Grant of Probate lost in post... twice!

Book707

There is hope that the system is moving in some form, as the hard copies of the grant finally arrived in the post on Tuesday.

Initial approval was 13th December, the copies arrived on 24th January.

Fingers crossed this is a promising sign for everyone still waiting.

bar0n1

Yes, fellow weary thread followers.

I finally received hard copies in the post today

Good luck to all

pemay

Yes sharing the frustration!  We are British Citizens live in the Republic Of Ireland. 10 weeks after submitting a postal application to Probate in the UK we received back the original copy of death cert and a few other docs we had submitted from UK Probate. There was no reference number or date on the covering slip. It had also actually been sent by UK internal 2nd Class post. Clearly this is insufficient when posting to a foreign country. Anyway it did arrive but we had no idea when it was posted.   Bang on 16 weeks my wife contacted Probate by phone who said Probate had been agreed and docs  had been posted out 6th December 2022! (6 weeks previously).  There had been no email from them to say it was sorted and on its way.  The agent advised that there had been a "glitch" with their system on 6th and 7th September resulting in numerous similar calls.
She advised she would post out again immediately as we had not received them.  My wife asked how it would be posted and was advised "by 1st Class post" . My wife reminded her that we lived in R of I and that by doing so there would be insufficient postage to cover the actual cost and it would most likely not be delivered to us or at least delayed a long time. The agent was also advised that we were close to losing the sale of the deceased's house as things were dragging on. This clearly did not matter and she advised my wife that "we always send out post 1st Class UK postage". The agent just couldn't grasp that sending something with the wrong postage was poor customer service at least and for a Government Dept simply ridiculous. My wife then asked if Probate could with her authority send the docs to our son who lives in the UK and we would get him to post on to us. This was rejected as "we cant do that" . So we have to wait for another 10 days from now  (so 3 weeks from the second set being sent out)  or so before reporting non-receipt yet again. Meanwhile I have a feeling the house sale will fail as a result of the delays. 
I have emailed the Parl Under Secretary of State with responsibility for Probate issues - an auto response shows he will aim to respond in 28 days! 
I can fully accept there have been long postal delays over in the UK but waiting since 6th December seems ridiculous and it isnt looking that hopeful for  the second lot sent on the 16th January 2023! Ordinarily post from UK  to R of I takes 3 or 4 working days. If anyone has any ideas please feel free to share them. Many thanks !
         

poppystar

Don’t want to add to woes but since Royal Mail’s cyber attack I’m not even sure it would leave the country with the correct postage on it. My PO still has a note up to say nothing is going abroad - of course, I’m assuming here that ROI counts as abroad. Good luck.

pemay

poppystar said:

Don’t want to add to woes but since Royal Mail’s cyber attack I’m not even sure it would leave the country with the correct postage on it. My PO still has a note up to say nothing is going abroad - of course, I’m assuming here that ROI counts as abroad. Good luck.

Yes, thanks for the note but we have been getting some post from the UK so some is getting through. R of I is certainly classed as abroad - though agents in UK Probate don't seem to understand it is! Best wishes and thanks for the tip off.      

Pennylane

poppystar said:

Don’t want to add to woes but since Royal Mail’s cyber attack I’m not even sure it would leave the country with the correct postage on it. My PO still has a note up to say nothing is going abroad - of course, I’m assuming here that ROI counts as abroad. Good luck.

It’s parcels that are affected by the cyber attack not letters. 

tanmich

Well hip hip hooray. just heard from our solicitor that he recieved the document yesterday and at long last we can move forward and complete on the sale of the property.

Funky_Dunc

I am in exactly the same situation. Grant issued on Dec 13th and still waiting for document. Was told that it would be reissued on Jan 9th, subsequently discovered that this was not done. Then told it was reissued on Jan 18th and that has not arrived yet. I offered to come and collect in person with any ID they needed - not allowed. Offered to pay for recorded or signed delivery - not allowed. Involved my MP who was fobbed off with the "mail strike" story. I have lost buyers thanks to their incompetence and archaic procedures. I can't get closure of my mothers estate and affairs. The whole farce, including the 6 months it took to actually approve the application, has been detrimental to my health. 

Hannahm2303

Was searching google for any help and this came up, unfortunately for us all! 

I’m buying a property going through probate, granted on 19th January and not yet received. Seller chased yesterday and the office advised “everyone” is ringing with same issue and they won’t resend until it’s been 3 weeks. We’re living with family and have everything in storage, got 2 weeks before we have to move from where we are and so worried what will happen if it’s not done by then  
I’ve offered to pay for it to be collected, pay for it to be couriered just so we don’t end up homeless but apparently it can’t be done! 

meggiemike

The hard copies finally arrived in the post today, 13 days after I last rang the probate office about not receiving the paperwork.
I orginally received an email on the 13th of December telling me that the letters of adminstration had been granted.