Paper bank statements - Lloyds/Halifax particularly

[Vickythevan63]

Does anyone work for Lloyds bank or Halifax?

All my family bank with Lloyds, we have always opted for paper statements as we have needed them for ID in a number of circumstances, and printed at home/branch versions aren’t always accepted. Plus our young adult DC have no other address ID.

Lloyds and associated banks have sent out letters saying paper statements are no longer available, it says temporarily but I suspect it’s permanent.

I have called the Lloyds account helpline, been told that the issue is temporary “but we can’t say how long for as it is confidential” and basically tough, you can’t opt in for them at the moment. The guys attitude was “if you can access online banking, you can access and print statements”.

I pointed out that printing at home is only an option if you have a printer, and as for the branch option…What branches? “We can only provide printed statements to vulnerable people”.

Does anyone work for the Lloyds group and can shed any light on this problem, is it really temporary, or is it permanent as I (and many on MSE forum) suspect.

Also, can anyone recommend other banks that still send paper statements? Or at least let you request one if needed as ID.

We get paper statements with Nationwide and First Direct.

Coop do

NatWest offer paper statements, though like most other places they try to persuade you to go paperless.

Thanks all, yes Lloyds try and persuade us to go paperless every few weeks, but this seems different.

Billed as a temporary issue, but with no hint of timescale or cause, which makes me suspect it will be permanent.

Halifax have sent me a matter of fact email saying this is happening

its a problem because I find when places need proof of residence etc they want a paper statement from the bank, not a screenshot or a copy you print yourself.

you've reminded me, I was going to call them about that.

Paperless is going to be the norm going forward. In the long term it is going to be the 'proof of residence' that is going to have to change, rather than going back to wasteful paper statements.

We can do all our banking by phone, plane boarding tickets on the phone etc etc. Like it or not paperless is real.

I remember people talking about paperless offices back in the 90s. It is taking a lot longer than people thought back then

I prefer paper.
With online you have to remember you have it to know to search for it.
With filed paper records they are just there as needed, waiting for you.

@Vickythevan63 Sounds like a cynical move; I wouldn't trust it to be temporary either.
If they're using the excuse of changing IT systems, then they shouldn't change if the new one can't do something as simple as send paper statements.

A few years ago NatWest tried to force the issue by informing people that everyone would be changed to having online statements and that, only after this happened could people revert to paper by personally contacting NatWest or going online to state their preference.

I have online statements now as it suits me, especially as the postal service where I am is abysmal, but agree that such a change can cause real problems.

Good luck.

@NannyGythaOgg

I agree, but this can only be the norm when organisations wanting address ID allow printed statements to be used. I have had to provide ID a number of times recently, and without a bank/credit card statement, would have been snookered, as in every case, it says “original statements, not printouts”

@EmmaEmerald

I will be interested to hear what they say, can you post, or at least PM me.

The first person I spoke to didn’t know about the letter, said there was no changes in statements.

The second knew about the letter and said it was temporary but confidential. Why not make a public announcement if it’s only temporary?

A guy on MSE was indeed told that it is to reduce sending paper statements. I suspect this is the closest explanation to the truth.

How do the people demanding the statements know whether they are originals or you have printed them out at home?

@CarlaH

The paper and colouring give it away.

But also, not everybody who has online banking has a printer at their disposal either. It’s alright saying go into a branch, but we don’t all live near a big town or city, how far do they expect us to travel?

I would be happy with a statement every 3 months (which is usually the timescale if providing for ID), and to pay a small fee, but that isn’t even an option.

Thanks. I did wonder but assumed that modern printers won't be that different and paper is much of a muchness.

I have been resisting the move to paperless for the same reason as you but feel we won't be able to much longer. I wonder what on earth we are supposed to do when that happens.

If this is meant to be temporary, I wonder if the third party who does their printing and mass mailing has been hacked. We use a third party in my business and a large third party provider was hacked several weeks ago, which meant we had to use an alternative and pause some work. I know that this third party is currently running investigations for all of its clients to see if and where data breeches may have happened.

An organisation I used to work for outsourced statement printing to a third party, which was fine until their works got flooded, so I did wonder if something like this happened with Lloyds. I have no actual knowledge, though.

Most places will accept your passport as ID and your driving licence as proof of address. You can also use your council tax letter as proof of address even if it is longer than 3 months.
I have recently had lots of dealings with banks, lawyers, pension companies etc on behalf of someone I have POA for and passport and driving licence combination was the preferred option for all of them.

@rainbowunicorn

That’s ok except we don’t get a council tax letter, it’s all online.

Plus my adult kids (still at home) don’t have council tax nor driving licences.

Nor do they have a mortgage, rental agreement, benefit letter, hospital appt letters….which leaves bank and credit card statements more or less. It’s very difficult when you are faced with a list of potential address ID and most don’t apply. They use passports for name, but the address ID is always a problem.

I had to provide hard copies of bank statements to my solicitor, when I was acting as executor. I printed them off at home and that was fine.

I support organisations moving away from printing. It’s largely unnecessary. But they should make provisions to print statements for customers in certain circumstances, even if they charge a small fee.

So what happens if you can't access online banking? I'm thinking about an elderly family member who banks with one of these. I act as a go-between for him when necessary because companies want to do things online, but he's surely entitled to some privacy.

OP I just looked at the email again

It does indeed say it's a temporary measure, sorry, my brain doesn't work well atm

I might ring them anyway, if I do I'll let you know what they say

Agree, plus easier to find generally

When I applied for my mortgage last year I sent over electronic statements for proof of address. When I enrolled at the GP locally last year they accepted a printout of an online statement and they were by no means the first to do so as I opted out of bank statements years ago.

I really haven’t come across anywhere refusing a print out of an online bank statement as proof of ID. Yes, you mightn’t have a printer but there’s usually somewhere locally who will do a printout for 20p.

If you can post on here you have access to the internet you can order them via online site/app or ring up or do you not have a phone ether
its complete waste of paper for the majority of people
just order one when you need it

Thanks for all your responses, I hear what people are saying with respect to printed off statements, however it is not always possible.

My kids are awaiting a document from the Irish govt, then can apply for an Irish passport. Just been checking my application from last year, both name and address must be verified by “original council tax, bank statement or govt correspondence.”

If the document they are waiting for doesn’t arrive in next few weeks, their latest bank statement will be out of date, and I am not sure what second piece of ID can be anyway. Eldest might have a tax letter, youngest hasn’t though.

It states their passport is also needed separately as photo ID.

Let’s hope that Lloyds are telling the truth re temporary problem, I can maybe understand them saying it’s confidential if it’s a data breach, but not a flood problem. Even so, why can’t they be upfront on their website and in media, “we can’t send statements at moment, but we are working on getting the problem sorted”.

@rwalker

yes I have a phone, when I spoke to Lloyds today I was told that no one can have a statement posted out unless they are vulnerable, so even going online or ringing up, they still won’t send you one!

The letter they have sent just says you cannot get a posted statement.