MSE News: Passport backlog: What are your rights?

balletshoes

the problem is the backlog, is it not?

I'm quite sure there are people every single year who renew their passports at the busiest time of the year for the passport agency and then get anxious that their passport won't get back to them in time, but usually the passport agency don't have such a big backlog and delays as they do this year. Everyone, including the staff of the Passport Agency, has been caught on the hop.

Caddyman

peachyprice wrote: »

There's nothing like stating the bloomin obvious is there! Of course if you are travelling to one of the few countries that require 6 months on your passport you get it renewed before you travel, otherwise you're not getting on the plane.



Not antagonism at all, but your holier than thou attitude that you couldn't possibly be stuck without a passport just because you always renew with 9 months left on it it pure idiocy. You're just a likely to get stuck without it if you're due to travel within 2 months as the very people you're being condescending towards who leave it until there are a few months/weeks/days/already expired. But you can't seem to get your head around that.

I'm not being condesending or holier than thou at all (and I'm definitely not perfect ), despite your perception. The fact is and which you clearly refuse to accept, is that there are too many people who just think they can leave their plans until the last minute and can't see further than the end of their noses about the consequences. It isn't idiocy to plan ahead, except you clearly can't get your head around that.

I've already acknowledged the application/renewal system is poor, but to give an example of planning, my own next door neighbours who are travelling to the Middle East in September, have already renewed their passports two months ago, I know this because I countersigned their passport renewals. It's really quite simple, but we'll have to agree to disagree on what we think is just commonsense or the inability by some to think ahead.

peachyprice

Caddyman wrote: »

I'm not being condesending or holier than thou at all (and I'm definitely not perfect ), despite your perception. The fact is and which you clearly refuse to accept, is that there are too many people who just think they can leave their plans until the last minute and can't see further than the end of their noses about the consequences. It isn't idiocy to plan ahead, except you clearly can't get your head around that.

I don't disagree with that at all, but you seem to think that just because you renew with time left automatically means you have plenty of time. It doesn't.

I've already acknowledged the application/renewal system is poor, but to give an example of planning, my own next door neighbours who are travelling to the Middle East in September, have already renewed their passports two months ago, I know this because I countersigned their passport renewals. It's really quite simple, but we'll have to agree to disagree on what we think is just commonsense or the inability by some to think ahead.

Yes, that is exctly what I said, you renew well in advance. But that has nothing whatsoever to do with how much time is left on your passport.

Caddyman

peachyprice wrote: »

I don't disagree with that at all, but you seem to think that just because you renew with time left automatically means you have plenty of time. It doesn't.
Yes, that is exctly what I said, you renew well in advance. But that has nothing whatsoever to do with how much time is left on your passport.

Your first point, I dont think that at all, you are telling me I think that, quite why, only you know.

And your second point, if you renew well in advance, any time remaining on your old passport (up to nine months), is added to the expiry date of the new passport. I therefore don't understand why you can't correlate the information.

At the end of the day the Government very graciously give citizens the opportunity to plan ahead by giving those with passports ample time to renew, there is no argument in that. The fact the Passport Agency cannot either deliver or act on their promise to renew within agreed timescales, is a matter for the Government to sort out. Whether a private individual chooses to renew their passport early or leave it until the very last minute, is for the most part, a personal responsiblity issue. I guess we'll always have those people who will think that just because their holiday is six months away, that leaving their passport renewal (especially if it has expired) until just three or four weeks before they go, is going to be just fine, when clearly in this climate, it isn't. I'm sorry, but I haven't taken published service delivery times by any Government department seriously for years.

As I said, we'll have to agree to disagree on certain aspects.

sulkisu

Not everyone who is waiting, submitted their applications at the last minute (although admittedly, some will have).

I applied early March and I am still waiting. The frustrating thing is the lack of information and feedback. I have called several times and have been informed that there is no problem with my applications (renewal for me, first passports for my three children) they are just delayed and no idea of how long they will take.

They have a form on their website, where you can 'apparently' enter your details and track your application. Complete waste of time. I did this and received a usueless generic response which said that my passport was being processed within the time limits for that type of application. No it isn't, it has taken 12 weeks so far and still nothing.

Before anyone says i,t 'yes' I know I could have applied even earlier, but this is ridiculous. Fortunately I am not travelling until early August, but with no real information so far, I have no confidence that my passports will surface in time. By saying that passports can take longer than 3 weeks at busy times, they have covered their !!!!!! even if it takes years.

fabforty

sulkisu wrote: »

Not everyone who is waiting, submitted their applications at the last minute (although admittedly, some will have).

I applied early March and I am still waiting. The frustrating thing is the lack of information and feedback. I have called several times and have been informed that there is no problem with my applications (renewal for me, first passports for my three children) they are just delayed and no idea of how long they will take.

They have a form on their website, where you can 'apparently' enter your details and track your application. Complete waste of time. I did this and received a usueless generic response which said that my passport was being processed within the time limits for that type of application. No it isn't, it has taken 12 weeks so far and still nothing.

Before anyone says i,t 'yes' I know I could have applied even earlier, but this is ridiculous. Fortunately I am not travelling until early August, but with no real information so far, I have no confidence that my passports will surface in time. By saying that passports can take longer than 3 weeks at busy times, they have covered their !!!!!! even if it takes years.

I applied in April and I'm also still waiting (another one who has been told, there is no problem just a delay). We are travelling in September, so their shouldn't be a problem but it is worrying all the same. The Passport Office advice is to apply in plenty of time. Considering they are still advertising a 3 week turn around time for most straight forward applications, I wish they would define 'plenty of time'. I thought that 4 months was plenty of time, but sadly it might not be.

redux

My last renewal was on the same day turn around, at the Victoria office. An appointment arranged by phone. Then took the application in about lunch time, went for a walk in Hyde Park, collect passport at 5 pm, on the ferry at 7.30.

It costs more money though. But if it was due for renewal around now, I would be fairly tempted to use the same service to avoid not having a passport for 3 or 4 months like in some replies above.

A political point: some people in the government seem to be unable to grasp that if you cut staffing levels the work might be done more slowly. The same thing happened with queues at immigration. They built booths for 10 lanes at Calais, and even at a peak time in the summer, with queues well over an hour long, I've only seen a maximum of 6 in use, and usually 3 or 4.

minislim

considering how expensive passports have become you'd think they'd be able to get through them quickly.

what do they actually do to justify the vast sum of money now?

housebuyer2

I was told today by a worker in the Durham office that there are thousands of people in the upgrade queue, all with flights departing in the next few weeks.

The upgrade team are only looking at upgrade requests a couple of days before departure and will only upgrade if they think they can meet the deadline. Meanwhile the upgrade applications are sitting in the queue with no one looking at them as they are now removed from the normal process!!

I have emailed Paul Pugh the CEO twice now but have not had a response

Lethagized

We sent in 3 applications 7 weeks ago. 2 of them came back in 5 weeks, but one still isn't here. They want the applicants mothers birth certificate. Why it has taken them all this time to tell us that is beyond me, especially after the amount of times we've called them. They have in fact received all 3 applications at the same time, processed 2 of them, and waited another 2 weeks before telling us they need more information. We leave for our holiday in approx 3 weeks time, and now we get this letter asking for this. Royally ****** off. :mad: