The Passport Saga Concluded

On Sunday (yes, Easter Sunday) I received a 'phone call from the Durham Passport Office advising that they could not guarantee delivery of my replacement passport by Wednesday 23rd (despite earlier assurances that they could). As Ros and I were due to fly to Copenhagen on Thursday morning I adopted the posture of a headless chicken and, at considerable expense, re-booked our flights for early June (Ros being unable to book leave during May). I also had to re-book the taxi to Gatwick and re-book the hotel in Copenhagen, which will now cost considerably more, the dates falling into their 'peak period'. OK, adopting a philosophical attitude to life's vicissitudes, I thought 'That's that'....

This morning I receive a further 'phone call from the Durham Passport office advising that my passport was being printed and if I was prepared to pay £5.82 to cover the cost my passport would be delivered tomorrow, Wednesday 23rd April before 1:00pm. They had decided to waive the additional cost of £55.50 for the Premium Fast Track service as a senior manager had decided that that was not warranted in my case (it never was; it all came down to my not receiving their so called letter of 13th March about the photos I had submitted).

Their mishandling of my passport renewal has now cost me an additional £400 for a mini break to Copenhagen. It had better be worth it....

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......

Waiting for Godot's Passport

Well, it feels something like that. As in Beckett's play where Vladimir and Estragon wait endlessly and in vain for the arrival of someone named Godot, I wait endlessly and seemingly in vain for a renewal passport from HM's Passport Office. I wonder if in fact Godot works at the Passport Office in Durham. That might account for the endless stream of unanswered correspondence from me, chasing my application, or the number of promised 'phone call backs that have never happened. Should I be surprised? Should I expect anything better from a Government organisation run by civil servants? Should I expect the Passport Office to accept their responsibility for their incompetence in handling my application? Do they care one iota? No, Yes, Yes and No are the appropriate answers.

I sent my application for a passport renewal on 10th March. My cheque payment cleared my bank account on the 19th March. They took my money almost a month ago and I still wait for my document. If I had run my company in such a fashion I would have gone out of business long ago.

HM Passport Office is just another government organisation that is not fit for purpose. And to put it bluntly, there is fuck all you can do about it.

You might even think I'm angry....