The Nick of Time

You have no doubt heard of lastminute.com? Well, in my case it's lastminutepassport.com. Have you ever had to deal with the UK Passport Office? Any of them (there are several)? I sent a passport renewal application on 10th March to the Durham office. The general timescale is for passports to be issued in 3 weeks from date of application. Having heard nothing I completed an on-line tracker on 31st March.... and heard nothing. I sent another tracker two days later... and heard nothing. And then, on 7th April I received a 'phone call from said Passport Office asking if I had received their letter of 13th March advising that the photos I had submitted were not acceptable. No, I hadn't received a letter otherwise I would have acted upon its content forthwith.

I had to obtain new photos in which there was sufficient space between the top of my head and the top of the photo. We are talking an additional 2mm here. I don't look any different in these new photos. Anyway, I did this and, as requested, sent them by Signed For mail to the - wait for this - PRIORITY HANDLING DEPT. Job done I thought. Should now get my passport fairly quickly. Uhuh.

Numerous 'phone calls and emails later I finally had to agree yesterday to pay an additional £55.50 to have my application treated as Premium Fast Track and bumped to the top of the queue. The plan is that I should receive my new passport on Wednesday 23rd April, delivered by courier. In the nick of time you might say as Ros and I are booked on a flight at 8:45am on Thursday 24th to Copenhagen.

And if it doesn't arrive? I am screwed and will lose a fortune. And all for the want of 2mm......