Complicated one involving Junior Cash Isa

gmummy

I am looking for help with this because I keep hitting brick walls and I'm hoping somebody knows the answer.

My initial question is this: If I have no ID except my birth certificate and my NI letter (I have not been in work or claiming benefits), can the bank refuse to allow me to activate my Junior Cash Isa?

I am 20 now but this problem started back when my child trust fund money money was transferred to a junior cash ISA in 2016.

It ran until I was 18 and the bank started sending letters just before to me to ask me to go into the branch to 'activate the account'.

I made the trip to the bank to activate the account. I went into the branch and handed the person at the bank my birth certificate and NI letter which she photocopied, and she assured me that the activation was complete. We didn't receive any confirmation in the following weeks and then the letters asking me to come into the branch and activate the account started arriving again. I was ill at that point so I left it on the back burner and just concentrated on restoring my health.

I have since been back to the branch twice and was over the age of 18 at the time. The first time the cashier told me that they can no longer accept my birth certificate as a form of ID because I was over 18 and will only accept a passport or drivers license or HMRC tax letter or a payslip or letters from the DWP. I don't have any of those. She then said that they might be able to do it if we had a bank statement from any bank with my name on it. I went and got one from my current account with another bank and this time the cashier said that the names on both bank accounts have to match exactly. The other account has my first name in full and my initial but the junior ISA only has my initials.

I explained that I can't afford to pay £102 to buy a passport just to access an account with less than £500 in it.

My question is - can the bank with hold my money just because I can't afford to get a photo ID that they will accept? What do people do when they don't have photo ID or dealing with HMRC or the DWP?

I know that it's not a lot of money to the bank or a lot of people but it's a big amount to me and it's also the principle - how are they allowed to withhold my money when I have all of the paperwork relating to the account (from the initial letter of introduction) and the same ID documentation accepted by the passport office?

Can anyone help?

flaneurs_lobster

I can see why you are annoyed that you can't access your own money because of the bank's rules but maybe the pragmatic thing to do would be to get yourself a provisional driving licence for £34.

You are bound to need Government issued photo id at some point in the next 10 years so it's probably a decent value spend.

Woodstok2000

Can you change the name on your bank account?

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82073473#Comment_82073473

Seems crazy that the ISA-holding bank has initials-only yet the full bank account has FirstName Initial Surname and the ISA bank says that the names have to match?

Begs the question why any financial institution is holding an account holder's name just as initials?

Care to name the bank?

Vitor

Stop dealing with this informally at the counter and make a written formal complaint to the bank. Set out the full history, including that the branch previously copied your birth certificate and NI letter and told you the account had been activated. Ask them to:

• explain exactly what identification they will accept from someone without photo ID
• refer the case to their specialist identification or vulnerable-customer team
• correct the name discrepancy
• give you access to the matured ISA
• compensate you for the repeated failed visits and delay, where appropriate

Keep copies of all letters and note the dates of branch visits.

If the bank does not resolve it, or does not issue a final response within eight weeks, take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. That is free.

Heedtheadvice

Be aware that different organisations have different methods of confirming ID. Owing to money laundering regulation banks can be particularly difficult to deal with especially if you cannot provide their 'standard' acceptable documents. The crux to solving this is maybe then go in to a branch ( yes again!) to explain again and see what else they might accept given your circumstances.

You might be able to get yourself a Government photo ID free or very low cost.

Not sure which UK country you resident in so cannot suggest one that is suitable everywhere but as an example I have a Scot Gov photo ID that covers things like bus travel, local gov services such as libraries so is official and free. If you post your country someone might be able to suggest one and you can then ask the bank if they will accept that. They might not but it could still be useful for you.

Also getting a professional ( solicitor, minister of religion, GP ) to countersign a document as genuine can sometimes help.

There are also Citizen photo cards and Post Office Pass cards.

But finding out from them what the bank will accept is key. If you get the standard answer ( that is already not possible for you) ask the teller to seek advice from someone more senior.

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82073532#Comment_82073532

I agree that checking with the bank concerned is the place to start, but would be wary of suggesting that government (or similar) photo IDs, other than passports and driving licences, are likely to be acceptable, precisely because they're easier to obtain…

friolento

It will be a bit of work and patience, but you can save yourself a lot of bother with this one, and for the next 10 or so years, by getting a Government issued photo ID.

flaneurs_lobster

Getting off-topic but I think that the way that financial institutions hold the names of their customers would normally be FirstName (SecondName/SecondInitial) LastName.

How they (or the customer) then choose to use some/all/none of that name to title their accounts is variable and somewhat arbitrary.

Example of my accounts at RBS, where I am known as FirstName LastName (RBS call this my 'Legal Name').

My current account is named LastName FirstName SecondInitial 9 (no idea where the 9 came from, been this way for 40+ years).

My Digital Saver account is named Surname FirstInitial SecondInitial

Think my credit card account is just known by its long number, the card says FirstName LastName on it.

dunstonh

I have since been back to the branch twice and was over the age of 18 at the time. The first time the cashier told me that they can no longer accept my birth certificate as a form of ID because I was over 18 and will only accept a passport or drivers license or HMRC tax letter or a payslip or letters from the DWP. I don't have any of those. 

That is to be expected. Birth certificates are not considered suitable ID for adults.

Sadly, with banking nowadays, the frontline staff are not trained like they used to be unless you get an old school, long time serving member of staff.

If the member of staff at the branch can't give you a solution, then you need to raise a complaint direct with the complaints team. You generally find complaints teams have more knowledgeable staff and will look to get a solution and not leave you hanging.

My question is - can the bank with hold my money just because I can't afford to get a photo ID that they will accept?

Yes, they can.

Seems crazy that the ISA-holding bank has initials-only yet the full bank account has FirstName Initial Surname and the ISA bank says that the names have to match?

Begs the question why any financial institution is holding an account holder's name just as initials?

This slightly goes back to the registration of the CTF. Especially if it was the government contribution rather than a parent contribution. They were designed to be quick and easy to set up, and the input of personal details was meant to be done by the parents. Often at a later point, but as you can imagine, it didn't always get done.

Similar often happens with workplace pensions nowadays. The payroll team of the employer sets the pension up, and often they put in the initials of the person, or sometimes even the wrong name, because they have incorrect or incomplete details on payroll.

1spiral

Similar often happens with workplace pensions nowadays. The payroll
team of the employer sets the pension up, and often they put in the
initials of the person, or sometimes even the wrong name, because they
have incorrect or incomplete details on payroll.

The company I used to work for gave out an end of year bonus. This particular year it equated to 1 months salary. A colleague of mine received £16000 which the company quickly reclaimed as an "error". We believe it was caused because his name was Jamie Philipson but the MD's name was John Philips and that somewhere J Philips and J Philipson had become confusing to the person assigning the bonuses.