The fact is that I had the EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) when I came to the UK. It's validity is 2 years, and they (officially) do not accept documents

The fact is that I had the EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) when I came to the UK. It's validity is 2 years, and they (officially) do not accept documents which are outdated. How do I then even prove I had it for 5 years? That card had never been required at the NHS either. Took me another £300 (lawyers, official printing excess) to just get the right documents supporting that and I still had no idea if they would even be accepted - because their support line is absolutely oblivious (and to be clear - that is the only support channel they have, outside lawyers themselves who can only advise based on their experience, rather than a set of written guidelines). The sad thing is that you can still get away with it. But I can see how that turns a huge amount of genuinely honest people away too.