Wanted to charge money for countersigning passport

[superoz]

Had to do do new passports for my two dc, so I asked dh if he could ask one of his colleagues to countersign their applications. He is a professional himself, it's a small business with only 4 people in the shop at one time.

He came back from work and said he had seriously peeved his colleague off as she was expecting to be paid for countersigning. This is someone he has worked with for more than 12 years, she is churchgoing, sends us Christmas cards and gave gifts when our dc were born! dh said they are his colleagues not friends, everyone is just out for themselves in his line of work and apparently it should go through the till.

I was seriously gobsmacked by this . They're going rate is £85 per passport which is more than the application fee itself! Where I used to work, pre-children we used to sign passports for each other and never expected anything in return. In the end she did actually sign them for free but rather grudgingly. Is this what people expect these days?

[SecondMrsAshwell]

Damn! I'm a Civil Servant and did a couple last year... all I got was a pint.

But I'm due to do my DSis, her DP's and her step DDs. 5x£85.

I'm in the money! I'm in the money! I gotta what it takes to get along!!!

No, wouldn't charge them under any circumstances. Cheeky cow!

[Anniegetyourgun]

£85? Given that it takes about 5 minutes that's, what, £9,000 an hour?

My friend signed my and my child's passport applications and I bought him a cup of coffee. A few months later I signed his and he bought me a cup of coffee. It wasn't even Starbucks. Seemed fair enough at the time.

[morethanpotatoprints]

I have just done this for friends and didn't charge them anything, I wouldn't dream of it.
It only takes 5 bloody minutes.
I know your gp or other professional would charge if not personal friends and this is understandable but friendly colleagues/ family friends, no way.

[morethanpotatoprints]

Second

You can't do it family, can you?
it says not related by birth or marriage.

[Roseforarose]

How bloody greedy can you get. What gets me about counter signing passports is the fact that it has to be done by a professional person. Why are they considered more worthy than say a shop worker or a cleaner.

[lucidlady]

second you can't CS for family

[forago]

wow! I can do this and do it all the time for people, would not even have entered my head to charge for it. It takes about a minute. What a horrible person.

[Gubbins]

Dammit. I'm always doing them for nothing, not even a pint! I did them for all 5 of a friend's children. Including identical twins, where I had to be very careful I got the right details on the right photo and all with difficult (for me) to spell Eastern European names. Took a lot longer than 5 minutes and she came back for repeats as a couple of them were rejected. If only I'd realised I could have charged her. Of course, then she wouldn't have been able to afford the holiday, but still...

[morethanpotatoprints]

Second

You need to read the rules and about the fines.
If you get found out 5x cs passports illegally will be far more than the £85 we all think is too much to charge.
I couldn't do my niece this week, not worth the risk.

[DisgraceToTheYChromosome]

DW will be pleased, she does at least one a month. Except of course she's not a mercenary twat, so the most she asks for is a shift swap.

[fredfredgeorgejnr]

The guidance on countersigning does say "not only in a professional capacity"

^Who can sign forms and photos

Personal relationship

The countersignatory must:
##have known the person applying for at least 2 years
##be able to identify the person applying, eg they’re a friend, neighbour or colleague (not just someone who knows them professionally)^

[OurGlass]

Petty cow.

The whole counter signatory thing is a Los of bollocks anyway, don't get me started.

[dillite]

Can I ask why passports/ photos need to be countersigned?

[KERALA1]

Ridiculous. I did millions of these whilst working in an international office (we were all solicitors) I was the only English person there and socialised with my office mates who all had babies whose passports I then certified. Surprised the passport office didnt investigate - not that I was in any way dodgy but signed so many - wouldn't have occurred to me to have charged! Shame would have made a tidy sum (but lost all my friends!).

[Chunkymonkey79]

Is it even legal to charge?! Cheeky fucker!!

Its a 5 minute job

[ChazsBrilliantAttitude]

Dammit, the most I've every got is a coffee.

I've signed for a friend and her 3 children - she owes me a weekend break somewhere for that!!

[Nolim]

I ask the same question dillite.

[stickystick]

What fredfredgeorgejnr said - the emphasis these days is less on getting a signature from someone "official" (eg a solicitor or doctor), but on someone reasonably trustworthy who has actually known you for two or more years and can identify that the photos are actually you (or your child) and the address given is is actually you or your child's address.

For that reason, the list of qualified people is much longer than it used to be - it now includes occupations such as photographer and insurance salesman - so that everyone should know someone suitable, without having to ask a stranger or pay a fee.

If a person is asking for a fee, they are probably not the right person to be signing.

[Nolim]

so that everyone should know someone suitable

I can imagine many situations where that is not true, including my own.

[fredfredgeorgejnr]

Nolim I really don't know how you could not know someone - they just have to be someone in good standing in the community. There is no official list of occupations, you know no UK passport holder who's not a complete scoundrel?

[Nolim]

Most of the ppl i know are work colleagues who are expats. I have lived in the area for a short time. I dont go to church. I have exchanged plesantries with neighbours, but i have no idea about their citizenship or occupations or their standing in the community (or their names ). That makes me a bad neighbour and quite possibly i am not going to get a popularity award. Nor a passport.

[SecondMrsAshwell]

I most certainly will have a look at the rules. Not endangering what's left of the career. Mind you, you have saved me a lecture off the BFriend..... He would have gone on about it for hours. He can sign my sister's.

And I was only kidding about charging my sister £85 (if I could sign them anyway) .... If I charged my sister £85, I'd be worse than the original poster's colleague.

[SantasLittleMonkeyButler]

This is a new approach to me too OP. DH's boss countersigned DH's & all three DCs' applications last summer & didn't charge a penny. They work in a team of three, above a larger team and all three (DH, boss & one other) have a qualification enabling them to countersign.

I don't think they are asked that often, but wouldn't charge on the rare occasion it comes up .

And if DH did charge, it would probably be a pint or two - not £85 per person!

[Andrewofgg]

I am qualified in all sorts of way and it would not bloody occur to me.