I changed my legal name late last year. This explains how I did it and how much it cost.
It was great that VicRoads, the banks, and RACV let me change my details and issued new cards free of charge.
This was more than countered by needing a new passport, and by uni charging a ridiculous fee of $60 for a "replacement card", which I needed to attend exams.
Of course, I also had to update my details with my magazines, charities, political organizations, and various web sites.
PayPal in particular was annoying. Despite faxing my change of name form three times, and calling them and emailing them several times over the course of six months, they did not update my account. An email to their complaints department also went unanswered. I ended up signing up for a new account. My previous donations are shown under my old name.
Also note that most companies require a certified copy of a change of name certificate, even those who never required proof of identity when first signing up! (Logically, those were things like phone accounts where a change of name without proof of identity could be used to transfer debt to another person.)
Most automatic credit card payments continued to work under my old name. I've updated them just in case.
So if memory serves correctly, it cost $356 and lots of time.
All in all, it's only worth it if you really care enuff to change your name!
(It's probably not fair to include the full $200 for the passport, since my new passport is valid for the next ten years, but my old one was only valid for about three, so the effective cost was about $60, bringing the total down to about $210.)
| What | Who | How | How much |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Government | Births, Deaths and Marriages | by mail | $84.60 |
| Driver Licence | VicRoads | in person | free |
| Bank | (confidential) | in person | free |
| University | Monash University | in person | $60.00 |
| Voting | Australian Electoral Commission | by mail | free |
| Mobile Phone | 3 Mobile | in person | free |
| Internet | iiNet | internet | free |
| Phone | Telstra | by mail | free |
| Roadside Assistance | RACV | in person | free |
| Car Insurance | AAMI | in person | free |
| House Insurance | RACV | in person | free |
| Health Insurance | Australian Unity | by fax | free |
| Passport | Passports Australia | in person | $200.00 (passport) + $12.00 (photos) |
| Superannuation | Colonial First State | by mail | free |
| Total | $356.60 | ||
It was great that VicRoads, the banks, and RACV let me change my details and issued new cards free of charge.
This was more than countered by needing a new passport, and by uni charging a ridiculous fee of $60 for a "replacement card", which I needed to attend exams.
Of course, I also had to update my details with my magazines, charities, political organizations, and various web sites.
PayPal in particular was annoying. Despite faxing my change of name form three times, and calling them and emailing them several times over the course of six months, they did not update my account. An email to their complaints department also went unanswered. I ended up signing up for a new account. My previous donations are shown under my old name.
Also note that most companies require a certified copy of a change of name certificate, even those who never required proof of identity when first signing up! (Logically, those were things like phone accounts where a change of name without proof of identity could be used to transfer debt to another person.)
Most automatic credit card payments continued to work under my old name. I've updated them just in case.
So if memory serves correctly, it cost $356 and lots of time.
All in all, it's only worth it if you really care enuff to change your name!
(It's probably not fair to include the full $200 for the passport, since my new passport is valid for the next ten years, but my old one was only valid for about three, so the effective cost was about $60, bringing the total down to about $210.)
Labels: 2007, Government, Name, University
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