Certified copy of ID documents

TheGardener

Hi - Not sure if this is just one bank or if it's a general thing now but I want to open a fixed-rate bond. The supplier (not my regular bank) wants certified copies of my ID. I've tried asking my own bank - they won't provide it unless it's for one of their own services/accounts; The Post Office want £12 which I have no real problem with but they will only do it if I give them details of the bond provider and how much I want to put in the bond which I think is data they don't need and have no right to ask for. The GP says they are too busy to do that sort of thing (I agree, they shouldn't be providing services for the banking system) so bar paying a solicitor which I would expect to be rather expensive, I'm a bit stumped. Alternatively, I could have used letters from HMRC or The Pensions Agency but of course, they are now dated more than the required 3 months ago. 
Should I just find a provider with less onerous demands or is this likely to be a problem whichever provider I go to? 

General_Grant

TheGardener said:

Hi - Not sure if this is just one bank or if it's a general thing now but I want to open a fixed-rate bond. The supplier (not my regular bank) wants certified copies of my ID. I've tried asking my own bank - they won't provide it unless it's for one of their own services/accounts; The Post Office want £12 which I have no real problem with but they will only do it if I give them details of the bond provider and how much I want to put in the bond which I think is data they don't need and have no right to ask for. The GP says they are too busy to do that sort of thing (I agree, they shouldn't be providing services for the banking system) so bar paying a solicitor which I would expect to be rather expensive, I'm a bit stumped. Alternatively, I could have used letters from HMRC or The Pensions Agency but of course, they are now dated more than the required 3 months ago. 
Should I just find a provider with less onerous demands or is this likely to be a problem whichever provider I go to? 

The fee is £12.75 for up to 3 documents.  All they should be told is the name of the organisation (bond provider in your case) who want the certified copies - that's on the form you complete.

Will the funds for the bond be transferred via a Post Office account?  That's the only reason I can see for them asking  about the amount and is actually separate from the ID-ing.

[As an aside, I do wonder why they even need to know the name of the organisation asking for the documents unless they are required to ask as a fraud prevention measure, ie checking that the organisation is genuine in asking for them.]

Brie

have you asked the supplier who they will accept as certifier.  I've been told in the past that accountants, police officers, "citizens of good standing" etc could do this.  it will be down to what the supplier wants though.

refluxer

TheGardener said:

Should I just find a provider with less onerous demands or is this likely to be a problem whichever provider I go to? 

Have you moved house a lot in recent years or are there any reasons you can think of why you might fail an online ID check ? If not and you don't want the hassle and expense of obtaining certified ID documents, then I would just choose a different provider as there are many who don't make those demands. 

For example - off the top of my head, I've opened various accounts with banks like Atom, Marcus, Shawbrook, Oaknorth and others and (as far as I can recall) the only places I've had to submit ID were Chase (which involved uploading a selfie and photo of my driving license) and one other, who I had to send a bank statement and HMRC letter to. I've never had to post my passport/driving license or provide certified copies of any official ID or other documents.

With the way things are going, give it a week and there will be a different provider at the top of the Fixed Rate table. 

Uxb1

It will have to be some sort of certified person in the finance/legal/accountancy profession who by nature of their job has a number attached to them.
A solicitor for example will sign with his solicitors law society number underneath so the document signer can be traced back directly to them as the certifier should the law/police come asking questions later.
The supplier of the investment should have a list online of exactly what grade of person they will accept as certifiers of documents.

refluxer

If it's Cynergy we're talking about, then there is a similar thread here, which includes a link to their ID requirements...

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6370337/problems-opening-cynergy-accounts

Albermarle

Uxb1 said:

It will have to be some sort of certified person in the finance/legal/accountancy profession who by nature of their job has a number attached to them.
A solicitor for example will sign with his solicitors law society number underneath so the document signer can be traced back directly to them as the certifier should the law/police come asking questions later.
The supplier of the investment should have a list online of exactly what grade of person they will accept as certifiers of documents.

As Refluxer said, it is a lot of faffing about just to open a savings account. Best for the OP just to try another provider.
Although these checks have become more prevalent, normally this level of ID is not requested most of the time.

TheGardener

Brie said:

have you asked the supplier who they will accept as certifier.  I've been told in the past that accountants, police officers, "citizens of good standing" etc could do this.  it will be down to what the supplier wants though.

The supplier says - Solicitor, Notary, Chartered Accountant, Independent Financial Advisor (licensed) - the fee charged by all of these would probably wipe out my modest amount of interest-earning potential. GP, Post office or Bank - I think the days of 'professional people' like the 'good citizen' have long since been abandoned as being basically like asking the guy you sat next to on the bus and therefore, not acceptable - as is the case now with Passports I believe? 
I have since spoken to the providers' customer services dept and they have scratched their heads, not been able to help, and promised to pass the 'feedback' back upstream to their decision makers...in the meantime, I have found another provider happy to accept my hard earned dosh with a simpler but no less robust system 
P.S I personally think it's outrageous that banks expect GP's to provide back-up to their business terms, like GP's haven't got enough to do. 
@General-Grant - As for the Post Office wanting to know who I bank with - call me old-fashioned but... why should they need that info - its not data I chose to give to the Post Office. All they have to do is confirm I am the person on the passport and that the photocopy they took is from the original. 

Ifts

TheGardener said:

Brie said:

have you asked the supplier who they will accept as certifier.  I've been told in the past that accountants, police officers, "citizens of good standing" etc could do this.  it will be down to what the supplier wants though.

...in the meantime, I have found another provider happy to accept my hard earned dosh with a simpler but no less robust system 

That is what I do when one of them asks me to jump through hoops and makes it difficult to open a account with them.

Recently it was with opening a fixed rate savings bond with Shawbrook so I went with Cynergy Bank - easier to open as I was an existing customer and their rate was better.

quirkydeptless

Yes, in a lot of cases they'll be wanting a fee or only allow it for their own products.

For my last two needs for this, I've used Barclays Bank. They asked me what it was for, which I told them (it wasn't for any of their products) and they asked me to confirm I was a Barclays customer, debit card would have done, which I didn't have on me, so they asked some security questions about my account which I answered and they provided certified copies of my pasport promptly.

TheGardener

Ifts said:

TheGardener said:

Brie said:

have you asked the supplier who they will accept as certifier.  I've been told in the past that accountants, police officers, "citizens of good standing" etc could do this.  it will be down to what the supplier wants though.

...in the meantime, I have found another provider happy to accept my hard earned dosh with a simpler but no less robust system 

That is what I do when one of them asks me to jump through hoops and makes it difficult to open a account with them.

Recently it was with opening a fixed rate savings bond with Shawbrook so I went with Cynergy Bank - easier to open as I was an existing customer and their rate was better.

Yes, I suspect they offer great rates to make sure they appear on the top 10 great deals/best interest list  - then make it tricky to actually open the account. Like when Currys offer a great deal on a laptop on primetime TV ads but it turns out that each store only gets 2 at that price and they've already been sold (probably to staff members) when you ask about the 'deal'. Hey Ho - such is life...