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- Aug 11, 2001
- Messages
- 28,870
If you, or anybody you know is applying for their first passport warn them NOT to use the "new sparkly cheaper faster online application" ...it isn't!
We applied for my two daughters passports last month, i figured as it takes 6 weeks we'll have them in plenty of time for our trip to Eire... saved a tenner as well (well twenty cos i paid for them both) filled everything in and uploaded their photos, the site checker verified the photos were ok and, as my mate was here at the time we gave his name and email address as their "verification" person..... he got both emails and verified they were them, great i thought no problems now just to wait for the emails and we'll send off their paperwork.
Oh joy, one had to go to Liverpool, the other had to go to Peterborough...ok, we'll send our marriage certificate to Liverpool first then as soon as we get it back we'll send it to Peterborough with the eldests paperwork i even included a little love letter expalining why we needed it back quickly, went down the psot office, £6 to send it overnight but it's signed for and i can track it, ok it wiped out a bit of the saving i'd made but it would be worth it.
Now when you do the online application they take your phone number and email address incase they need to contact you... we hear nothing for a fortnight and i'm getting ready to ring the passport office and find out where the marriage certificate is on the monday morning a letter drops through the letter box addressed to the youngest daughter so we wait till she gets home from college and she opens it.
It's a letter from the passport office letting her know they need two photographs because the ones we uploaded weren't good enough so we rush her down to Asda and get professional ones done (£9), the lass pops them on the passport office website and it verifies they are ok..rush home drop them in an envelope and rush down to the post office for yet another £6 and overnight delivery.....
I rang them last thursday (10th) to enquire about the marriage certificate, give the application number, name, address, DOB etc etc and explain how we are getting a bit worried about not having it back because of us having to send it off with the eldest daughters application, the lass then takes all her details and tells me she'll contact the Peterborough office and let them klnow, that way they can contact the Liverpool office for verification of our marriage certificate...sigh of relief from me and loads of "thank you so much"s.
Send away eldest daughters paperwork (another £6) and wait, yesterday morning my daughter calls out to me "Daaaaadddd...erm...i've had another letter from the passport office, i've got to go for an interview" ohhh FFS,,,right, come in ring the passport office in Brum to arrange an interview "nothing for 3 weeks sir i'm afraid" ..doubleFFS ring Manchester "yes sir we can arrange the interview, is the 15th of november any good?" "erm no, we go away on the 18th and we've been trying to get her passport for 2 bloody months now" .."ahh i see, erm ...no..nope..i'm sorry to say sir we've got nothing sooner"
FFFSSAARRGHHHHHHHHHH ..right, last chance i'll give Liverpool a bell and see if we can get one in there any sooner because after all...they are the ones dealing with her bloody application..."Hi, right, my daughter is going through an application with you lot at that office...you've messed us around for over a month even though we have stated a few times that we are going away on the 18th of november, and now we get told we've got to get her to an interview but nowhere seems to have any avalible at the moment, can we bring her there and then you can deal with it and we can maybe get her passport before her 50th birthday".
"Oh that's very funny sir, haha 50th birthday, we're a little snowed under at the moment due to people suddenly panic buying passports but i'll have a look and see if we can....ahh, erm i'm afraid we have nothing avalible untill the 12th"
"right ok, if we book that one and come up for the interview what are the chances of getting her passport that day, we don't mind hanging around for the day if we have to"
"oh no sorry sir, after the interview it will take another 7 to 10 days before her passport will be issued"
"Right, that's it, i've had enough, your new super duper quick cheaper application system is obviously a load of rubbish..it's cost me more doing that way than if i'd gone and paid for the check and send thing...you take an email address and a phone number but insist on writing to us using snailmail so it takes even longer.....i should be bloody suing you lot for stress, false advertising and lying to paying customers!...goodbye"
So, that's it, i'll just wait now and see what hoops the next ****ing moron from the passport office wants me to jump through before deciding whether a nuclear or simple MOAB suppository is required ...at least when i send that to them i'll know it's another £6 well ****ing spent
We applied for my two daughters passports last month, i figured as it takes 6 weeks we'll have them in plenty of time for our trip to Eire... saved a tenner as well (well twenty cos i paid for them both) filled everything in and uploaded their photos, the site checker verified the photos were ok and, as my mate was here at the time we gave his name and email address as their "verification" person..... he got both emails and verified they were them, great i thought no problems now just to wait for the emails and we'll send off their paperwork.
Oh joy, one had to go to Liverpool, the other had to go to Peterborough...ok, we'll send our marriage certificate to Liverpool first then as soon as we get it back we'll send it to Peterborough with the eldests paperwork i even included a little love letter expalining why we needed it back quickly, went down the psot office, £6 to send it overnight but it's signed for and i can track it, ok it wiped out a bit of the saving i'd made but it would be worth it.
Now when you do the online application they take your phone number and email address incase they need to contact you... we hear nothing for a fortnight and i'm getting ready to ring the passport office and find out where the marriage certificate is on the monday morning a letter drops through the letter box addressed to the youngest daughter so we wait till she gets home from college and she opens it.
It's a letter from the passport office letting her know they need two photographs because the ones we uploaded weren't good enough so we rush her down to Asda and get professional ones done (£9), the lass pops them on the passport office website and it verifies they are ok..rush home drop them in an envelope and rush down to the post office for yet another £6 and overnight delivery.....
I rang them last thursday (10th) to enquire about the marriage certificate, give the application number, name, address, DOB etc etc and explain how we are getting a bit worried about not having it back because of us having to send it off with the eldest daughters application, the lass then takes all her details and tells me she'll contact the Peterborough office and let them klnow, that way they can contact the Liverpool office for verification of our marriage certificate...sigh of relief from me and loads of "thank you so much"s.
Send away eldest daughters paperwork (another £6) and wait, yesterday morning my daughter calls out to me "Daaaaadddd...erm...i've had another letter from the passport office, i've got to go for an interview" ohhh FFS,,,right, come in ring the passport office in Brum to arrange an interview "nothing for 3 weeks sir i'm afraid" ..doubleFFS ring Manchester "yes sir we can arrange the interview, is the 15th of november any good?" "erm no, we go away on the 18th and we've been trying to get her passport for 2 bloody months now" .."ahh i see, erm ...no..nope..i'm sorry to say sir we've got nothing sooner"
FFFSSAARRGHHHHHHHHHH ..right, last chance i'll give Liverpool a bell and see if we can get one in there any sooner because after all...they are the ones dealing with her bloody application..."Hi, right, my daughter is going through an application with you lot at that office...you've messed us around for over a month even though we have stated a few times that we are going away on the 18th of november, and now we get told we've got to get her to an interview but nowhere seems to have any avalible at the moment, can we bring her there and then you can deal with it and we can maybe get her passport before her 50th birthday".
"Oh that's very funny sir, haha 50th birthday, we're a little snowed under at the moment due to people suddenly panic buying passports but i'll have a look and see if we can....ahh, erm i'm afraid we have nothing avalible untill the 12th"
"right ok, if we book that one and come up for the interview what are the chances of getting her passport that day, we don't mind hanging around for the day if we have to"
"oh no sorry sir, after the interview it will take another 7 to 10 days before her passport will be issued"
"Right, that's it, i've had enough, your new super duper quick cheaper application system is obviously a load of rubbish..it's cost me more doing that way than if i'd gone and paid for the check and send thing...you take an email address and a phone number but insist on writing to us using snailmail so it takes even longer.....i should be bloody suing you lot for stress, false advertising and lying to paying customers!...goodbye"
So, that's it, i'll just wait now and see what hoops the next ****ing moron from the passport office wants me to jump through before deciding whether a nuclear or simple MOAB suppository is required ...at least when i send that to them i'll know it's another £6 well ****ing spent
