Opening A Bank Account

[fruitsalad]

How does someone open a bank account without I.d. he has an out of date passport, and doesnt want to renew it as he has no intention of travelling out of the uk, he doesnt drive so he doesn't have a driving licence, he has a bus pass but bank wont accept it and a birth certificate, but thats not enough

[factor-fiction]

The bank will usually suggest acceptable documents

[Old_Geezer]

Need to ask the bank what they do accept. Would not a bill or two indicating residence, be accepted ? Maybe he can get a bank manager to vouch for him, for a small fee.

[fruitsalad]

Yes he went into the bank today, they will accept bills with his name and address on, but needs photo and signature proof also, bills alone are not enough.

[Old_Geezer]

Try taking a photo and getting their GP to sign for it ?

The bank really ought to be more helpful is saying exactly what they will accept and ensuring that at least on of the accepted documents is likely to be available to anyone.

Maybe he wants one of those "Yes I'm over 18" cards :-)

[bhg481]

Unless his passport is decades out of date I would have thought that the photo on it was good enough to identify him.

[Prudie]

So what inputs will he make into this account?wages? Perhaps a wage-slip and I'd have thought an out-of-date passport would still be valid ID for photo as long as it's not too out-of-date.

[shoota]

Try another bank....

[fruitsalad]

Its for a life insurance payout he will be getting in a few months, not for a wage etc hes retired, I also thought his out of date passport would be ok the photo still looks like him, its not that old, I dont think the young man in the bank was very helpful at all.

[scorpiojo]

Does your friend receive any state benefits?

http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/currentaccounts/cashminder

[scorpiojo]

Sorry, scroll down to Cashminder account, proofs required

[mrchirpy]

I had exactly the same problem, but the bank I was trying to join told me to contact the Tax Office and ask for a "Notice of Coding". They even gave me the exact number to ring, because it's not so easy to find just by googling. I rung the tax office, they sent the form, and I was able to join the bank. But the bank should have suggested this option in YOUR case. It worked for me, the tax people knew exactly what I wanted and why, because apparently it's quite a common request.

[fairycakes69]

My daughter had the same problem, she already had a bank account with the bank as a child, but to get an adult one she had to give ID, passport that we used to get her junior account was out of date for the adult one and they wouldn't accept it. In the end she got a provisional driving licence, even though she had no intention of driving.

[Retrochic]

Go back to the bank, tell them you are opening an account to put a substantial amount of money into it and if they are not more helpful you will go elsewhere.

[boxtops]

Try going to a different bank?

[Daffy6543]

Any documents from the Tax Office? Many banks will accept non-photographic ID.
When my oh worked at Yorkshire Bank they preferred but didn't insist on photo ID.

[themas]

A lot of banks are b....... stupid about this. They insist on telling people they are required by law to demand various types of document when in fact the law does not lay down the detail & it is the policy of the individual bank which is often so unnecessarily restrictive. The law simply requires that the banks satisfy themselves of the identity.

Try to insist on seeing someone much more senior - the front line staff just don't have the authority to use their initiative or do anything other than state the policy rigidly.