Proof of Identity

I'm not sure where else to put this but here goes.

I went to the local doctors office to register they wanted some proof that I lived at my current address, now this has been blocking me from quite a few things over here, I dont have any proof that I'm currently living at my house I dont get a specific utility bill its just addressed to "the occupier" and I dont have any other bills in my name: my cell phone is in my aunts name I just give her the money every month, I share wireless with one of my roomates, and I just have a freeview box, so I cant get a bank account, all I have is a signed letter from my landlord, but its not good enough it seems.

I guess that my question is: id there any other way to get some proof of address that doent involve getting a bill?

(P.S. I'm apologizing in advance to all the grammar Nazi's out there but I'm tired and have had a long day look at the post time)

Get a provisional driving license.  All you need to get one is your passport and £50, and it'll have your address on it. 

Though the surgery shouldn't be asking for proof of address at all . . .

historyenne- why wouldn't they ask for proof of address? The surgery needs to make sure that you live in their cachement area.

They asked me. I had a passport and a bank statement, I think.

historyenne- why wouldn't they ask for proof of address? The surgery needs to make sure that you live in their cachement area.

Are there catchment areas for surgeries?  What if you move into an area, and the closest one isn't accepting new patients?
 
I wasn't asked for proof of address, so I guess I thought this might be something else along the lines of the "You can't register for X months" stories we've been hearing. 

Are there catchment areas for surgeries?  What if you move into an area, and the closest one isn't accepting new patients?
 
I wasn't asked for proof of address, so I guess I thought this might be something else along the lines of the "You can't register for X months" stories we've been hearing. 

For my surgery in my hometown, you have to live within 5 miles of the surgery otherwise you cannot register there. I'm still registered, even though I now live 15 miles away, but I'm still using my parents' address for most things.

Are there catchment areas for surgeries? 

Yep!

Yep!

So what happens if the closest one isn't accepting new patients?

I moved within Bath and thought I had to register with the surgery closer to my new house. That wasn't the case and they told me I could continue to go to my original surgery.

So what happens if the closest one isn't accepting new patients?

I don't know... i've never heard of that happening with GPs... only dentists.

So what happens if the closest one isn't accepting new patients?

There is usually more than 1 surgery you can register with in your area. This has happened to someone I worked with. They contacted the NHS, who directed them to another surgery they would qualify to register with.

I'm not sure where else to put this but here goes.

I went to the local doctors office to register they wanted some proof that I lived at my current address, now this has been blocking me from quite a few things over here, I dont have any proof that I'm currently living at my house I dont get a specific utility bill its just addressed to "the occupier" and I dont have any other bills in my name: my cell phone is in my aunts name I just give her the money every month, I share wireless with one of my roomates, and I just have a freeview box, so I cant get a bank account, all I have is a signed letter from my landlord, but its not good enough it seems.

I guess that my question is: id there any other way to get some proof of address that doent involve getting a bill?

(P.S. I'm apologizing in advance to all the grammar Nazi's out there but I'm tired and have had a long day look at the post time)

What about your council tax statement thingy?

There is usually more than 1 surgery you can register with in your area.

Yeah, I think there are three surgeries I could have registered with in my hometown - but I've been going to the same surgery since birth, so have never felt the need to change it. However, I think there are several different surgeries in Bristol I can register with if I decide to register here (there are 100 surgeries in total, but I won't be within the catchment area for all of them).

I don't know... i've never heard of that happening with GPs... only dentists.

I've never heard of it happening with GPs either - usually it's just a case of going along to a surgery in your catchment area and registering with them.

If it's just a case of registering in the correct catchment and surgeries never say they won't accept new patients, then it seems unnecessary to require a utility bill as proof of address.  There is very little incentive for people to lie to a GP about their address, so why not just take them at their word?  It's not like a bank account where there's the potential for crime--everyone is entitled to medical care, and not everyone is able to provide "proof" of address.  If they won't accept a signed letter from the OP's landlord, and that's all the proof she can offer, they are effectively denying her medical care with their senseless bureaucratic pedantry. 

But there is incentive to lie about an address.  When I lived in London, there was a lovely little surgery right across the main road from my flat that I tried to register at.  Because we were on the other side of the main road, we were not in their catchment area and so had to register at a totally different surgery (which was not anywhere near as nice).  I did try to register at the nice one but they said no chance.  They'd have been overloaded with patients if they just allowed anyone who said they lived in the right area to register.  In areas where there is a lot of demand, they have to have some method of making sure patients are spread out across surgeries.

We had to show proof of address in Edinburgh as well, for what I suspect was the same reason.