Another passport one - this time it's urgent

[RaelImperialAerosolKid]

Ok so I hope you are sitting comfortably.

Does anyone have a fast track or secret code to get through to people at the passport office? Has anything worked for you ?

We applied in March for a renewal- didn't hear anything but gave them the 10 weeks - chased then and was told they can't do anything until 2 weeks before we go on holiday.

We are now 1 week away ! We spend every afternoon repeating the same story and get told they will call us back in 24/48 hours. We wait and then the cycle starts again.

Issue seems to be that between March and now DD turned 16. We paid the extra for the 10 year passport last week but have been stuck since then.

Spoke to my MPs office this morning but they said they could only intervene if it was for a bereavement- not a holiday.

Is there a secret code that gets the staff to transfer you ? I know they're undertrained and busy but I just need someone to look at the documents and press print !

Anyone else been in similar and had it sorted ? Currently on a 45 minute call - third one of today !

I don't know the answer but it would be useful to have a specific passport problems topic on here so you could easily find all the other threads to see what posters did

Actually I think I probably do know the answer - there is no magic code

What do they say when you ring them and finally manage to talk to someone? I had this issue a couple of weeks ago when I applied for DS passport and managed to put my other DCs date of birth on the application by mistake. They rectified it within a week, but I communicated via letter in the end.

Someone I know got it resolved by going to a passport office (their local one and not the one that the passport was being processed)

I wouldn't advise just popping down to Liverpool passport office because there's hordes of people queuing outside in their camping chairs, like they're waiting for Harrods sale to start ...

Can you tell us what number you're calling. I'll try and see on my phone which number I used, it was one that someone on MN said to call.

They just say
'Someone will call you back in 24|48 hours'

Or they transfer me then after 40 minutes it disconnects

Or they put me on hold and then disconnect after 10 minutes

The music is irritating- but the silence is worse you never know whether you have been cut off. Definitely one of the circles of hell is the passport phone system.

I am super polite to the staff - I know they are having a tough time - to make it worse someone just popped into my office to say they had theirs back in 3 weeks!

I am calling the 0300 222 0000 number. (No one else use that today till I've been answered don't want to make things worse)

This isn't helpful but someone I know who's passport was taking ages spoke to her MP and they did help, they must pick and chose.
Hope you get it sorted.

Join the FB group Passport Chaos 2022. I think you will have to physically go to your nearest passport office and queue.

Yes I had the same experience, except when I ended up talking to the same lady twice and she remembered me. It might be worth putting it in writing and getting a letter in the post this afternoon.

Was it just the payment that they needed from you?

Hello, I’m exactly the same as you. Applied in late March, sent docs to Belfast as requested. We are due to travel in 3 weeks and im getting nervous. Last week I thought I’d try and phone, I rang 0300 222 0000, followed the steps for renewal update and eventually got cut off. I tried again, but selected different options (something like applying for a uk passport from a foreign country) and hey presto, I speak to a human. They tell me I need to be back in touch two weeks prior to travel and pay a further £144 to upgrade to fast track.

I appreciate this doesn’t help you much, but I’d definitely give the number a try, but select odd options and get to speak to someone. Good luck.

The numbers I rang, (I did have to hold for 45-60 mins) were 0300 330 0000 and 0300 123 1973, but they seemed to respond to my letters and called me.

Thanks - I am now 1 hr and 10 minutes into waiting for a manager !
Lines are busy apparently and I may want to call back later.

Had an email from the mps office - they are speaking to someone at the home office!

It's just an extra layer of frustration- you are the passport office - you have one job to do - how difficult could it be ?

When you say letters ? As in actual paper and stamps ? Or emails ? Which address or did you send it to a person ?

Try twitter - I had a passport nightmare in 2020 and it was either my tweet or my MP who unstuck it, I don’t know which

Well, a few years ago I had to go to Dubai for work and realised to my horror that my passport wasn't valid because of the short time to expiry. If you Google emergency passport help or something like that there are companies who will get you your passport in 24 hours, couriered to your door. You pay an arm and a leg, obviously, but to be honest it was worth it for me. I just didn't want to look a total incompetent at work....

Join the Passport Chaos 2022 group on Facebook.

I'm sure I've seen a similar issue due to DC birthday and then needing an adult passport? Not sure if your issue could be the same.

There is an email address your can email to get your normal application fastracked ask for the email address when you next call.

Yes an old fashioned letter and sent it guaranteed delivery by 1pm the next day. I think it was £2.95, or you can get signed for which is about £6.95. Apparently it doesn't matter which office you write to they are all linked. I sent his birth certificate with a letter explaining my mistake, signed the letter and they acknowledged it in about 48 hours. I think I sent it to Durham.

Forgot to say good luck, it's a horrible situation to be in. I hope you manage to sort it.

saw the below post shared on a Facebook group - I don't know if it's too late for you but it could help?

I GOT MY PASSPORT.

But it’s been a nightmare… so this is a status about how I’ve managed to expedite my passport application and get it in time for my holiday, I’m hoping it’ll help others to get theirs in time too because I know how stressful the process is. Sorry this is long winded.

Firstly, don’t call them because it’s completely a waste of your time. Whatever office you try to call, it’s the same number, the same contact centre. They are not civil servants, they have no communication with the passport office themselves and their job is to essentially blag us that they’ve helped. All that they see is exactly the same as what we see when we put our PEX number in to get the status of our application. They will tell you they’ve put a “mark” on your file and the upgrade team will call you if your holiday is soon, except they won’t actually call because there’s no such thing as a mark on your file. The people on the phone literally do nothing to help us.

If your holiday is within two weeks and you’ve not got your passport, you need to email the upgrade team as this is the ONLY way to actually contact them. You need to put URGENT and your travel date in the subject. In the email you need to put your name, address, PEX number, contact number for them to call you and attach proof of travel to the email (flight booking). This means they wont have to contact you trying to chase up what they need and delaying the process further. No matter what office your documents are at, it’s worth emailing them all because they are all working through them in travel date order and it’ll just be whichever office gets to your application quicker that’ll call you.

The emails are -

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

If you haven’t heard back from the upgrade team within 2 days of emailing, email them again. The upgrade team are the ONLY ones that can help you get it quickly. When they do call you it can be NO CALLER ID, so make sure you pick up any call incase it’s them. They will usually approve your application there and then on the phone and they’ll print it at your local office so you can go and collect it from the closest one.

If your travel is not in the next 2 weeks there is no point contacting the upgrade team yet as they will not help you. The upgrade teams are helping people in priority order.

If you’ve already got an application in process, do not book a fast track appt at an office as well because they won’t see you if you’ve already got a passport application in process and you’re essentially just paying for your passport twice for no reason and they won’t refund you for the appt you’ve booked (I learnt this lesson the hard way). If you want to do a fast track appt you’d have to cancel the current application, wait for your documents to be returned to you which can take 2 weeks and then make an appointment.

If you haven’t got an application in process yet but want an appointment they are being released few and far between at all offices at random times throughout the day via this link so you’ve just got to keep refreshing…

www.passportappointment.service.gov.uk

If your holiday is in the next week and the upgrade team haven’t contacted still then you should also email these as well as continuing to email the upgrade team …

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

It’s also worth emailing your local MP who should be happy to send an email to the passport office on your behalf to help expedite your application further.

Also I do know of people who have shown up at passport offices and been helped and their passports printed there and then but this really depends on if you’re lucky and manage to speak to a nice person at the door.

Hope this helps others

@RaelImperialAerosolKid we are in same position. DS turned 16 in June, passport applied for in March.
Not only has the upgrade fee been paid but DS had to sign a declaration stating that details held and application made for him were correct. Perhaps a declaration that is on passport forms when applying for someone else.
We have emailed upgrade team and hopefully application progressing. We have slightly more time. If I were you I would go to passport office, take DD with you to sign declaration. Good luck, the stress is horrible.

I’ve been having a ‘mare with bloody HMPO too.

22nd March my renewal went in. I was supposed to be going abroad for a wedding this week, which I now have to miss.

I’ve spent hours on the phone, even my MP had a go and got nowhere.

Have you got time to do the fast-track, appointment application? On the advice of the call centre staff, I’ve abandoned my original application and have managed to get a fast track appointment - complete opposite end of the country to where I live, but better than nothing. It says there’s no appointments available, but I sat yesterday on my lunch break pressing refresh for an hour and loads came up.

Loads of helpful information on this thread….
www.mumsnet.com/talk/holidays/4543727-help-please-durham-passport-office

@sunglassesonthetable

Thanks for those addresses. I emailed them all.

Apparently they have lost the payment made on Thursday!

I am now on hold to pay again and hopefully that will get things moving - I can deal with the refund when we get back. On another call - this time with either Vivaldi or Handel ! They would be pleased to know that their genius is out to good use.