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Estates wants to physically see Proof of ID

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achilles01
achilles01 Posts: 2 Newbie
in House buying, renting & selling
Hello,

I am trying to sell my property so I emailed to the Estate Agent a scanned copy of my passport as proof of ID.

However, this was rejected and he said he needed to see himself the passport and make copies so I have to go in to their office which is a waste of time for me.

Is he being difficult or have the rules changed? It used to be the case that scanned copies of IDs were accepted.

Also, what about all these online Estate Agents that let you upload a copy of your passport as proof of ID? Are they breaking the law? And what if the Estate Agent's office is 500 miles from where the seller is?

Thanks,

A.
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Comments

  • AnotherJoe
    AnotherJoe Posts: 19,622 Forumite
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    EAs are under an obligation to prove ID and there will be comeback if they are wrong.
    Therefore each EA has to make their own risk assessment of what they will accept.
    Find a different EA if this one's criteria are too awkward for you.

    FWIW going through this on behalf of a relative, the EA accepted a photocopied passport and her signing on their contract but the EA never met her.
  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite
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    There are no standard rules, but it's quite common to require to see the principal documents. It's trivially easy to Photoshop a fake scan, much more tricky to make a whole forged passport.

    If it's too far to go, just post it, preferably by Special Delivery.
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
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    davidmcn wrote: »
    If it's too far to go, just post it, preferably by Special Delivery.
    Alternatively, a certified copy may be acceptable.

    But, as has been said, it's entirely down to the EA to decide what satisfies them.
  • Smodlet
    Smodlet Posts: 6,976 Forumite
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    Find another EA (or instruct the current one) to come out to your property and do a valuation. Show them your passport while they are there. Simples.
  • AnotherJoe
    AnotherJoe Posts: 19,622 Forumite
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    Smodlet wrote: »
    Find another EA (or instruct the current one) to come out to your property and do a valuation. Show them your passport while they are there. Simples.

    And have a copy with you the EA can check against the actual passport otherwise they will say they cant copy it there they need to be in the office
  • achilles01
    achilles01 Posts: 2 Newbie
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    They also offered me the option to send them a copy of my passport that is certified by a Solicitor but who wants to pay a Solicitor to do that? And also this certified copy could also be forged if someone really wanted to do that so their policy makes no sense.
  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite
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    achilles01 wrote: »
    They also offered me the option to send them a copy of my passport that is certified by a Solicitor but who wants to pay a Solicitor to do that?
    But you'll (presumably) be instructing a solicitor anyway for your sale - and they'll also need to check your ID. If they charge you any additional fee for providing a certified copy then it should be buttons.
  • ACG
    ACG Posts: 23,727 Forumite
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    How can you tell if a photocopy is real?

    There is a bit of an inbetween which is what some companies do (me included to some extent) and we do an electronic check, where we put in certain information and it verifies it.

    But I only do that on certain occasions.
    I am a Mortgage Adviser
    You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a mortgage adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.
  • shortcrust
    shortcrust Posts: 2,697 Forumite
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    That OP hasn't mentioned that it's far away or difficult to arrange. Just that it's "a waste of time for me".

    My advice is just do it. It's hardly an outrageous requirement and I can't see how taking the steps necessary to getting your home on the market is in any way a waste of your time.
  • cloo
    cloo Posts: 1,291 Forumite
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    I think some EAs are just getting more cautious as there have been cases of fraud conducted by people using false ID. They may be especially cautious if the house has no mortgage on it, the owner doesn't live there or they may just be covering themselves in any case.
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