

This time she said she would need a stator declaration to explain the name. I said I have one of those (I actually forgot I had it until she requested it) but explained that it wasn’t a change of name and just explaining that the person with name A is the same person as name B. she asked me to read it out word for word to make sure it had the right heading…etc and said for me to send in the statutory declaration, driving licence a bank statement and a recent utility bill.

I sent this all in and guess what…… I get another letter saying they need more information.

So we go down the same route with a call back only this time she says she wants a letter from HMRC in the name A and a statutory declaration stating I have changed my name from name B to name A.

I reminded her about the situation with the names and explained that HMRC say there is not a problem with my name and that I would in effect be lying to a solicitor as im not changing my name to name A because its already name A.

She then completely changed her tone and started going on about me also needing to sit an interview…etc (that I expected anyway) and that if she was to give me a passport then there would be nothing stopping me from getting a passport in name B.

I then said ok ill go ahead and have the passport in name B but she said a letter from HMRC is not enough to get a passport.

 This has gone back and forth with different departments and I had to make a complaint (even that was a problem because I had normal representatives claiming to be from the complaints department so they didn’t actually open a complaint).  

It’s got to the point now that I need to get the ombudsman to step in.

I had a consultation with solicitor that agreed that I’m completely in the right and said went down the lines of the fact that it’s not a legal requirement to have name A with HMRC and it can be presumed that I am going to do something fraudulently. And he likened it to a woman that has got married and can use her maiden name as well as her married name (there’s not one rule for one and one for another as this is discrimination).

I need to send something off to the ombudsman so I was wondering if there was some legal stuff I could quote?

 Thanks for any help given and sorry for the long post….lol

Bulld0g

So to summarise...
They now have my driving licence, Birth certificate, statutory declaration, bank statements and utility bills, a signed document by someone in a high position saying they have known me for years all in the name A.
But still are refusing me a passport on the grounds that i have not provided them with a HMRC letter that I'm not legally obliged to do.

eDicky

Bulld0g said:

 that if she was to give me a passport then there would be nothing stopping me from getting a passport in name B.

I take this to mean that if you receive a passport in name A, there is currently the possibility that you could also apply for a second passport in name B. The passport office goes to great lengths to reduce possible fraudulent use of multiple identity, so perhaps this is why they are being so stringent in your case. You may need to find the way to fulfill their requirements.

Sandtree

When you filled in your form did you fill in section 8 with a declaration of being known by another name as per the guidance notes or have they "caught you out"?

Bulld0g

eDicky said:

Bulld0g said:

 that if she was to give me a passport then there would be nothing stopping me from getting a passport in name B.

I take this to mean that if you receive a passport in name A, there is currently the possibility that you could also apply for a second passport in name B. The passport office goes to great lengths to reduce possible fraudulent use of multiple identity, so perhaps this is why they are being so stringent in your case. You may need to find the way to fulfill their requirements.

Thanks for the reply.

I would agree only I asked if I could just go ahead and get one the the name B if that would allow me to have a passport and she said no because all you would have would be a letter from HMRC and you would need all the documents you have provided in name A .

So it wouldn't be possible for me to get a passport in name B even if I wanted to.

sheramber

your National Insurance number is issued from the child benefit claim. It is  nothing to do with the school.
The name for the child benefit claim is checked with the Register of Births, which would be surname A.
Can Contributions Agency ( note not HMRC  who deal with tax and do not deal with NI numbers) ,not change the name on your National Insurance number. They can do it when you marry so sight of your birth certificate should be enough.

Bulld0g

sheramber said:

your National Insurance number is issued from the child benefit claim. It is  nothing to do with the school.
The name for the child benefit claim is checked with the Register of Births, which would be surname A.
Can Contributions Agency ( note not HMRC  who deal with tax and do not deal with NI numbers) ,not change the name on your National Insurance number. They can do it when you marry so sight of your birth certificate should be enough.

Thanks I didn't know that.
I was always told it was because that was the name that was changed at school.
Remember we are going back to a time when technology isn't what it is now....lol

Why should I need to change anything when it not a legal requirement and I have given them sufficient documents ?

What if I had been living abroad most of my life (and maybe applying from there) I wouldn't have a HMRC letter.

sheramber

 The only reason they are asking for the letter is because you said you had been known by another name.
Comparing ti someone getting married is not applicable as a married woman will will have marriage certificate to prove her names.
It is all to do with identity fraud and false passports being obtained.

Why should I need to change anything when it not a legal requirement and I have given them sufficient documents ?
It is a legal requirement for the passport office to ensure that an application is correct.
Why should you need to change anything? It depends on how quickly you want  a passport.

Have you followed the complaints procedure   https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-passport-office/about/complaints-procedure?
You do not contact the ombudsman. You need to go through your MP who can refer to the the Director General.
If you are still not satisfied, you can ask your MP to request an investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (the Ombudsman). You can only do this through your MP.

smudge56

Firstly.
 What name do you use on a daily basis.? Eg what name does everyone know you as. 

 If it’s A. Your birth name, then make sure you have all your documents in That name .  The stat dec should give the story of how you mother changed your name at school and you were known for a while by that name but you now have reverted back to your birth name. 
If you now use name B then all your official documents should be changed to that name. The passport won.t be issued until you have done this. You appear to be using two identities which is why your passport will not be issued.  HMPO are only following their guidance and no matter how many complaints you make, you will still have to decide which name you are using and change everything to that name and give them evidence that you have done so.
If they are not happy with the stat dec for your change of name you can make your own change of name deed stating that you have changed your name from A to B, sign in both names and get someone to witness it 

Bulld0g

smudge56 said:

Firstly.
 What name do you use on a daily basis.? Eg what name does everyone know you as. 

 If it’s A. Your birth name, then make sure you have all your documents in That name .  The stat dec should give the story of how you mother changed your name at school and you were known for a while by that name but you now have reverted back to your birth name. 
If you now use name B then all your official documents should be changed to that name. The passport won.t be issued until you have done this. You appear to be using two identities which is why your passport will not be issued.  HMPO are only following their guidance and no matter how many complaints you make, you will still have to decide which name you are using and change everything to that name and give them evidence that you have done so.
If they are not happy with the stat dec for your change of name you can make your own change of name deed stating that you have changed your name from A to B, sign in both names and get someone to witness it 

Thanks for the reply.

Name A is what I use on a daily basis and is what my  driving licence, Birth certificate, statutory declaration, bank statements and utility bills, a signed document by someone in a high position saying they have known me for years in.

Also the statutory declaration states the link between the two names.

The only thing that is in name B is HMRC.


I know everyone is saying that it would be open to fraud using two names but the only thing that is in name B is the HMRC and the passport office has said themselves that it wouldn't be possible for me to have a passport in name B.

I wished I could have afforded the solicitor to deal with this for me as he knew what he was talking about but I just couldn't afford to have him carry on .

photome

Can you change your name with HMRC from B to A?
otherwise it looks like you will have to do what the passport office is asking