No Photo ID, need to access account?

GentleGiant01

Hello all, 
my elderly Father (mid 90’s) needs to access one of his savings accounts to transfer money to the account that his pension goes into / bills comes out of. 

Unfortunately, this specific account he doesn’t have a bank card, he doesn’t have a cheque book, nor does he do telephone or online banking. I asked how he usually pays money in and he said he used to go to the bank and pay money in. 

Unfortunately he now doesn’t have easy access as most branches have shut, so we went with all the ID he had (Bills, other current account statements, bus pass, pension letters). They (probably rightly so) informed him that because they couldn’t prove who he is, he wasn’t able to close the account and transfer the cash to his other account. They suggested ordering a paying in book to his home address, which he has done. 

My question is - how is a paying in book going to help him transfer money to another account? 

Also, short of ordering him a passport, if they don’t let him use the paying in book to prove it’s him, is there anything else we can do to help him? 

mab3000

Which bank is it? Might be useful to say as different banks will have different identification procedures. 

In regards to the paying in book, I know for example that Barclays can use this under the classification “bank stationary” as one piece of identification, although on its own wouldn’t be enough. 

Did the bank try to check his signature? Some banks might accept written instruction which is signed and sent into them (not necessarily the branch address). 

luvchocolate

Will a bus pass work?

GentleGiant01

It’s Barclays he’s with. There is no signature on the account as that was my first suggestion. 

What other ID does he need to take with him with this book then? Will a private pension letter, bank statement from Santander and a council tax bill or similar do? 

He’s got dementia, so I really don’t want to take him in again until I’m sure we’ve got everything.  

Murmansk

I guess maybe if he were to go in with the paying-in book it'd help prove he is who he says because he must at least have access to the address they have on file, but it all sounds a bit pedantic and obscure - and he could already have a couple of paying-in books! I seem to remember when giving ID I had to provide one item from each of two lists, maybe in this case you've provided a few that are all in one of the lists but you have nothing from the other such as passport, driving licence etc etc. Surely someone further up the chain of command can exercise some discretion or common sense!

Daliah

Barclays do accept other means for proof of ID. Has he kept his letter from the DWP advising him of his state pension increase?

https://www.barclays.co.uk/personal/current-accounts/what-do-i-need-to-open-a-bank-account/

mab3000

How much is in the account? 

Did they suggest setting up telephone banking for him? 

mab3000

Daliah said:

Barclays do accept other means for proof of ID. Has he kept his letter from the DWP advising him of his state pension increase?

https://www.barclays.co.uk/personal/current-accounts/what-do-i-need-to-open-a-bank-account/

Even though they do accept a DWP letter to open an account, Barclays do not accept this as a document to identify an existing customer. 

GentleGiant01

mab3000 said:

How much is in the account? 

Did they suggest setting up telephone banking for him? 

Around £25k. 

He’s got it set up (apparently) however they sent him a pin letter in 2019 and this is nowhere to be found, he has said he didn’t set it up. They won’t send him a copy of the pin because they can’t prove who he is 

masonic

If he wishes to close his savings account and pay the proceeds into another Barclays account in his name, then it might be worth checking if they'd accept this instruction by post.

GentleGiant01

Murmansk said:

I guess maybe if he were to go in with the paying-in book it'd help prove he is who he says because he must at least have access to the address they have on file, but it all sounds a bit pedantic and obscure - and he could already have a couple of paying-in books! I seem to remember when giving ID I had to provide one item from each of two lists, maybe in this case you've provided a few that are all in one of the lists but you have nothing from the other such as passport, driving licence etc etc. Surely someone further up the chain of command can exercise some discretion or common sense!

We spent a long time with the branch manager (I think she was) and I do think they tried their best - TBH I’d be very angry if someone else managed to get hold of my Dad’s hard earned savings - so I completely understand why they do things the way they do. 

My main concern is him not losing out on his money or is risking another trip if we don’t have enough. I can’t find anything on the website to help - I’m possibly being a little silly though!