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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Getting frustrated to be needing photo ID.

213 replies

Soubriquet · 17/04/2023 09:24

I don’t have a drivers license as I don’t drive. I don’t have a passport as I can’t afford to travel. I also never bothered with photo ID because I don’t drink or smoke.

This seems to be changing lately. Birth certificate and marriage certificates aren’t enough. More places require a photo ID which is a pita for me as it’s an expense I shouldn’t have to fork out for.

Yes, I know it’s better for security and stuff but it’s annoying.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
7
GoodChat · 17/04/2023 09:54

Soubriquet · 17/04/2023 09:51

I’ve just looked into a provisional…it says I can’t have a new one as I had one when I was 16, so I have to replace one.

Bleh

Have you still got your card? It's free to just change address.

Mortimercat · 17/04/2023 09:55

CocoPlum · 17/04/2023 09:49

As mentioned above - birth cert + NI number is accepted right to work in UK.

Show quote history

And as mentioned, in 30 years I personally don’t recall any employer or recruitment agent not requesting photo ID.

Original poster
Soubriquet · 17/04/2023 09:55

GoodChat · 17/04/2023 09:54

Have you still got your card? It's free to just change address.

Show quote history

No. I don’t even know where it is! Like I said, I had it when I was 16. I’m now a lot older Grin

OP posts:
GoodChat · 17/04/2023 09:56

@Soubriquet I did think the answer would be no but thought it was worth a try Grin

BarbaraofSeville · 17/04/2023 09:56

AlexiaR · 17/04/2023 09:53

Why don’t you just get a passport? It’s issued for 10 years and it’s the best form
of ID.

Because passports are expensive and there are cheaper alternatives?

Taking advantage of the opportunity for a free Citizens Card seems like a no brainer.

Like the OP has discovered, you don't know how much you need something, until you find life inconvenienced because you don't have it.

Caddyautopants · 17/04/2023 09:57

Mortimercat · 17/04/2023 09:55

And as mentioned, in 30 years I personally don’t recall any employer or recruitment agent not requesting photo ID.

Show quote history

It's OK to be incorrect. Nobody is going to judge you! 😁

Chowtime · 17/04/2023 09:59

DorisParchment · 17/04/2023 09:53

@Chowtime I used to work at a large international organisation in Europe, and we had to hold up our ID card to get into the car park. I got all the way to my office before I realised that I had picked up DH’s pass instead of my own. It wouldn’t normally have been an issue, but I had to attend a very highly classified meeting that day, where they did scrutinise your pass as you went in. No temporary passes were allowed. I went down with a colleague who started asking the security man some inane comments about the agenda for the meeting. I slipped past at a distance, just holding up my pass with DH’s face covered by my thumb. The security man just waved me through - I guess the pass was the right colour, and he’d seen me often enough before. The downside was that it was a very long meeting and I was stuck there for four hours as I couldn’t risk leaving and returning. They have better access control now and you couldn’t get away with this!

😀It's funny how we remember stuff like that and chuckle about it years later!

Eightiesgirl · 17/04/2023 09:59

My dh now has the same problem. He hasn't had a passport for years as we haven't been abroad and he's recently had to surrender his driving licence due to health reasons. He now has no photo ID. Luckily, we bought our house just before he surrendered his driving licence as we needed to show the Solicitor photo ID. I don't know what he'd have done otherwise. We informed the other week that we now have to take photo ID to vote, so instead he's registered to do a postal vote.

Whinge · 17/04/2023 10:00

PinkFootstool · 17/04/2023 09:51

Citizen Card are doing them for free with a code at the moment to support people wanting to vote.

@Soubriquet just quoting this incase you missed this solution.

wonkylegs · 17/04/2023 10:01

hulahoopqueen · 17/04/2023 09:34

Genuinely interested in what places require you to have a photo ID (besides for voting) if you don't drive, travel (to anywhere that requires a passport) or buy alcohol/cigarettes @Soubriquet ?

Most recently ......
I needed photo ID to hire a wheelchair from the Red Cross for my elderly mother

I've also needed it for a delivery of a camping cutlery set from Amazon as it had a knife in it

DH needed it for an accommodation booking when we went to the Cotswolds for a wedding last summer.

Luckily for us we both have passports and drivers licences (my elderly mum has nothing any more - so I have to do everything for her)

CocoPlum · 17/04/2023 10:07

wonkylegs · 17/04/2023 10:01

Most recently ......
I needed photo ID to hire a wheelchair from the Red Cross for my elderly mother

I've also needed it for a delivery of a camping cutlery set from Amazon as it had a knife in it

DH needed it for an accommodation booking when we went to the Cotswolds for a wedding last summer.

Luckily for us we both have passports and drivers licences (my elderly mum has nothing any more - so I have to do everything for her)

Show quote history

I always have my driver's licence ready but my amazon drivers just take one look at me and tick the box to say I'm old enough 😫

AlmostAJillSandwich · 17/04/2023 10:08

I totally understand your frustration! I'm 33, cannot drive or travel for health reasons/disability, and had to shell out end of last year for a 10 year passport renewal. Had only 1 month before my previous one (also never travelled on) ran out and i'd be shit out of luck getting a new one later on when i inevitably needed photo ID, because im so isolated by my disability i know nobody who could sign the photo, which you thankfully don't need for a renewal.
I looked in to pass cards etc, but a lot of places will only accept passport or driving lisence.
The cost of it certainly left a sour taste, since i can't bloody use it for anything else and i couldnt really aford it.

LakieLady · 17/04/2023 10:10

Albiboba · 17/04/2023 09:27

I can’t see how any adult really gets by in life without photo ID if I’m honest.

I've got a driving licence, a passport and a bus pass.

The only one of those I've been required to produce in the last 5 years is the bus pass, and I rarely use that, because we have a really poor bus service. I think my passport might even be out of date now, but as I don't plan to go abroad any time soon, I don't feel minded to renew it yet.

Original poster
Soubriquet · 17/04/2023 10:11

Thanks for the tip with the citizen card. Just got to find someone to sign it to verify me, and I’ll have that sorted

OP posts:
ReviewingTheSituation · 17/04/2023 10:13

I can't collect a parcel from the sorting office without photo ID.

Mistakenly picked up my out of date driving licence (new one had just arrived so had both) and the woman at the sorting office wouldn't let me take my parcel, she was scrutinizing it that hard! It had my photo, DOB and address, but she still wouldn't accept it as ID!

RandomMess · 17/04/2023 10:20

It is frustrating. After the nightmare of selling and buying a house I told DH to sort out having a photo driving license as it least it's cheaper than a passport. He will never use either of them!

CoffeeBean5 · 17/04/2023 10:22

Soubriquet · 17/04/2023 09:27

Well…I’m 35 this year and managed to get this far in life without it.

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Have you never had a job?

Caddyautopants · 17/04/2023 10:25

CoffeeBean5 · 17/04/2023 10:22

Have you never had a job?

Show quote history

Omg this is so rude! The only one who looks like an idiot, is you. People can have jobs without ever needing photographic ID.

Your lack of self awareness is astonishing.

gkd1234 · 17/04/2023 10:27

Citizen Cards have already done at least two promotions waiving the cost this year. Keep an eye on their website / follow them on social media. My daughter got a freebie on Valentine's Day and I noticed they did one over Easter too.

Spottycarousel · 17/04/2023 10:30

Scammers and fraudsters are everywhere sadly so while I agree with you in principle, it's the way the world is now.

LakieLady · 17/04/2023 10:30

Lysis · 17/04/2023 09:54

Why does everyone always suggest getting a provisional driving licence? There are millions of people who aren't permitted to drive by the DVLA for medical reasons.

OP, YANBU. The Govt should stop trying to bring in compulsory photo id by the back door and be upfront about it.

I agree.

It seems like it's near impossible these days to do anything without photo ID, although I got a new credit card a few months ago without providing any.

People who are marginalised are less likely to have photo ID though, it was a bit of a problem when I worked in homelessness prevention. We had to make sure we helped clients get it at the start of supporting them, because they had to produce it if when they signed tenancy agreements.

taxguru · 17/04/2023 10:31

CocoPlum · 17/04/2023 09:49

As mentioned above - birth cert + NI number is accepted right to work in UK.

Show quote history

But it doesn't prove that the person IS the right person. All it proves it that "someone" was born in the UK and has RTW in the UK. It does nothing to prove the person is who s/he says s/he is! It isn't proof of someone's identity at all. It's a RTW proof not an identity proof.

Original poster
Soubriquet · 17/04/2023 10:31

CoffeeBean5 · 17/04/2023 10:22

Have you never had a job?

Show quote history

Yes. I’ve had several different jobs. None have ever required me to show a photo ID. My birth certificate and NI was more than enough.

OP posts:
Emigratingimmigrant · 17/04/2023 10:33

taxguru · 17/04/2023 10:31

But it doesn't prove that the person IS the right person. All it proves it that "someone" was born in the UK and has RTW in the UK. It does nothing to prove the person is who s/he says s/he is! It isn't proof of someone's identity at all. It's a RTW proof not an identity proof.

Show quote history

It doesn't even prove RTW. That's why I am confused why it's accepted. NI and BC are not proof for RTW

Highworth · 17/04/2023 10:33

I started to have this problem a little while back. My driving licence is the old paper one. Haven't moved address in over twenty years and been in the same job for longer. Didn't go abroad. So no photo ID.
Have since got myself a passport. Bloody expensive though.