banks & bs failed identity checks

yahbut

I have come up against a problem opening new online savings accounts in your best buy lists. Failed identity checks seems to a common reason, but no one will tell me what the exact problem is. I have had same online bank account for 20 years in same name. I have never been in debt, not had an overdraft for many years, paid off my mortgage. I am on electoral roll. I moved house just 3 months short of four years now but my house does come up in address searches. I have not changed my nominated accounts or my email or mobile phone number. I am UK born British citizen and have NI number.  My husband and I both have a large lump sum we want to invest and spread. He has successfully opened 3 new savings accounts online within minutes with no problems. I have been turned down by five different providers when trying to deposit funds yet our financial history is almost identical. I was even stopped from opening a second BS account, using my own BS online account (they would not allow me to transfer funds internally, even after going through all the online and phone security checks with pin numbers, passwords, personal questions etc etc.). I had to travel to an agency in a nearby town with Council tax bill, passport and driving licence in person and present new signature details or post these through the post, (luckily there was a town within 20 minutes drive for this particular BS, otherwise over 50 miles to find a branch) so I was finally allowed to operate my own savings account again. I must be blacklisted or red flagged but why? If I knew what the problem was I could do something about it but when I try all I get is 'this is for your own security, you may need to wait up to 30 days'. I live in a semi rural area so need online savings but what is the point if can only open new online accounts by post or in person?

elsien

Have you checked your credit files to see if there’s anything on there?

yahbut

No but I am trying to deposit money not get a loan, mortgage etc. I don't really have a credit history as such as I haven't had credit cards or store cards for years though my husband and I did pay of a large bank loan recently via a joint account with the same bank, branch we both bank with. There won't be anything negative on it. However, I suspect that if I try I may make the problem worse as that will go down as another enquiry perhaps which I know is another red flag? However, there is nothing in my credit history different from his.

MorningcoffeeIV

yahbut said:

I live in a semi rural area so need online savings but what is the point if can only open new online accounts by post or in person?

Wouldn't the point be that once you've opened it by post or in person, you have the online account that you seek?

eskbanker

yahbut said:

No but I am trying to deposit money not get a loan, mortgage etc. I don't really have a credit history as such as I haven't had credit cards or store cards for years though my husband and I did pay of a large bank loan recently via a joint account with the same bank, branch we both bank with. There won't be anything negative on it. However, I suspect that if I try I may make the problem worse as that will go down as another enquiry perhaps which I know is another red flag? However, there is nothing in my credit history different from his.

How do you know if you haven't looked?  You might believe that there should be nothing negative or different, but it's plausible that there could be something erroneous recorded on your credit files, so it would be worth checking them anyway, even though they're only being accessed for ID verification rather than actual credit checks as such - there's no negative effect from simply looking at your files, as opposed to the more significant footprint left by lenders conducting hard searches....

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/check-free-credit-report/

yahbut

I have accepted your advice and tried to check my credit rating and guess what they can't check my identity either.

They asked me to go back and check again so I did .. twice.

• Have you entered your full name, and not a nickname (eg, Tom instead of Thomas)? YES I DID THIS CORRECTLY
• Is your date of birth correct? YES
• Is your current address correct? YES, selected from their address menu and it's fine.
• Have you checked previous addresses are entered correctly, and that the dates you moved in and out are accurate? YES
• Have you added a full six years of address history? This is optional after the first two addresses, but the more detail you can supply, the better your chances of getting verified. YES
• Are all other personal details correct? YES

Having done all this can you see why I am totally baffled and I have no idea how this can be rectified. I do exist and a major bank and three building societies say so with these matching details but no one else will accept me as a customer. 

MorningcoffeeIV

So that's why they couldn't confirm your identity. 

Now you raise a dispute with the CRA to ask them to sort it out.

While you're doing that, check the other two CRAs.

You may think there is nothing wrong with them either, but as you've just seen, that may not be the case...   

yahbut

T Thanks morning coffee. As you say I will now raise a complaint and tell them to sort it out. Perhaps they can tell me where to turn up that is only 5 miles away with my ID, perhaps my own bank will do for them? Totally baffled as we recently had to prove our identity and give a full address history online when we sold some property (the cause of our sudden need to invest a lump sum). I cannot for the life of me understand why we both sailed through this and a few months later hubby passes and I don't. If my online identity is good enough for the land registry????

MorningcoffeeIV

Remember those other CRAs.... 

penners324

Is your bank account associated with your address correctly?