Hmm..OT

[Huge]

And in these cases, I refuse to do it.

[Andy Burns]

I used to be stubborn like that, then every January I'd spend days hunting for various bank statements for the tax return, the online history was useless as it only went back a few months ... having converted to paperless banking a full history of archived PDFs are available.

[whisky-dave]

I use the printer at work, or there's the option of friends printing it, if that has failed then there the local internet cafe or library where you ca n get printouts. My solicitor has accepted attached PDFs for certain things but not others in the same way as sometime a photocopy of a diocument will do whole with others you must have the original. Presently it seems that d eath certificates are only accepted if they are the originals no photocopie s or emailed PDFs are valid not sure why.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Quite. I've ended up being treasurer for a small club. Turnover about £2500 a year max. Income mainly cash. Wanted a bank account for it, but had no idea about what was available now as I've had mine for getting on for 60 years. ;-)

Initially thought about one where I could pay in cash easily - which ruled out my own bank. Nothing suitable I could find - so decided to open another account with my own bank - and did it online. Ended up with a current account by mistake. But it actually does more than I wanted. The answer to the cash income was simply to do a credit transfer from my account to it for the amount, and spend the cash myself.

[Andy Burns]

When I wanted a new business account, I tried my personal bank of 35 years standing, they wanted a fortnight just for an appointment.

I crossed the road to an ex-building society and opened one (two actually) there and then. They did need to see my passport which I had with me, but didn't ask for utility bills (perhaps due to the separation between me as an individual and as a business?)

My personal bank also closed my branch without thinking it worth mentioning to me, about the only reasons I stay with them are because the sort/account codes are burnt into my brain, and I get free CHAPS transfers, there doesn't seem to be much loyalty from their side ...

[Mike Clarke]

I still get the best of both worlds with HSBC. I use online banking but declined the option of going paperless and I can still view online statements for the last 6 years.

[Huge]

Only until the day you close the account, at which point you lose access to the history, unless you create and maintain the archive, and here you are again, doing something yourself you actually pay someone else to do (like self-service checkouts at supermarkets, which I also will not use.)

[FMurtz]

What if they are lost, all replacements will be photocopies

[NY]

I presume photocopies are accepted in all circumstances if they have been certified by an authorised person (solicitor or even post offices which offer the service).

Otherwise you have to pay through the nose for multiple official copies - and I'm not sure how long it takes a certificate to get from the record office where you registered the birth, marriage or death to the central office (which has variously been Somerset House, St Catherine's House, Holborn and Myddelton Street, Clerkenwell) which issues certificates. I wonder if register offices also issue copies of their own certificates.

[Roger Hayter]

All certificates issued are equally copies - of the original registry entry. The equality is absolutely true for death certificates - for birth certificates the initial copy and early ones are regarded as more equal than later ones for passport and ID use.

[Bob Eager]

Order online and yiu get them within about 5 days.

[Steve Walker]

Wife got a letter from HMRC telling her she had overpaid tax and was due a refund of a little over 1000 pounds.

The options to get it were sign in to your online tax account and tell them to put it in your bank account in the next 3 days or wait 60 days and then they'd send you a cheque.

As she hadn't registered for an online tax account, we tried to set it up. She needed a copy of her P60 (you can get it from your employer - except she wasn't working any more and the refund was from tax overpaid on her pension!); driver's licence (it has expired and is in for renewal); passport (again expired and her still current Irish one is no good).

Alternatively, there are links to prove your ID through other routes - which in this case took her to Experian. Experian lead her through a number of questions, before deciding her only option was a UK passport!

Why couldn't they either send the damned cheque in the first place; send it after a week if you don't request an electronic payment; or just give a simple option to say you want a cheque - which is of course in your name and sent to your address anyway!

SteveW

[tabbypurr]

They don't want you to have the money. Why else?

[Martin Brown]

Given that the document is marked Crown Copyright it has to be an original or the person making a certified copy is committing an offence. They can scan and keep a copy as proof of having seen an original.

It's about £4 each ordered at the same time as registration and unless the deceased's banking arrangements are very complex 2 or 3 will do. You do get them back and you need to allow for at least one being lost by an incompetent bank clerk if sending them off by post.

I don't know why they can't provide an online link (a la drivving license) that can be used by institutions to access details directly instead of moving pieces of certified archive quality paper around.

Yes they do, on the spot when you go to register something.

And will do it for historic certificates if you go to the right office.

[Martin Brown]

There is a trick to it. There is a box hidden somewhere on the tax form that says something like "send me a cheque" if overpaid.

Otherwise you can get into the loop that you have entered where they try to hang onto your money for as long as possible. Other way round and they hit you for a £100 fine immediately.

You have to tick the right box for that and it is cunningly hidden. (not the default which I thought was by electronic transfer)

[NY]

Yes this would be an excellent idea. Anything which gets rid of the faffing around and expense has to be a goof thing. I'm a firm believer in the policy of "you [the official department] want this sodding information, so you should have the hassle of obtaining it in whatever form will satisfy you - why should I, as the subject of the information, have to jump through hoops to satisfy your requirements". Let dept A talk directly to dept B without using the punter as the piggy in the middle.

After all, there's nothing in a birth certificate which proves that you are the person whose details are documented in it - as used as a plot device in The Day of the Jackal.

[NY]

Try dealing with US financial companies. Many years ago I bought some shares when the company where I was working in a gap year before university floated on the stock exchange. The shares have gone through several transfers of ownership and are now owned by GEC in the USA, quoted in $US. Dealing with the company is difficult because of the time difference and not wanting to incur transatlantic phone calls.

I've decided to sell, but the registrar wants details of the share certificates - which I'm sure I've never had. There is the ridiculous situation that they have a record of how many shares I have, but I still need to produce some pieces of paper. Why isn't their entry on their computer the definitive record? There's a fairly hefty charge for replacing the missing certificates, but still a lot less than the chares will be worth. But they can't sell the shares and deduct the replacement charge out of the proceeds. Oh no. They want a US$ cheque (not even a bank transfer) in advance. They also want to send me the proceeds as a cheque, for which the cost of converting it to UK£ is another £100; for some reason they can't do it electronically.

Everything in their instructions is geared up for US citizens, and they make no allowances in their procedures for overseas people. I wish I'd sold the shares while they were still quoted in UK£ before the takeover...

[Martin Brown]

And they now do check for that now so I don't see why they cannot take a full name and DOB and do all their own checks. They have the full database and must do a full check to avoid issuing dodgy passports.

[Martin Brown]

If it floated before the Big Bang you almost certainly did. They should be able to do a letter of indemnity or whatever they call it on the wrong side of the pond if you declare the certificates lost. It will be chargeable but not as expensive as reissuing certificates just to sell them. I expect they will want paying by a US$ cheque drawn on a US bank.

Do you know anyone in the USA who can make the payment for you? Then use paypal to reimburse them. Might be the least bad way to hold the balance in dollars too (rather than take an exchange rate hit and the risk of the pound going though the floor due to future Brexit c*ck ups).

You can get multicurrency accounts in the UK if the amount merits keeping it in dollars.

Of course - there is nothing outside the USA.

[whisky-dave]

, if that has failed then there the local internet cafe or library where yo u can get printouts. My solicitor has accepted attached PDFs for certain th ings but not others in the same way as sometime a photocopy of a diocument will do whole with others you must have the original. Presently it seems th at death certificates are only accepted if they are the originals no photoc opies or emailed PDFs are valid not sure why.

You can get copies done from where the originals were from I think it cost about £8 per copy if after about a month, in the same way you can get copies of birth or marriage certs they have to be 'copied' from the origina l vendor of those certs. In the same way you can get printed bank statement s if needed by mortgage companies.