School Charging £25 for passport applications

beca

cindiedunkley wrote:

Whatever happened to just doing something for someone out of the goodness of your heart?

Is there anything that cannot be bought or sold anymore?

On the other side of the coin - why do people always think they should get something for nothing. If you don't want to pay - don't ask for the service - simple!

Jamz

Nurses can do this also and as my other half is one I've had no problems getting them signed and neither has she

superscaper

beca wrote:

On the other side of the coin - why do people always think they should get something for nothing. If you don't want to pay - don't ask for the service - simple!

Because it's not some random service you are ordering it's something personal, you are asking someone who know's you to vouch for your identity and personally know who you are. Would you expect someone to charge for being your character witness in court? Wouldn't look good for your defence would it?

Poppycat

Wow thats way over the top. Sure a nominal charge perhaps for school funds but or a donation but £25 thats a lot of money, I would say a couple of quid at most, it only takes a few secs surely to sign the forms to say you no them.

stugib

cindiedunkley wrote:

Whatever happened to just doing something for someone out of the goodness of your heart?

Sure, but if you get asked 5, 10, 15 times it's going to start being a bit of a drag isn't it? And it interferes with what the teacher's there to do - exactly the same reason why doctors charge for this kind of thing, because it takes away from patient/medical admin time.

Jamz wrote:

Nurses can do this also and as my other half is one I've had no problems getting them signed and neither has she

Have they dropped the requirement that they can't be family? That's where I've always struggled - my Dad's an ex-policeman, my sister's a teacher but it's finding someone you've known for 2 years, is qualified, but isn't a family member.

Poppycat wrote:

I would say a couple of quid at most, it only takes a few secs surely to sign the forms to say you know them.

Take a look at post #29 and a couple of others - it's not the case - you have to fill in your personal details, including home address and your passport number IIRC. I can understand why teachers may be reluctant to give out that kind of info too. There's also the chance they could follow it up to check out your application.

iwanttosave_2

stugib wrote:

Have they dropped the requirement that they can't be family? That's where I've always struggled - my Dad's an ex-policeman, my sister's a teacher but it's finding someone you've known for 2 years, is qualified, but isn't a family member.

yes you cannot get a family member or spouce to sign them for you, I don't recall them ever letting family or spouces do them.

cannyscot_2

I countersign passports all the time -as I am a qualified accountant-and I just get the person to fill in the form and the "I certify bit and put my signature on so it really does take 3 seconds-VERY very cheeky of the school to ask for money-especially if special needs-my dd has a visual impairment and yes in the scheme of things she does cost us more money that my other two.


I would tell them -I am fed up of Teachers who think they are busier etc etc than the rest of us.

Pennywise

Poppycat wrote:

Wow thats way over the top. Sure a nominal charge perhaps for school funds but or a donation but £25 thats a lot of money, I would say a couple of quid at most, it only takes a few secs surely to sign the forms to say you no them.

No, there can be more to it than that. I charge my clients for signing their passport application form and I do that to discourage them from asking. It is a real pain in the neck. First they have to phone to make an appointment to come into the office (wasting time on the phone), and that of course means that other fee paying clients can't use that appointment slot. Then usually they don't bring the necessary paperwork, meaning a wasted appointment slot and going through the whole thing again. Then quite often the passport office do phone or write for confirmation which means time out again getting the file. If people actually completed the form properly the first time, brought in the proper paperwork the first time, actually turned up for the appointment, etc., then it wouldn't be so much of a problem. I suspect the school are doing this so that they simply don't have to deal with it. It is not the schools fault, neither is it any other professional's fault - it's the system that should be being blamed - if you are then upset, complain to your MP.

Contains_Mild_Peril

What if a passport is required for a school trip abroad? I would assume that, in those circumstances, when parents are already paying out a lot of money which may be a considerable financial strain on some, it would be reasonable for teachers to volunteer to sign passport forms without charge, though if they are aksed to fill in several it could be very time-consuming.
If it is the school rather than the teachers who charge, then is the "work" done during teaching time? If not, are teachers being asked for (more) unpaid overtime in order to benefit school funds?
In any case, £25 does strike me as excessive. I think most GPs still do them for about £10 (mine did it for free back in the days when it only took a few seconds: he said the surgery normally charged £10 but since I was there for a medical appointment anyway he'd just do it for me while I was in), and doctors normally earn more than teachers.
I think it would be better for schools to ask for voluntary donations.

Dazzieboo

The teachers at my kids school are more than happy to do it, free of charge, providing you ask first, what they hate is someone just turning up with the form and putting them on the spot. I had previously checked with the surgery for the Dr to do it and was told there would be a £7.00 fee if I left it there, but if I already had an appointment, he would probably do it there and then and the fee would be at his discretion. I must admit though, at the time of getting my kids passports done, I was not fully aware of the whole list of people who can do it. Now I realise there were plenty of people I could have asked without troubling the teachers.