# UK Banks asking for personal ID documents



## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Remember all the hoo-ha a while ago when Spanish banks were requiring their customers to provide ID details, even if you'd already given them copies when opening an account? There was a lengthy thread on here about it.

Well, now it's happening with UK banks too. I have just received a letter from my UK bank telling me that I must provide them with two documents, one to confirm my identity (passport or national ID card) and one to confirm my address (utility bill, statement from another bank, etc). I can either send certified copies by post or provide them by video call, according to the accompanying leaflet (not too sure how the video call thing works, you have to call ahead to schedule an appointment).


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Hi,
If ours asks for this - they can go and whistle!!
We have our mortgage through the bank - so they already have our proof of address!!
Cheers
Steve


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Stevesolar said:


> Hi,
> If ours asks for this - they can go and whistle!!
> We have our mortgage through the bank - so they already have our proof of address!!
> Cheers
> Steve


The letter says that if the documents are not provided "we may not be able to continue providing you with some facilities". Rather a veiled threat as it doesn't elaborate as to what is meant by that, but I don't intend to take the risk!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

It seems just about any financial/authoritative dealings in the UK require this now. I'm taking some exams and changing departments where I work and everytime I have to sign something or prove my existence, I am required to show my passport, bank statement and utility bill - and I work for them, they know and pay me every month!. I now keep my stuff in my bag in an envelope ready!!!

Jo xxx


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

jojo said:


> It seems just about any financial/authoritative dealings in the UK require this now. I'm taking some exams and changing departments where I work and everytime I have to sign something or prove my existence, I am required to show my passport, bank statement and utility bill - and I work for them, they know and pay me every month!. I now keep my stuff in my bag in an envelope ready!!!
> 
> Jo xxx


Sounds a bit like living in Spain...


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

This is a European requirement - maybe only now are the UK institutions realizing that they aren't holding DIGITAL identification for some people.

@stevesolar - even though you have your mortgage with them, can you be sure that they have copies of your passport etc. in a digital format?


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

I had a letter from my UK bank about this. They asked me to pop in with said documents the next time I'm in the UK. I have no plans to visit so they won't be getting them!


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

I know people who do not have a passport, neither do they have a driving licence, nor an identity card or document, I wonder how they will cope.


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## Claire la richarde (Jul 6, 2009)

It's been the case for some years, particularly since the advent of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007. If you opened an account with a bank before then, the bank may not have demanded proof of your identity and/or not have copies of that proof. I can't remember whether they have to keep copies, or just keep confirmation that a member of staff has seen them, but I'm pretty sure that if they don't have one or the other, they're breaking the law. 

All the gen is here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/proof-of-identity-checklist/proof-of-identity-checklist

I have a relative who habitually uses his shotgun certificate, just for a laugh.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

snikpoh said:


> This is a European requirement - maybe only now are the UK institutions realizing that they aren't holding DIGITAL identification for some people.
> 
> @stevesolar - even though you have your mortgage with them, can you be sure that they have copies of your passport etc. in a digital format?


Hi,
I have a relatively new passport - so I know they don't have a copy of it.
I don't intend giving them a copy either.
I have banked with them for nearly 40 years - so if they don't know me by now - they never will!
Cheers
Steve


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Claire la richarde said:


> It's been the case for some years, particularly since the advent of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007. If you opened an account with a bank before then, the bank may not have demanded proof of your identity and/or not have copies of that proof. I can't remember whether they have to keep copies, or just keep confirmation that a member of staff has seen them, but I'm pretty sure that if they don't have one or the other, they're breaking the law.
> 
> All the gen is here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/proof-of-identity-checklist/proof-of-identity-checklist
> 
> I have a relative who habitually uses his shotgun certificate, just for a laugh.


 p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 10); line-height: 120%; text-align: left; }p.western { font-family: "Liberation Serif",serif; font-size: 12pt; }p.cjk { font-family: "Droid Sans Fallback"; font-size: 12pt; }p.ctl { font-family: "FreeSans"; font-size: 12pt; }a:link { } Yep, I was working in a bank in Spain with the head of the bank's legal department at the time this legislation went through and it was a something that all European banks had to put into action. It was discussed on the forum at the time. I'm not talking about 2007. That must have been when the first law or whatever was issued, but it wasn't implemented by all countries until a few years later.

I think however it will affect new account holders more than people with old accounts largely due to the attitude that people have expressed here on the forum and the general lack of background that people in the UK have of being "identified".
However, that is all irrelevant imo when you have lived in the UK for any number of years where cctv cameras cover the entire country practically and we are all logged, tagged and placed by numerous organizations throughout the land.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Pesky Wesky said:


> p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 10); line-height: 120%; text-align: left; }p.western { font-family: "Liberation Serif",serif; font-size: 12pt; }p.cjk { font-family: "Droid Sans Fallback"; font-size: 12pt; }p.ctl { font-family: "FreeSans"; font-size: 12pt; }a:link { } Yep, I was working in a bank in Spain with the head of the bank's legal department at the time this legislation went through and it was a something that all European banks had to put into action. It was discussed on the forum at the time. I'm not talking about 2007. That must have been when the first law or whatever was issued, but it wasn't implemented by all countries until a few years later.
> 
> I think however it will affect new account holders more than people with old accounts largely due to the attitude that people have expressed here on the forum and the general lack of background that people in the UK have of being "identified".
> However, that is all irrelevant imo when you have lived in the UK for any number of years where cctv cameras cover the entire country practically and we are all logged, tagged and placed by numerous organizations throughout the land.


I've had my UK bank account with the same bank for at least 20 years and they still want this information from me. Mind you they can't possibly have a copy of my current passport as it has been renewed, probably twice, since I opened it.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Lynn R said:


> I've had my UK bank account with the same bank for at least 20 years and they still want this information from me. Mind you they can't possibly have a copy of my current passport as it has been renewed, probably twice, since I opened it.


Yes, I appreciate that some banks or some account holders have been and will be asked for details, but it will be much more difficult for them to get ID from old clients even though they are legally bund by this agreement to do so. I just don't know how far they will push and how many accounts really will be frozen. 
My own story is that I have had my account in Nat West for 36 years and haven't been asked for anything yet. However, it's an account with less than 500 pounds and usually less than 200 pounds in it that is used maybe 6 times a year. If they do get in touch I'll send them a copy of my driving licence I expect. The only ID they've got is my signature from 36 years ago...


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Lynn R said:


> I've had my UK bank account with the same bank for at least 20 years and they still want this information from me. Mind you they can't possibly have a copy of my current passport as it has been renewed, probably twice, since I opened it.


I had all this some time last year & I've been with them 60 years :lol: 
Wanted 3 types of id one from the list shown as group 1 . proving photographically who I was. One from group 2 proving where I lived & a third from group 3 being utility bill. 
Any used from one group couldn't be used from another. 
Proving where you lived consisted of " a national id card " err no. A photo id driving licence .err no well yes but its spanish & doesn't have an address. 
Then we had " all require certifying with the statement I certify that this is a true likeness blah blah etc. In english followed by " any bank manager ,doctor policeman , " will do this. Yes they might in the UK but not here. Even the notary said we write in Spanish .

When I rang them the first time I asked why their ads showed they could dispose of my 17' boa constrictor move me around the world whilst finding accommodation & ensuring a new Salamander is in a heated tank at the new house,yet didn't know that A spanish driving licence has no address on it & that no bank official or any other official will sign anything that could possibly come back to haunt them & they certainly wouldn't certify something in a language they didn't read ! Even the official appointed to sort out the complaints couldn't believe that one.
I made a total if 14 separate complaints . about the whole nonsense. All upheld. They even said " any translation required we will pay for just send in the invoice . I did with all the certified by the notary tat. I even had to complain to the official appointed to manage all the complaints, & on whom I was on first name terms with. Took months for them to pay . I was on the point of small claims court proceedings.
Mind you once I'd got started I even managed to get my internet /telephone banking security info to work , That had never worked for 14 years despite everything they did, altered , blamed.
When We had basically sorted the whole nonsense out, after some 3 or 4 months I believe it was , I asked " it is a joint account ,do I assume that my wife will be receiving one of these letters ?" 
" Oh yes if it is a joint account "
Me " don't even think about it " 
Utterly useless load of ****ers. 
P.s. 3 of the complaints where about the online complaint system !! 
Money launderer's . They wouldn't know one from a Chinese washing shop. 
Instead of making it inconvenient & onerous for the legal ,decent honest & truthful they should be hunting down the criminal scum & dispensing with them . Far easier to inconvenience & threaten the actual customers though .


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## Sandraw719 (Jul 19, 2013)

jojo said:


> It seems just about any financial/authoritative dealings in the UK require this now. I'm taking some exams and changing departments where I work and everytime I have to sign something or prove my existence, I am required to show my passport, bank statement and utility bill - and I work for them, they know and pay me every month!. I now keep my stuff in my bag in an envelope ready!!!
> 
> Jo xxx


Make sure the bills are less than 3 months old!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

If all this legislation makes life a bit more complicated for drug dealers and jihadists, I'm happy to oblige.

it's not done just to irritate people.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Sandraw719 said:


> Make sure the bills are less than 3 months old!


Everytime I get a bill in I swap em round lol

Jo xxx


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Alcalaina said:


> If all this legislation makes life a bit more complicated for drug dealers and jihadists, I'm happy to oblige.
> 
> it's not done just to irritate people.


If it did so would I, but it doesn't . All they are doing is paying lip service .


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

gus-lopez said:


> If it did so would I, but it doesn't . All they are doing is paying lip service .


Agreed - crooks will always find a way to circumvent money laundering rules.
These regulations simply inconvenience normal people!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

As I said, the regulations make it much harder to launder money. Of course criminals find more ingenious ways of doing it, but quite a few have been caught in the net thanks to stricter money-trail legislation. Think FIFA for example ...


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Hi,
I think the most common way of moving ill gotten money around the globe is still Hawala.
That is very hard to trace and a very efficient system of moving money around.
Banks having all the ID documents in the world will have zero impact on money laundering through Hawala!
Cheers
Steve


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## VinhoVerde (May 2, 2014)

Alcalaina said:


> As I said, the regulations make it much harder to launder money. Of course criminals find more ingenious ways of doing it, but quite a few have been caught in the net thanks to stricter money-trail legislation. Think FIFA for example ...


I do to agree... It appears that some of the biggest money launderers are the banks themselves.


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## skyf (Mar 26, 2015)

Steve is so right about 40 years knowledge.
Have an even more bizarre situation having taken on a Endowment Policy in 1999 which matured literally last week. However the rather well-known life company refuses to pay out until a certified copy of my passport is produced. Bizarre because the funds are to go into exactly the same account from where the monthly premiums have been taken for the last 15 years. Crazy or what? Sorry we are straying from the point of this Forum, but interesting how Financiers can manipulate OUR money


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## VinhoVerde (May 2, 2014)

Please be careful when considering your response to these requests. I have recently moved from North America to Europe :0 and, upon notifying banks and financial institutions of my change of address, promptly found that I cannot open new accounts with banks that I have been with for several years, will not be able to get my credit card renewed when it expires, cannot get a new credit card from my bank, and summarily had an account closed because of the change in address. I think these are all related events, thus my suspicion is that you might find your accounts frozen or closed if you do not comply. And even if you do, you may run into difficulties as I did. 
I'd suggest that everyone complies, but do complain vigorously and keep us informed of what happens to you. 
Good luck to all. VV


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

VinhoVerde said:


> Please be careful when considering your response to these requests. I have recently moved from North America to Europe :0 and, upon notifying banks and financial institutions of my change of address, promptly found that I cannot open new accounts with banks that I have been with for several years, will not be able to get my credit card renewed when it expires, cannot get a new credit card from my bank, and summarily had an account closed because of the change in address. I think these are all related events, thus my suspicion is that you might find your accounts frozen or closed if you do not comply. And even if you do, you may run into difficulties as I did.
> I'd suggest that everyone complies, but do complain vigorously and keep us informed of what happens to you.
> Good luck to all. VV


Hi,
If the bank asks me for this info and I refuse - they are welcome to freeze my account - then they won't be able to collect the mortgage!!
As they haven't confirmed my identity (to their new standards) - they won't be able to send me letters about collecting the outstanding mortgage amounts - as they haven't confirmed who I am and where I live!
Cheers
Steve


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