Reaching Out: How The Right Legal Avenues Can Help

What If Your IDs Do Not Match During E-Conveyancing?

20 October 2022 by Jessica Spencer

If you're planning to buy a home, you may notice that the settlement process can now take place virtually. This is still a relatively new solution, but it makes it a lot easier for all parties to communicate and finalise affairs rather than having to meet in one physical location. Yet, a conveyancer must verify identification for this process to work as it should. This step is paramount as the individual parties will not be physically present when important documents are signed and money changes hands. What can happen if there are anomalies within the identification documents provided by a client? Is this something that could affect you as you move forward?

Going through Identity Checks

As you might expect, regulators have encountered situations like this before and established rules that govern what should happen. So, if the documents provided by a customer are not automatically sufficient to verify identity, additional steps can be taken.

Dealing with Different Appearances

For example, a customer may be required to submit a passport and driver's license as primary identification documents. However, the photograph on the driver's licence may be substantially different to that on the passport as far as the client's actual appearance is concerned. In this case, the driver's licence could be relatively recent, while the passport could be many years old. When these documents are checked, the staff member may not be able to affirm that the two images represent the same person.

Checking the Signatures

If the signatures match on both items of identification and also match a signature held on file, then this is an important step. However, the staff member will need to take additional action. This will typically start with a call to the client (using a number held on file) to discuss the problem. They will ask the customer if they have another type of ID from the approved list that contains a current photograph.

If this is not possible, they will then ask the customer to give a reasonable explanation as to why their appearance should be so different. Sometimes, this can be down to a significant weight adjustment and facial hair or some other combination, and the staff member will need to assess the explanation as provided.

How Could This Affect You?

So as you prepare for settlement, try to ensure that the documents you provide are relatively recent and show your appearance as it is today. If not, be ready to explain why this should be the case but as always, discuss the situation with a conveyancer. As the experts in this situation, they'll be able to advise you accordingly. 

 

Share