Genealogy Chat

hi all, heres something read daft, and youve guessed it! its a Govt thing. My dau recently divorced wants to change her passport back to her maiden name. Now you would think its a simple thing, just simply let them know, as they must have your previous application on file! but NO, its never as simple as that. She has to return her passport which still has a few years to run, together with a photograph and a birth certificate which must be an original as photostat copies cant be accepted as proof of identity. So off to the REG OFFICE for a copy of the certificate (£7) and on filling the application form in for the passport, it states the document must prove your identity. BUT IF YOU LOOK ON THE CERTIFICATE ISSUED BY THE REG OFFICE it says in large letters THIS CERTIFICATE IS NOT PROOF OF IDENTITY. So why do they ask for an original certificate. As well as being a rip off £7 CERT, £3.50 for two photos, and cost of new passport £30 odd and security postage that comes to near £40 odd, just to get your name changed back to the previous passport, AND you dont get a refund on the amount of time to run on the passport, which she has already paid off. No wonder we are called RIP OFF BRITAIN. There ive got that off my chest now, thats my moan for the day. TED XX

Just as bad here..... A relative received a letter from The Department of Justice, stating that The Queensland Department of Electrol Commisson had fined her for Not voting on Feb 2004 (now Nov 2005). Okay well it is the law here. However, the relatived phoned The Departmant of Justice and advised them that she did not vote because she did not live in Queensland. But she did vote in the State of residence. She was advised that they can not do anything about it and she must contact the Electrol Commission. The Electrol Commission advised that she would need to send a Stat Dec witnessed by a JP advising that she was not living in QLD. Relative said 'can you not check that i did vote in the other state?' The reply was 'no we do not have the resources.' Relative said ' well, i don't have the resourses to go and purchase a State Dec and find a JP.' Next day relative received a letter stating that if she did not comply her driving licence would be suspended. Not fair, is it......

So far as passports are concerned I can enter and leave Australia whenever on my British passport, but my daughter who had to take out Australian Citizenship in order to keep her job now has dual nationality, approved by the Aus Govt. is only able to enter and leave with an Aus passport but can use her British passport to enter and leave UK. She cannot use her British passport despite being able to have dual nationality to enter and leave Aus.

They use the birth certificate to check you out. In the past, it was possible to obtain the birth certificate of someone born the same time as you but who has since died and then use their name to obtain all sorts of things. A recent case was that of the fake 'Lord Buckingham', who did exactly that 23 years ago, but only came to light this year. They do a bit more checking now, for obvious reasons. Be cheaper just to keep the same pasport until it expires........! Ian

hi all, its the world going mad. So many depts have us on file, income tax, national insurance, electoral registers, Insurance companies, DVLA, banks etc, and that includes the police, all share info about us, in fact they sell our info to each other hence we get all the junk mail through the letter box every day, yet they cant change a name on a passport. HELLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP. TED ps, I used to be a Private Investigator in my youth and for a couple of hundred pounds I could get almost anything at all you wated about anybody. where you lived worked and how much you earned, how much you had in the bank etc

Hi Ted, When I got divorced 16 years ago I also had to get a solicitors letter saying that I had changed my name back as proof for the passport office..........that was even more money!! Fiona.

No, reputable agencies don't sell our details to each other - to do so would breach the Data Protection Act. The reason a certificate isn't proof of identity is because it doesn't have a photo on and anyone can get one in someone else's name. I know it has to be an originalcertificate - but is it really so wild to think that people might own a copy of their own birth certificate already? Especially, in this case, as she's previously applied for a passport? If they made the process simpler, people would moan that it was far too easy to steal someone's identity. Passports are proof of identity, so they can't be handed out like sweeties.

twinkle, hi. where you do think these insurance companies get their information that your motor insurance is due for renewal, or when your house insurance is due, or whether you have reached retirement age or not and offer you a discount on insurance. In fact where do you think they actually get your name and address from? The Data Act is a farce. As I said in my previous message I used to be a Private Detective and again like I said I could get any sort of info, legally I might add for the right amount of cash. And as for the birth certificate not being proof of evidence! they already have her passport with a photo on it, so why should they need a birth certificate if they already as you say need a photograph, and I might add, which might surprise, you but a birth certificate is a piece of paper with the information from the REGISTER photocopied, yea photocopied on a form. ted.

I was divorced 15 years ago and have still not reverted to my Maiden name because it was just too difficult and costly. Passport, Driving Licence, Banks, Building Society, House Deeds, Insurances etc - all wanted to see the ORIGINAL divorce papers, not copies. When my passport came up for renewal in 1999 I tried again...big mistake! I have actually been divorced twice, first time in 1969. In order to get my passport RENEWED, I had to provide original copies of BOTH divorces. It was sheer luck that I still had the first set of Divorce papers and divine guidance that I actually knew where to find them! In the rush to do all this (I was going abroad) I forgot to request a name change! I also wonder now at my ability to sign my name as anything other than my married name...can you imagine being in Tesco's with a newly name-changed credit card and a 300quid trolley, and absent-mindedly signing in the old familiar way! Olde Crone

hi Olde, Ive told my daughter not to bother changing back, its not worth the effort or the cost £57 total just to change your name back to what it was and surely to god they must have all the info on file or on computer. She's thinking about it now. TED

It's only a name. I'd stay with the married name it is less hassle. My daughter divorced, kept her married name, lived with her partner for 15 years then married him. she still uses her former married name for work purposes, her bank is still in her former married name and also her passport. Most confusing, i wonder she doesn't have an identity crisis. Ann Glos

I understand the Data Protection Act doesn't stop information about you being sold to anyone who wishes to buy it, it is there to stop false information about you being passed on. All Direct Mailing Companies have your details hence all the junk mail. I totally agree with the comment RIP OF BRITAIN, I can't understand why they can't refund money from the old passport, if you buy a new car and cancel your old tax disc, you are refunded any monies owing, or have they decided to stop that too. Rosemary

I expect it's because the cost of a passport is a one-off charge for administration at the time of issue rather than a license to travel abroad for x years. How about changing one's name to the original by Deed Poll?...J.

Hi all, its one crazy world we live in, nothing is simple any more, commonsense does'nt prevail, everthing is so complicated. Thats enough of that anyway, but heres something to make you laugh. A man rings up a help line about his pc. 'can you help me please, my pc lights up but got a blue screen' Back comes the reply 'certainly sir, now do exactly as I say, first press START' The man interupts the conversation saying 'hey less of the technical talk, Im not Billl Gates you know' NOW THAT IS FUNNY. TED.

It's a little off that your daughter can't 'carry over' some unexpired time, because if she were changing her name because of an impending marriage, the passport would be valid for 10 years plus an extra nine months. As for the DPA, I rarely get any personalised junk mail; it's all addressed to 'The Occupier'. If it is addressed to me, it's from companies I have dealt with previously. Somehow I've ducked under the radar.