A study has found that a significant proportion of UK homebuyers aren’t being asked to provide ID when purchasing a property, let alone having their ID properly verified.
The survey of UK homebuyers asked when purchasing their last property, “did the selling agent ask the homebuyer to provide ID, such as, but not limited to, a passport or driving licence?”
The majority of respondents (77%) said they were asked to prove their identity, a task that can be completed quickly with a passport or driving licence, a biometric residence permit, national identity card or a combination of documents such as council tax bills, bank statements and utility bills. It can also be done via a KBV, where a number of questions are asked based on personal information from their credit file.
Despite the relative ease and range of options available to help verify someone’s identity, around a quarter (23%) of those surveyed admitted they hadn’t been asked to verify their identity at all.
When asked the same with respect to their current address, 30% also stated they provided no proof, for example, in the form of a utility bill or similar.
In addition to this, 13% stated that they weren’t asked to provide ID by their lawyer or solicitor once the sale had started to progress, and 18% also said that when starting out their mortgage broker also failed to verify their identity properly.
Tim Barnett, CEO of Credas Technologies, said:
“For the vast majority of those operating within the property industry, failing to verify the identity of a potential buyer may sound unbelievable. Not only is there a legal requirement to do so, but it can also be incredibly detrimental should they fall foul of criminal activity.
Unfortunately, it does happen more often than you may think, particularly for those attempting to verify a vast number of buyers on a manual basis.”
Barnett states not being asked to provide ID is most likely due to an “oversight due to stretched resources” rather than a “cavalier attitude” from those in the property industry. He continued:
“However, it does demonstrate the value that can be gained from a professional approach, whereby one identity verification can then be used across every area of the transaction process and by multiple shareholders such as agents, solicitors and mortgage brokers. It also highlights the value of investing in a bonafide onboarding platform that will prevent any transaction from progressing should a buyer’s identity not be properly verified.
Not only does this approach save time, money and resources, but it reduces the chance for criminal entities to utilise the industry to launder their ill-gotten gains.”
