MSE News: Passport backlog: What are your rights?

Pincher

With all this identity fraud going around, I find it really disconcerting that they understaff the passport office.


I want a more security oriented approach. I want Police stations and bigger bank branches to have interview rooms that can at least take a picture, and preferrably do iris scans and finger prints.


I find the get your own photo and then be told it's got the wrong background, your left ear is not visible etc. and get somebody who is not a crook to confirm it's your likeness a total waste of time. Just take the photo in a trusted environment like a police station.


It is now known that TNT delivery staff just dump the mail in the letterbox of the first house in the road, so I really don't want it sent to me by post. I want them to send me a reference number or card, and I go to a sorting office or even police station with ID to pick it up.



In general, I would love it if my bank offers a secure collection point for important items, like credit cards etc.


Alternatively, I have no problems with turning up for an appointment in London provided they don't charge too much. The three day service with appointment is just too expensive.
I have no problems with £20 extra for a four week turn around.
They should offer early and late hours for pick-up, so people can do it before and after work.

balletshoes

Pincher wrote: »

With all this identity fraud going around, I find it really disconcerting that they understaff the passport office.


I want a more security oriented approach. I want Police stations and bigger bank branches to have interview rooms that can at least take a picture, and preferrably do iris scans and finger prints.


I find the get your own photo and then be told it's got the wrong background, your left ear is not visible etc. and get somebody who is not a crook to confirm it's your likeness a total waste of time. Just take the photo in a trusted environment like a police station.


It is now known that TNT delivery staff just dump the mail in the letterbox of the first house in the road, so I really don't want it sent to me by post. I want them to send me a reference number or card, and I go to a sorting office or even police station with ID to pick it up.



In general, I would love it if my bank offers a secure collection point for important items, like credit cards etc.


Alternatively, I have no problems with turning up for an appointment in London provided they don't charge too much. The three day service with appointment is just too expensive.
I have no problems with £20 extra for a four week turn around.
They should offer early and late hours for pick-up, so people can do it before and after work.

its either a same-day service or a one-week turnaround service that you pay extra for currently. The one-week turnaround service is £30 extra on top of the normal passport cost, and its another £20 on top of that if you want to collect your passport on the same day you submit your application.

Pincher

balletshoes wrote: »

its either a same-day service or a one-week turnaround service that you pay extra for currently. The one-week turnaround service is £30 extra on top of the normal passport cost, and its another £20 on top of that if you want to collect your passport on the same day you submit your application.

https://www.gov.uk/get-a-passport-urgently


That is fabulous news. I renewed a few years ago, and I seem to remember the one day service was £200+.


A relative is about to renew, but she lives in Europe, so it's much better to just fly in to London and sort it out in one day. £81.25 Check and Send with an indeterminate wait, or £128 for same day Premium, it's a no brainer.


The only problem is, EVERYONE must be ringing up for an appointment now.


I am anticipating a nice scenario. The high demand for one day service means that they run out of 32 page passport blanks in the processing centre, and so have to issue a 48 page passport for no extra cost. I paid extra for my 48 pages.

peachyprice

sulkisu wrote: »

I applied early March and I am still waiting.

fabforty wrote: »

I applied in April and I'm also still waiting

This makes no sense. I sent mine off on 16th April, using the ready-filled forms they sent me a few months before, I got it back on 9th May, that's with Easter and a bank holiday in between. How on earth can they do it for some but not others?

Mine went to Durham, where are yours?

balletshoes

Pincher wrote: »

https://www.gov.uk/get-a-passport-urgently


That is fabulous news. I renewed a few years ago, and I seem to remember the one day service was £200+.


A relative is about to renew, but she lives in Europe, so it's much better to just fly in to London and sort it out in one day. £81.25 Check and Send with an indeterminate wait, or £128 for same day Premium, it's a no brainer.


The only problem is, EVERYONE must be ringing up for an appointment now.


I am anticipating a nice scenario. The high demand for one day service means that they run out of 32 page passport blanks in the processing centre, and so have to issue a 48 page passport for no extra cost. I paid extra for my 48 pages.

having just used the premium service this week, i had no trouble at all getting an appointment on the day and time i wanted when i called the passport office enquiries number (at 8am you get through to a human being). As I hadn't already submitted an application either online or through the post, mine was a very straightforward renewal in person, I was in and out of my morning appointment within 15 minutes, and had a similar wait later in the afternoon when i went to collect my new passport. I went to Peterborough office (this is my closest one).

Caddyman

peachyprice wrote: »

This makes no sense. I sent mine off on 16th April, using the ready-filled forms they sent me a few months before, I got it back on 9th May, that's with Easter and a bank holiday in between. How on earth can they do it for some but not others?

Mine went to Durham, where are yours?

I'm equally baffled as my neighbours sent their renewals off after I had countersigned them about eight weeks ago and they had them all back within 4 weeks.

There's no denying the system is in a mess, that is obvious. I renewed my own last year and used the standard service and had my passport back within 10 working days, so things definitely have got worse and as a previous poster mentioned if the Government are going to make cutback after cutback then these sorts of problems will occur. I will still always say though, that early renewal and prior planning can help to prevent nerve jangling waits.

I still don't understand these automated passport checking in machines at UK Immigration. Every time I've come back into the UK, the machines have been put out of action and I've had to go through the normal manned channel. I guess I must just have been unlucky.

growler834

I feel sorry for holidaymakers caught up in the passport backlog but there are also lots of us who use passports regularly for business purposes. Ours expire in October 2015 but we need to renew early as we are travelling to the USA in April next year. We may also need them for a US trip in January & we need them for trips to Europe this August & December. Trying to work out when to apply for a renewal without leaving us stuck in the queue is a nightmare.
So do we apply in September & hope to get them back for December or do we book an appointment at a Passport Office - the nearest is 75 miles away! Whichever way we do it we lose 4 months off our passports (only up to 9 months added on when renewed in advance).

totallybored

growler834 wrote: »

I feel sorry for holidaymakers caught up in the passport backlog but there are also lots of us who use passports regularly for business purposes. Ours expire in October 2015 but we need to renew early as we are travelling to the USA in April next year. We may also need them for a US trip in January & we need them for trips to Europe this August & December. Trying to work out when to apply for a renewal without leaving us stuck in the queue is a nightmare.
So do we apply in September & hope to get them back for December or do we book an appointment at a Passport Office - the nearest is 75 miles away! Whichever way we do it we lose 4 months off our passports (only up to 9 months added on when renewed in advance).

If you're returning from the April US trip before Oct 2015 then I'd renew when you get back from that.

growler834

totallybored wrote: »

If you're returning from the April US trip before Oct 2015 then I'd renew when you get back from that.

We need 6 months left on our passports when we visit the US in late April - our passports will only have 5 months left on them when we leave the US in May so we need to renew them for that visit.

totallybored

growler834 wrote: »

We need 6 months left on our passports when we visit the US in late April - our passports will only have 5 months left on them when we leave the US in May so we need to renew them for that visit.

No need for 6 months, it only needs to be valid for the duration of your stay. A lot of people believe this 6 month thing but it's not true for quite a number of countries https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/usa/entry-requirements