Getting frustrated to be needing photo ID.

[Soubriquet]

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.

@iwantmyownicecreamvan That MUST have been a pain, although I think it's standard practice, isn't it, not being able to move large amounts of money in one day? I seem to remember the same problem with a savings account after Mum died.. I got the bus to my bank's sister bank in the city centre with every form of ID I could think of.. it all went through fine - I was VERY surprised they relied heavily on my bus pass, lol, it being the only photo ID I had!
I'd thought that must have been the easiest ID to forge or whatever!

Sorry but that is probably the most ridiculous anti id argument i heard. 🙈

Well thanks for your considered rebuttal, I accept your apology.

Benefit applications & house rentals require photo ID, as well as bank accounts and jobs.

Get it’s a PITA but it’s more of a PITA when someone manages to open accounts in your name or withdraw your money because they don’t ask for it. Ultimately they are trying to prevent fraud which will be way more difficult to sort out than the ID

The only photo ID I have is my passport. I have no bus pass and a paper driving licence. Recently I flew to Edinburgh and had a panic at the airport because I hadn’t brought my passport. Luckily on checking the Loganair website it transpired you only need photo ID if you are checking luggage and I wasn’t - hand luggage only. Phew.

I've made it to 55 without any photo id

Most developed countries have some kind of ID. It's not emotive and has nothing to do with own innocence and presumtion of fraud and loss of trust. There is nothing emotive on simple photo IDs. Because of arguments like this, Brits are provid their identity with bunch of fakeable letters and it allows for quite a lots of issues.
You can also travel on it in EU. So saves money if someone is travelling just within that for example. It's nothing to do with presuming one is a fraud. Ime it can prevent fraud to some levels.

Exactly. DH had financial loan application in his name. That would be very difficult with proper photo IDs. I even recall some threads on here that husband(ex now)/parent/sibling/child took out loans in name of OPs.

They didn't last time I applied for any of those. Admittedly some were many many years ago. Some were less than 5.

If things have changed and you now have to have photo ID then there should have been some kind of campaign letting people know that they now need photo ID, and how to get some.

@Neededanewuserhandle

'That's a laugh - places ask for photo ID but no-one ever scrutinises the photo. I reckon I could use a photo of D Dog in my ID and no-one would notice.'

I suppose it depends what YOU look like! 😂

I carry around driving license. Need for getting into government buildings for meetings, picking up parcels, employer needs to see proof entitled to work in uk.

we have the ridiculous charade where the 99% of people who are legit have to prove it.

Agree with the burden of enforcement being on the employer to check but it's not really a charade. In order to enforce the rules the employer has to ask for Right to Work Proof - usually a passport. They cannot decide that you "look British" so won't bother, or conversely that you "look foreign" and have a non-English name so will ask you for proof. The checks have to be done across the board to ensure no discrimination. And yes, that means your 16 year old applying for their first part-time job in a cafe as well as someone applying for senior position.

I have a provisional licence I use for ID. I don’t drive. I don’t remember it costing a lot? Of course I used to get ID’d a lot buying booze, haven’t had that since lockdown 🤣

I'm surprised at the incredulity that the OP is getting from not requiring photo ID until now.
If she doesn't go out or travel on any form of public transort then she wouldn't need any.
I travel, drive and have a senior railcard. I have been working for the same company for over 18 years, and never needed photo ID to work there.
As I am older, I already have the things in place that you now need photo ID for.

In fact the only times I have used any form of photo ID recently is when travelling by train, when I had to complete documents to be guarantor for DD and when I last went abroad 4 years ago.

I don't go to the sort of bars that have bouncers on the door, and at 64 I will never pass as underage.

BTW a lot of places won't accept Citizen cards. Bars won't accept them if someone looks underage. It has to be a driving licence or passport. One of DD's friends has to take her passport out with her when they go out as she isn't able to apply for a provisional driving licence for health reasons.

I haven't seen anything in that which disproves the point I made. Why do I need a card with a photo on to show you unless you are assuming I cannot be trusted to tell the truth to you about who I am?
As for other countries, their ID systems are many and various and may or may not be appropriate to the places where they are used; not all countries have a compulsory national ID card.

Just get a provisional license. Not expensive and you'll get it in a couple of weeks

Because the world has moved on from when people could be trusted to be telling the truth about who they were, largely because most people lived in small communities where they were known by sight by those around them or could be verified by a mutual contact. Nowadays, if you want to be identified and seen as credible by a lender or an airline or an employer or a landlord who doesn’t know you from Adam and has no basis on which to assess you as trustworthy and believe you would have no reason to lie when you say you’re Laura Jones born on 14 March 1980 in Gloucester, you need some way to demonstrate that you’re telling the truth.

And unless you regularly spend your time sending your bank details to Nigerian princes who promise you millions from their fortunes which they need your help to access (and maybe you do, if you genuinely believe people can always be trusted to tell the truth about their identities) then I’m sure you’re well aware that sometimes, people lie about who they are for their own gain.

Those of us who can't drive for medical reasons can't get one

Honestly, if I knew I was only going to be using a provisional license solely for ID purposes, I’d have no qualms ticking the “no” box for health conditions. If you’ve no intention of ever getting behind the wheel of a car or of trying to obtain a full driving license, then omitting something so as to be able to buy a piece of plastic with your name and photograph on it doesn’t seem like a particularly grievous crime, on the basis that the whole system is entirely reliant on self-declaration in the first place.

How have you got a job without ID? it's a basic requirement

You need photo ID to vote now so if you want to have a voice you are going to need to spend a couple of £ for ID.

I do agree that maybe a national ID card may be required but I imagine will still come at a cost

Well done for your incredibly limited life I guess.

Was that really necessary @Albiboba?