James Jackson

I am 87 year old veteran who is widowed and living alone and, although I usually do quite well with technology, there are some things that make me feel at a distinct disadvantage. I have recently cashed in a very small pension and the lump sum has been emergency taxed. I am trying to claim a rebate as I don't want the tax office to simply 'adjust' my tax code. Without sounding too morbid, I'm at an age where I'm reading and returning my library books every 2 days because i don't know if I'll still be here a week from now! I would much rather have the tax adjusted as soon as possible so that I can enjoy my last pension cash in full. It seems wrong to me that the tax office get to sit on my money and then give back the rebate in dribs and drabs under an adjusted tax code over the next year. Particularly when I have the life expectancy of a butterfly! My problem is that when I go into the HRMC site and begin to request a tax rebate they are asking for photo iD in the form of a passport or a driving licence. I have neither. To cash in my pension I needed to send bank statements and council tax bills but I don't have any photo ID other than my expired driving licence and Royal Air Force Retired personnel ID. I can't be the only elderly person to experience this problem. It feels like age discrimination to me. I wonder how other people get on who do not have access to I.T. There is an assumption that everyone has access to IT and has a passport or a driving licence. Call me cynical, but do they make it difficult on purpose so that people just give up? PLease can someone advise me on what to do. Thanks for your help James