Driving licence rejected in EE store

[shivaseye]

Not sure if I have selected correct section for this.

My phone went swim-a-bout at a beach in the UK, a few hundred miles from home.

No problem I thought - I'm way past end of contract on my SIM only contract so I'll pop in to the local EE store and ask about a replacement SIM and possible upgrades.
The upgrades available in store were nowhere near the online upgrade options - no problem I'll just get a replacement SIM.

Asked for ID  - I have my driving licence with me. Apparently they also now need to take a photo, without a mask, without glasses - all my official ID photos (passport and driving license) include glasses. This process failed twice, once without and once with glasses - the system rejected the attempts and it cannot now be retried until the next day.

This seems excessively strict.

If I order an upgrade and say collect in store will I hit the same ID verification issue or will it be a simpler visual check?
If I cannot collect due to the ID verification failing am I then stuck without a working SIM even when I get home?

[bristolian]

The reasoning behind the photographic ID is that many scammers now seek to obtain a replacement SIM in order to gain access to a mobile number, and therefore OTP security for banking and suchlike.

Mobile operators are therefore - rightly - rather strict on replacement SIM deliveries going to the registered address, and collections being made by the genuine account holder.

[shivaseye]

I understand and agree with the reason for showing photo ID. I showed my driving licence and allowed them to take an image of it.

The new part is that they also take a photo of the customer and the decision about whether the ID is accepted is not made by the people I am showing the ID to but by some remote method that presumably is comparing a dodgy image (bright lighting of a reflective surface) of my photo ID (in this case my driving licence) with a photo of me in holiday mode (a couple of days unshaven and with windswept hair rather than the neater parting that is in my photo ID.
This resulted in my attempt to get a replacement SIM in the shop being rejected.

My question is whether the "enhanced" (taking a photo of the customer as well as viewing the ID) check would also be implemented for collecting a SIM ordered online for collection in a shop.

[Leanne_T]

Hi @shivaseye 

If you order a SIM card online as a replacement this would be posted to your account address and delivered by Royal Mail. No ID would be needed. 

Leanne.