'Printed from the internet' proof of address not accepted

Hello,

I needed a proof of address for quite a large company. Send them a :monzo: bank statement and it got rejected. I received a letter demanding that the document provided is not printed from the internet.

Sure the list of documents that I could, in theory, use is quite long but… I’m a student so no Council Tax statement, all bills are online, the tenancy document is older than the required 3 months, I don’t have a UK driving licence; you get the idea. :pensive:

I wrote to :monzo: and they kindly told me they can send me a paper bank statement. Thank you :+1: If not :monzo: willingness to send me a paper statement I could have been in trouble. However, I kept my Barclay’s acct (mostly on 0) exactly for that kind reasons (and for the free overdraft :grimacing:) so went to the branch to get a statement.

Did anyone had such demands made previously? I just find it absurd… what do you think? Is this even legal? :thinking:

Best, :slight_smile:

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Some places are just :man_facepalming:t3: That’s all I’m saying. How can they even tell as I’m sure the Monzo statement looks the same either way haha.

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I used to get it quite often but in last 5 or so years I don’t think I’ve encountered any business which doesn’t accept digital copies as proofs.

With regards to your council tax it’s generally a really good one to have I’m surprised you don’t even have a £0 bill. Might be one to confirm with your council. Although even now my council tax bill is always paperless!

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I wanted to be on the CT to always have an easy proof of address. But no, only the person I’m living with is on the CT. I am sure it is correct - at the beginning, both of us were on it. When I called the council to tell them about me being a student they removed my name.

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That’s bizarre, since I’m not sure how they can tell the difference anyway.

Even my mortgage I literally handed the building society a stack of printouts from my first direct account and they weren’t bothered at all.

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It feels like someone doesn’t know how the world works!

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Just reminded me I had this argument with HSBC when I remortgaged in 2014. I’d been online only statements for years with Co-op Bank. These statements didn’t include address and another detail they wanted. I had to ask the bank to send me copies and when they did they still didn’t have the full detail needed.

I ended up having multiple arguments with people at HSBC until they finally conceded that there would be no other way to prove my outgoings since they all went out of that account which was not my main account.

It’s crackers. If they really wanted to be modern they’d accept pdf uploads…

I’m happy to be corrected, but in a house in multiple occupation (which most student houses are as you rent a room and share communal areas) the landlord is liable for the council tax, not the tenants. The landlord then just needs to prove its fully occupied by full-time students to get the exemption.

In the 5 years I was a full-time student, I never once spoke to the council about council tax.

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Oh I’m not sure I never lived in an HMO but when I rented I was always named on the council tax even when a student

I got asked for proof of account for Sainsbury’s Loan. They accepted the printed statement from the app.

Interestingly when I rang to check the lady I spoke to has a monzo account! :slight_smile:

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Unfortunately that is the requirement with quite a few companies still. Proof of address has to be a document that physically has been sent to your home address, therefore is confirming your address. Guess that’s the logic behind it.

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Not the case because they are totally fine with a bank statement which you collected at the branch.

BTW, bank statements as proof of address are IMO stupid. Whenever I changed my address at the bank I was never asked to prove that the change is true.

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Have the statements been certified by the branch?

No. Simply a print out from Barclay’s self-service machines.

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Then I agree, does not make much of a sense :man_shrugging:
Sounds like someone is just trying to be difficult.

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Not an exemption really. Only 25% reduction. :neutral_face:

Also a misconception. Actually, the student is not ‘providing’ this 25% reduction. If you are a student the council ‘ignores’ your existence. It is as if you were not there. The 25% reduction is, in fact, the single occupant reduction. A few examples:

1 (or more) students - 0 non-students
No occupants = no CT

1 student - 1 non-student
So single occupant = -25%

2 students - 1 non-student
So single occupant = -25%

6 students - 2 non-students
no reductions!

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This is a weird policy. Just like giving registered blind 50% reduction on TV licence instead of not charging them at all.:frowning_face:

I suppose the logic is TV is sound and moving images :confused:

And audio description