Buggers at passport office

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

What was the start to end time line?

+

- Applied 5 weeks ago
- This week started to get worried
- Called on Monday and they promised me I would get a call to sort it within 48 hours
- Called on Thursday and they promised me same day call back
- Called today 3 times and they promised it would get sorted today
- 2 hours ago cancelled holiday - costing me a 4 digit amount.

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

You have my utmost sympathy. I hope you get a payout - It's an utter disgrace. I'd be absolutely incandescent if I were you.

Thanks - sometimes you read these things on the press and it is easy to just think it won't happen to you... It is bloody painful when you lose a large amount of money, a holiday and mess up lots of other people's plans.

[TykeMerc]

The Passport Office having a massive backlog was in the press at least 5 weeks ago so it can't have been a surprise.

Given that fact you didn't submit the application as Fast Track to start.....
You don't live all that far from Liverpool since you claim to be a Manc.....

This is either an astonishingly stupid set of actions in response to a known situation, or just an outright troll. Either way my sympathy is limited to the level of "meh tough sh1t".

[eek]

5 weeks ago you applied for a passport (not enough time personally but that is hey ho).

3 weeks ago it was the main news story.

Yet you did nothing for 2 weeks.

Sorry but this is self inflicted no sympathy. You should have set off to Liverpool in person to ensure it was sorted.. Yes it may have cost more money but an extra £55 is rather less than £1000...

[FiveTimes]

At the time of booking did you not know your passport was due to expire ? why wait until the last minute and renew ?

Send them off for renew 6 months before expiry date and no problems.

[DaveB]

Son needed his unexpectedly, found it had expired (about right for him).

Phone call to the passport office, booked appointment for the following week. Turned up on the day with required paperwork, new passport 4 hours later.

[Sysman]

It was done as a cost saving

Which is bollux in fact.

From my notes back at the start of the year:

Normal UK passport price GBP 72.50
Price when applied for from abroad GBP 147.86 (including courier delivery)

Calling it 15 quid for the courier service (can't be arsed looking it up at the mo) means that the extra they were charging for expats was 60 quid.

60 x the 350,000 expats mentioned in the news the other week comes to 21 million. That's extra income for them we would have paid. Yes we would have bitched about it but we would have paid it.

exercising that is ultimately costing them us more now.

FTFY

Idiots.

Fully agreed.

[EternalOptimist]

my Sister works in the passport office and she is absolutely livid. She was going to go away this weekend but has had to cancel and do overtime instead, due to a heavy workload of last minute applications.
She lost a three figure sum (£9.99) and she is furious

[Eirikur]

Yesterday was exactly 10 weeks ago since I sent in my passport application, was told it may take another two weeks.

[OwlHoot]

Sent for new passport for little one 6 weeks ago and site said it would be done in 3. Still no passport and helpline keep promising me call backs that are not being made. Several thousand pounds down the drain.

Any suggestions how I can sue this bastards?

You can blame Tony Blair for that.

Until five years or so ago, young nippers could travel on their parents' passport, but then the Labour Government (probably at the prompting of the EU) decreed that children needed their own passports.