Identity Correction

[newbie99]

Hi....
I have a friend who has a different name on his birth certificate to his current name used in all formal identification such as driving license, NI and education qualification.

The mistake has occurred when the grandma enrolled nto school some 40 years ago. He only noticed it recently.

He currently wanted to set up a business and the accountant asked to provided a passport for ID. His passport has expired and the expired passport is the same as his birth certificate.

I have advised him to get in touch with a solicitor to get it sorted it out as he is trying to use the polldeed form get the name changed, but I am reluctant to sign and witness as I don't really know what his current status with his id at home office.
Any thoughts on this?

[kvalidir]

Tell him to change his name with a commissioner for oaths by statutory declaration, he doesn't need you to witness it then.x

[Peter Pedant]

I would take advice rather than reading the guesses here.

Very common actually - people trading or practising under shortened versions of their names
you know like Ralph Fiennes instead of Ralph Twistleton Wykeham Fiennes - I mean those Harry Potter films would have finished before you had completed prounouncing his name
and I dont really think you have to do much about it
( but if you have shortened Moshoeshoe to Mo then you cant point to Mo's signature ( yours) and say o that is not me )

The money laundering regs interfere
and you can imagine somewhere like the TSB looking at the mistake - and saying 'oh yes this is very very bad - we will have to do nothing for up to six months!'

My father had one document Peter Paul Pedant as Paul Peter Pedant - o my god didnt the civil servants scribble !
and that was 1936. [ oh no problem joining up and fighting for King George in 1939 ]

Pity his name wasnt John John Pedant .....