I've had difficulty cashing my welfare cheque this month because it's made out to my legal name (my father's last name), and my bank account has been in my mother's last name since I opened it when I was 18... all my family and friend know me by my mother's last name. Those cheques went through every month for four years without a problem, then I moved to another town, and a different bank won't cash it, even though the address is the same and I have a very unique first name, AND I told welfare that I use a name other than my father's last name. Welfare won't make out the cheques to anything other than the legal name, though.
It's just "lucky" for me that my landlord's moving back to Mexico, or I'd owe rent. I still have to find another room... and will probably have to pay first and last... when I'm really going to need that cheque cashed.
The bank asked me if I wanted to change the name on the account to the legal one, and when I refused, they refused to cash the cheque without seeing "more ID". I'm still waiting for my birth certificate, it has to go to my previous town for someone to sign it and say that the information is accurate. I have social insurance number and health card, and a receipt for the application for a birth certificate. I don't want to use my father's last name for personal reasons, so the bank treated me like a criminal. IT'S MY GOD-DAMN ACCOUNT and I have no ID in my mother's last name EXCEPT for the bank card!!!
The branch that cashed it last month said they would put a note on the account, but they didn't. So now I'm stuck until I can get to that branch and yell at them for not putting the note on it.
This is CANADA??? And I'm not even homeless anymore. Sheesh.