Stories from our users: Rowan
It's not easy to prove who you are, even if you have all the official pieces of paper.
This is the third of a three-part series.
About 47% of adults in the UK are married. That’s a lot of people who have tied the knot!
Marriage is one of the big life events that throws people headfirst into the flawed process of digital identity verification.
In the last of our three user stories, we hear from Rowan, who changed her name after getting married in 2022.
Rowan’s experience shows us that even if you have every piece of paper and factoid you need, proving who you are is still an infuriating, unworkable process for far too many people.
This newsletter is a lightly-edited version of Rowan's own words.
Before the wedding, I didn't have a passport. I had to prove my identity to the local authority when giving notice of our intention to marry. They told us we had to bring identification at the time we booked—that was either online or by email.
The process meant proving we are who we say we are and we live where we say we live. They wanted to see a passport or birth certificate, and a bank statement.
“I don’t know why it all hinged on my mum’s surname”
We had to book a second appointment because they told us a birth certificate isn't enough if you're born after 1980. I think that's because it doesn't have my mum's maiden name on it.
So my mum had to post me her original birth certificate to prove her identity.
I’m eligible for a British passport and had held one for my entire life, until it expired before the COVID pandemic. I didn't want to have to pay twice for a new passport: firstly to prove my identity and then again to update it to my married name.
So I had to bring two other documents, even though they don't have my face on them, unlike my expired passport which does.
At the registry office, they said that people get it wrong all the time, because it’s really confusing.
The government website says that a valid passport or a birth certificate is needed if born before January 1, 1983. It doesn’t say what to do if you don't have a passport, or you’re born after that date.
I didn’t have to prove that it was my birth certificate at any point. I just brought it with me. There was nothing to link me to the bit of paper I was clutching.
They just needed to see my mum’s maiden name. I could’ve brought my Mum’s original birth certificate, or my Dad’s birth certification and their marriage certificate. I don’t know why it all hinged on my mum’s surname at birth.
Papers, please
The story doesn’t end there, unfortunately.
The first change I made was to my Monzo bank account. They were super-modern. I just had to send them a photo of the marriage certificate.
I eventually had to get a new passport for our honeymoon. That was annoying. It was 10 months after the wedding. I was trying to renew my passport, but also get them to change the name on it.
I had to go to a physical post office to pick up a copy of the paper passport form because my passport has expired and I’m changing my name. That form isn’t available online.
My name change needed supporting documentation, and there’s no way to do that online. I had to use the entirely-analogue passport process, and send the original supporting documents with it.
I had to pay more for the application, and more again for the postage because I needed the marriage certificate back to register my name change elsewhere.
“A pain in the arse”
I haven’t changed my driving licence yet, but it’s the same story: send off support documents because there's no online form. Go to the post office to get the form (or apply for them to send it to you).
Technically it’s fine because I’ve not legally changed my name by deed poll. I’m allowed to have my previous name on my driving licence—it isn’t breaking any rules.
For Barclays, I had to go into the branch (which I'm lucky they still have) to book an appointment. I then had to go back with our marriage certificate for them to manually change everything.
Changing my name with the energy company was simpler. I could just email them without providing a marriage certificate.
At the moment I'm trying to consolidate my work pensions and that’s more of a headache. That is the current saga. I’m trying to put them into my current pension, which is under my married name. All the others have my old name, and I have to get in touch with each individual pension company. To change the name on my pension, I have to send each of them the original marriage certificate.
I also had to send the original marriage certificate to the local authority for the electoral roll. I’m not sure how my name is listed on our council tax bill. For the NHS, I had to visit the GP surgery to update my records.
So for now, all my documentation is split between my maiden and married names. It’s all been a pain in the sodding arse.
Rowan’s circumstances aren’t extraordinary, or even unusual.
Her story is another example of people’s actual needs falling through the cracks in antiquated systems which require people to do unnecessary paper-based admin, on their own time and at their own expense.
Our ambition with VouchSafe is simple: move us beyond needing a pricey piece of paper to prove who you are.
If you’d like to help, we’d love to talk: hello@vouchsafe.id
Names have been changed.
Thanks to Rowan for her time, and for sharing these beautiful photos from her wedding day.