Banks and identity and argh

[secretive_bus]

I'm been dragged back here by my compulsion to moan. I went to the bank today to see if I could change my classic account into a student one, as the large overdraft may come in handy later on. Despite the signs about it all over the place and the fact that Lloyds has been advertising it as often as they can, alarm bells rang in my head when the

Comments

[notdan]

Banks are cunts - I also have neither a passport nor a driving lisence, so the hoops I had to jump through when I needed to open a new account were really quite scary.

Sadly, the benefits of a student account are enough that it's worth jumping through the hoops to get one.

[fizzixrat]

I'm afraid you'd have had at least that much trouble over ID, in a bank or at the airport, if you lived in the States.

The driver's license offices over here do have a solution for that though, which is mainly intended for working minor non-drivers and non-driving elderly, but certainly can be used by other non-drivers: an ID which looks a bit like a driver's license, but doesn't grant any actual driving privileges. It's also a little cheaper than a driver's license proper, and you don't have to go through all those tests. I had one of these when I was 14 so that I'd have ID for writing checks, dealing with the bank, etc.

Granted, all that doesn't excuse the bank from being jerks over a whole lot of other issues. Like their working hours. ;) I mean, come on -- everyone else has jobs and is working between 9 and 5, so how the heck is one ever supposed to find time to actually go to the bank???

[secretive_bus]

I understand the fact they need these laws and requirements; most are jolly useful. I'm just slightly irritated as only two/three weeks ago my under 18s account was upgraded to a classic adult account whilst I was at the bank and ID wasn't necessary.

[anonymous]

My bank account was technically upgraded to a Student account without anything, all I had to do was send off a letter saying I was going to university, I didn't even need a UCAS letter. However while my account was upgraded to a student account, I didn't actually get any of the advantages other than the discount card, which I have never used, i.e. the £1000 interest free overdraft, the VISA Connect Card, or the cheque book. When I went into the branch I had to produce my passport and provisional driving licence to prove who I was to apply for these items that were supposed to come with the account upgrade, luckily I anticipated their ID needs because the last time I had gone there to get ID'd was 1998, anyway they had a look on their database and apart from my address they knew nothing about me, they used my email address as the security check, ridiculous considering that I have dozens of email addresses. They had no record of my place of birth or even my nationality, maybe they haven't heard of the Data Protection Act.

[nealdouglas]

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