The issue was resolved but not satisfactorily-

I was not offered any compensation for the nightmare. I forced to get my ID (driving licence) verified for a fee at a post office. I then had to send the verified copy of ID and proof of address by guaranteed post (to make sure they didn't 'lose' it). Then after sometime, they asked me to send my verified passport copy! I paid to get the passport copy verified again. Then finally they activated my account.

A pretty horrible and frustrating experience overall.

I have a horror story about dealing with Tesco Bank which I would like to share.

I took out a Tesco Credit Card in September 2012. The credit check went smoothly and I was granted a credit limit of £3500. This card had an introductory offer of 0% on purchases for 16 months. So I spent £3475 on a large purchase to take advantage of the offer. So far so good, until...

After a couple of months, a customer service representative from Tesco called me and asked me to send in my Bank Statements and a copy of my ID by post, so that they can verify my identity. I was a bit perplexed to hear to this request. Why were they trying to verify my ID AFTER the credit card application was already successful and AFTER I already spent most of my credit limit? I was reluctant to send the documents through as I receive by bank statements online and there is a charge for receiving paper copies. Also, there is the inconvenience and cost of posting the items. From this point, Tesco bank stopped giving me access to my account online and even stopped discussing the account over the phone, saying that they could not verify my identity. As far as I remember, I was not sent a copy of Terms & Conditions of the credit card product either and I doubt it has any reference to identity check after money has already been spent on a credit card and card that is in use. Tesco Bank failed to provide me with any such reference to the Terms &Conditions. I searched their website as well, but failed to get a copy of the Terms & Conditions there either, unlike all the other banks.

But after my Christmas holidays , I sent my bank statements and a copy of my driving licence to Tesco Bank by post, just so that I could have access to my account again. After a few days, Tesco bank stated that they could not accept the copy of my ID as it was not 'certified'. I called them up to enquire about this and they said that I will need to get the copy of my ID certified from either any local bank branches, police station or the post office. Even though I was quite annoyed by this rejection (since they never mentioned the copy of my ID needed to be certified), I went to a local bank to get my ID copy certified. The help desk staff at the branch certified the ID copy for me and I sent the copy through by post again.

Tesco Bank again refused to accept the copy of the ID, stating that the address on the copy of my bank statement was not consistent with the address on my bank statement. I called them and explained to them that my driving licence had my parent's address. I was also a bit puzzled as they said they will need bank statements to verify my address and a copy of my ID to verify my identity (not my address). Also, if they are verifying my address from the copy of my ID, why did they need the bank statements in the first place?!Additionally, if I were to send in a copy of my passport, they would not have been able to see any addresses on that form of ID copy (as passports do not contain people’s addresses)! So whatever address is written on the copy of my driving licence is surely irrelevant. The copy of ID was meant to verify I am who I say I am, not where I am residing anyways. I explained all of this to them over the phone, but alas! They completely turned a deaf ear to all this and kept insisting that I get a new driving licence (just for them) and send them a certified copy of the new driving licence, bearing the cost of £20 for a replacement driving licence.

In the meantime, I requested paper copies of my credit card statement and amazingly, they were issued to my address (even though till this point my identity and address was under dispute)! That is not very secure of Tesco Bank is it?!

Again, extremely unwillingly, I did get a new driving licence with my new address. Then, after I went to my local bank, they refused to certify my ID, saying they will only certify documents for their own internal purposes and nothing else. I explained that I got my ID certified once before but the branch manager said that was a mistake and they will not do certify anything for outside use. I went to Lloyds TSB, halifax and HSBC and all three banks turned me down for certification. Then I went to Belgravia Police Station in London, Victoria, but they refused to certify my copy of my driving licence as well. Finally, I found out that Post Office would certify the copy of my ID but I will need to pay a fee for it. I did not want to incur any further costs for this nightmare and so, I decided to post THE ORIGINAL plastic DVLA driving licence to Tesco Bank. Before sending this document through, I called Tesco Bank to ensure that they will accept this original document to satisfy them of my identity and that no certification will be required as I was sending in the original document.

After receiving this original document, Tesco Bank AGAIN (!!!!) refused to accept the ID, saying it was not 'certified'. I argued that since this was an original document, it did not need to be certified (as it is not a copy and quite obviously a genuine copy). The customer service representative tasked with handling my account said that- 'anyone could have sent this driving licence in and hence we cannot accept this form of ID'. I failed to understand what that meant or how that was relevant! I was losing my patience at this point. I could hear the extremely unprofessional representative giggling at the other end. I raised my voice to get my point across but the representative kept repeating himself. He then said I needed to see a doctor for my mental issues!! Finally, he threatened to close down the account within two weeks from now and hung up the phone unexpectedly, by banging the receiver down.

I still do not have access to my account. All this time, money and distress has been wasted. I am in the same position as I was in, 4 months ago. I still have not received my original driving licence back from Tesco Bank (sent two weeks ago) and am unable to drive. I will wait another week, but if I do not get it back, I will assume it is lost or stolen due to Tesco Bank's negligence and fork out another £20 to get a new driving licence.

My concerns are the following:

- Tesco Bank recognises my identity when it comes to ownership of debt, but does not recognise my identity to enable me to manage my account online or otherwise. Isn’t it a bit two faced? If I default on my debt, they will quite happily chase me and ruin my credit file, acknowledging my identity but will not acknowledge my identity to allow me access to my account. So which is it? Does Tesco bank acknowledge my identity or do they not? It cannot be both, depending on whatever suits them. Are they making up their own rules?!

- Are they responsible lenders? They gave a credit card with a sizeable balance to someone without verifying their ID! If this was a case of stolen identity, the thief would have been long gone with the money spent on the card and there are no checks in the world that would recover that money.

- Tesco Banks customer service is extremely poor. They continually mis-informed me. They never told about ID certification in the very beginning, they never told me my bank statement and driving licence address needed to be consistent, they gave me incorrect information about where I could get my ID certified, due to their lack of knowledge they failed to appreciate original document did not require certification (confirmed with the Ombudsman ) and in general, they were extremely rude and towards the end, abusive.

- Tesco Bank has extremely poor internal security controls. Even though my identity and address was under dispute, credit card statements were still issued to the address on their records.

- Tesco Banks policies around ID verification is not consistent with any other Financial Institutions (and the industry in general) that I have dealt with (and I have dealt with several such organisations). Why were credit, identification and generic checks carried out through Experian by Tesco Bank? Surely to verify my ID and address? They have made it quite impossible for a customer to prove they are who say they are and to maintain their accounts. They do not have any physical bank branches either, where the problem could have been sorted out. I do not see how this whole issue will ever be resolved.

- I have racked up a huge bill to get this issue sorted out- replacing driving licence, obtaining copies of bank statements, transport costs to go to bank branches, calling Tesco bank several times on their premium number only for the auto answering machine to keep me waiting 20 minutes every time before getting passed around from adviser to adviser and of course, the huge amount of time that I have lost. The amount of distress this has caused me is unbelievable and yet, nothing has been resolved, but only made matters worse. Worst of all, Tesco Bank does not even acknowledge that they were in the wrong even once!

I do not know what else to do now. I am tired, fed up of dealing with this company, angry, disappointed and extremely frustrated. I reported this to the Ombudsman after being turned down by Tesco Bank several times to register a complaint over the phone, but I am not sure what bureaucracies are involved and how long this will take to resolve. All I ever wanted was access to MY OWN ACCOUNT and I been harassed mis-treated ever since. I do not appreciate being treated like a criminal and running around in circles, without coming remotely close to a solution.

Navid Avon

Lee has fixed my problem. I am really grateful!

Hi Lee

I have sent the email with my contact details via the Vodafone website as you instructed. This is the subject box with the reference number within the automated email that I received: "Re: WRT135- CAG [#10957686]"

Thank you so much for looking into this for me.

Regards

Navid Ayon (Vodafone Account Number (xxxxxxxxxxxxxx)

Sorry, I sent in two emails via Vodafone website. I clicked 'not a customer' for one and then I realised I should have selected 'Pay monthly customer', so I sent in another email. The subject box of the second automated email is: "Re: WRT135- CAG [#10957731]"

Hi Lee

I can see that you helped out someone named 'caroline1463' with a similar problem to what I am facing.

I wrote to Vodafone regarding a 'late payment' relating to October 2012 (subsequently paid in December 2012).

I never got any communication via post, text, email or phone call that I ever had any payment outstanding during October and December 2012. Infact, I received a credit note (number: 000834743885, dated 12 Oct 2012) and several other credit notes (number: 000835496970; invoice number: 835086957 and 835586662) during November and December saying I had credits on my account (not any payments due).

Hence, my question is if my account was in credit, how could I possibly have any payments outstanding? I even received a refund from Vodafone in mid-December. Surely, if there were any payments due, this would not have happened!

I think the confusion arised since there were two billing arrangements and the second billing arrangement was in debit (rather than a credit). It was a matter of re-allocating excess credit from the 1st billing arrangement to the second one.

If you look at the facts closely, you will see that I am at no fault at all, but am being unfairly penalised (by having the late payment marked on my credit file). There was no way for me to know if there were any outstanding payments on my account, since the whole time, I was under the impression that Vodafone owed me a refund.

I have been a Vodafone customer for 4 years and never had any billing issues/late payments. I think you should show some compassion and goodwill and amend my credit file so that it does not reflect any late payments. I am applying for a mortgage and this is the last thing I need on my credit file.This is causing me a considerable amount of distress, which transpired because of no fault of my own. I sincerely hope that you will resolve this issue.