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Comment by amelius | Hacker News Reader

There exist services which receive, scan, store and shred your paper mail.

It might be different where you live, but over here(UK) bank statements/utility bills with your address on them are used as proof of address, so you really want those to be arriving at your own address, otherwise you can be completely screwed.

They're used the same way in the US however no one seems to care if the bill was printed from a PDF or a mailed copy. The 3 fold crease is about the only way to distinguish if you use a laser printer.

That's not the point - if you get your bills sent elsewhere, the address on the bill is not your own, so you have no proof of address anymore.

One scan still scan and shred them by himself. I've never had any complaints after providing a printout from a scan, rather than the original.

Home Office immigration and some other processes can insist on "originals", even when no originals exist because they were sent electronically.

They’d understand if you furnished them with the digital assets, right?

No? They have an immigration reduction target to meet and if they can do that by deporting you because you forgot to dot an i or cross a t they will.

Someone I knew was denied the opportunity to take a required citizenship test because they'd applied without their middle initial which appeared on their ID documents (or vice versa): a mismatch of "John Smith" vs "John Q Smith" was enough to cost them the test fee plus the day off work and travel to the test.

"According to Barley, the dozen authors were asked to provide three years’ worth of bank statements to demonstrate financial independence, despite being paid to participate in the Edinburgh book festival, and having publishers and the festival guaranteeing to cover their costs while in the UK. Barley said any deposits that could not be easily explained were used as grounds to deny the authors’ visas; one had to reapply three times due to her bank statements."

There definitely was a story which I can't find of someone being rejected because they didn't have enough money in their bank account, securing a transfer of money from a relative, re-applying and then being denied due to the "unexplained" transfer.

Home Office is probably the most difficult branch of the British government to work with, if they require a printed original even if no such thing ever existed, you better pull one out of your ass or the whole application will be declined. Not before they hold it for 8 months without any reply first though.

I can see how that works - you fill in papers, wait forever, get back a ridiculous response, appeal, it takes forever, and so forth. My experience with US agencies with poor reputations is generally more positive than their reputation would suggest. Eventually, I have reached higher up humans who treat me logically and reasonably. The problem when you’re dealing with something like health is suffering and/or dying in the meantime.

Usually photocopies/print outs aren't admissible as proof of address. At least that has been my experience with credit cards and opening investment accounts.

Ok, but has that been tested in a court? Because that's the only thing that matters, ultimately.

Yes of course, but does it mean you have to forward all the letters to the company yourself? Because if yes, then it just sounds like extra work again.

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