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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think I wasn’t being unreasonable

23 replies

BigPinkBall · 17/04/2018 17:54

I work for a bank, a man calls up to ask about the process for getting a remortgage, he’s not a customer so I tell him before the mortgage goes through we’ll need to see his photo ID. He tells me he doesn’t have any photo ID and it’s against his human rights to expect him to pay for a driving license or passport. Am I being unreasonable to think it’s worth the £30 for a provisional driving licence to use as ID to be able to buy the house you want?

OP posts:

Shoxfordian · 17/04/2018 17:59

Did you ask him which section of the Human Rights Act? That's the sort of thing I do when people misquote the law at me.

Butterymuffin · 17/04/2018 18:06

I'd have told him I was very sorry and that I totally understood that he'd be going somewhere else for his mortgage

RedSkyAtNight · 17/04/2018 18:06

Not everyone can get a provisional licence -for example if your eye sight is not good enough.

I agree with him that requiring photo ID seems very strict - are there no alternative non-photo forms of ID that could be used?

MyKingdomForBrie · 17/04/2018 18:10

Seems strict to need photo ID to lend someone probably hundreds of thousands of pounds?! Ummm...

What non-photo ID do you think would be ok??

It’s a regulatory requirement anyway.

Original poster

BigPinkBall · 17/04/2018 18:10

It has to be one photo Id and one proof of address, it’s bank policy, I can’t do anything about it!

OP posts:

Original poster

BigPinkBall · 17/04/2018 18:12

I'd have told him I was very sorry and that I totally understood that he'd be going somewhere else for his mortgage

I wish I could! There’s plenty of things I’d say if our calls weren’t recorded

OP posts:

AWaspOnAWindowInAHeatwave · 17/04/2018 18:12

@BigPinkBall similar line of work, get this all the time (along with "well I didn't need to provide xyz when I last took out finance 15 years ago") - so frustrating...

BananasAreTheSourceOfEvil · 17/04/2018 18:17

one of my old lecturers used to joke that call centres and customer service departments should have a suicide hotline for staff for the amount of abuse and haranguing they got.

Andylion · 17/04/2018 18:18

Not everyone can get a provisional licence -for example if your eye sight is not good enough.

I agree with him that requiring photo ID seems very strict - are there no alternative non-photo forms of ID that could be used?

I used to be ticked off that I couldn’t do things that required photo ID, which usually meant a driver’s license. Then someone told me that there was, in Ontario, a non-driving ID. It looks just like a driver’s licence, but it’s a different colour. Yes, I had to pay for it, but it makes sense for some places to require photo ID, so it’s not unreasonable.

Is there anything similar in the UK?

Kelsoooo · 17/04/2018 18:20

Yes, a passport.

ShatnersBassoon · 17/04/2018 18:20

I think you can still get Citizen Cards for a few pounds. That would solve the problem for anyone who can't get other forms of photo ID.

It must be very hard not to be rude to customers who think these everyday demands don't apply to them.

bridgetreilly · 17/04/2018 18:24

He's right that he doesn't have to get photo ID. It's not a legal requirement to have an ID card in the UK.

He's wrong that he doesn't have to get photo ID if he wants to get a mortgage. Up to him which he'd rather.

Original poster

BigPinkBall · 17/04/2018 18:27

It must be very hard not to be rude to customers who think these everyday demands don't apply to them.

Like you wouldn’t believe! When I first started I’d make what seemed like reasonable suggestions, like if a customer wanted an appointment in one branch but they were full I’d suggest the branch about half a mile away, and they’d fly off the handle saying I shouldn’t tell them what to do etc. so I just don’t now, it’s not worth the hassle trying to be helpful!

OP posts:

Glumglowworm · 17/04/2018 18:52

It does seem a strict requirement although I totally get it’s not your decision! I work in financial services although not lending money so different risks involved and we accept several non-photo ID documents to confirm identity. But then, we’re getting customers money not lending then hundreds of thousands of £!

If I didn’t have photo ID I’d probably ask the question if there’s a way around it like a birth certificate and extra address documents, but I wouldn’t have a go at the person saying no because I know they’re following their company policy.

If someone wants a bank to lend them tens or hundreds of thousand, they need to accept the terms of the bank, including verifying identity!

LittleSausage1 · 17/04/2018 19:05

I work within the sector and many of the lenders we work with require photo ID for mortgages, I think it's pretty standard across the board.

Andylion · 17/04/2018 19:20

Many years ago, I worked in retail, Sears. When we were being trained to work the cash, we were told that passports were not an acceptable form of ID because they didn’t have the address on them.

Makes sense to me.

We provide a service at work that requires non-members to provide ID and an email address. I recall one woman refusing to give me her email address. She remained standing at the desk in front me, repeating her refusal. Fine with me, go somewhere else where they charge or better yet, where they don’t provide our resources. No skin off my nose.

hidingmystatus · 17/04/2018 19:32

This will probably be to do with money laundering regulations. It's pretty standard, to make sure that they comply with the law relating to preventing money laundering.

Myneighboursnorlax · 17/04/2018 19:36

My husband doesn’t have a licence or a passport. We got a mortgage no problem. He just had to produce two other documents in place of one photo ID.

Justanotherlurker · 17/04/2018 19:49

Photo ID isn't required as such and can be covered by 2 other types such as bills and bank statements.

However photo id is becoming the norm as there is software that can do a background check for authentication/fraud etc based as photo id is a little harder to fake.

immortalmarble · 17/04/2018 19:51

Well he was obviously a knob. I did find it hard back in the day though as a passport was expensive and I couldn’t drive.

TeeniefaeTroon · 17/04/2018 19:53

I had to take copies of my parents passports as proof of who they were (for my work) Mum was most bemused 😂

whiteroseredrose · 17/04/2018 20:08

When I worked in a Building Society we accepted proof of entitlement to State Benefits or Pension or a tax statement for ID. Some older customers had let their passports and driving licences lapse.

Original poster

BigPinkBall · 17/04/2018 20:10

I did find it hard back in the day though as a passport was expensive and I couldn’t drive.

The thing is the payments on the remortgage would be less than he was currently paying, so even if he had to pay for a passport he’d probably recoup the cost within the first month, apparently it was the principle that he shouldn’t have to get one just for ID, because he had no intention of driving or going abroad, that was against his human rights!

OP posts:

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