Passport processing time 2

[sunshinehopeful]

Since the last thread (www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_advice_tips/a2043055-Passport-Processing-Time) is now full I though we could continue our discussions here!

Update from me finally got a call and its being upgraded (at price) but I dont care!!!!
I still won't rest until it's here in my hands.

Text yesterday to say passport printed arrived today 4 weeks 1day from date of posting to liverpool. Phew

Just got off the phone to Durham sent my passport (for a renewal as damaged) on the 25th of may they text me on the 3rd of June hadn't heard anything so after multiple attempts I finally got through to the office. They said it was in a que and hadn't even been looked at because I travel on the 11th of July they are going to take it out of the que tomorrow and get it looked at although they can not be certain il get it. This is worrying me so much :(

Anyone any news on renewals? Especially from Peterborough?

Jillyjilly, my sons renewal went to Peterborough, I did check and send on 2nd June, arrived Peterborough on 4th June, yesterday went to print .

ChocChoc I am so happy for you bet you get a good nights sleep tonight xx

Funambulist UPDATE My passport was waiting for me when I arrived home so that is excellent considering it was only printed yesterday at 10AM! So 3w1d. Hopefully you'll have yours by the end of the week

djturtle if they do pull it and look at it you'll have it in no time. If they've had it for over 3 weeks you can get the free upgrade if within 7 days of traveling.

do all counter signatories receive a letter they have to reply to? my dd's is a renewal, as i wasn't chancing the difference in appearance between age 7 and 12, so did new photographs.

My dd's teacher counter signed her photo, this is a true likeness etc, filled in the form and added his passport number as asked.

I hope this is enough, surely to god???

Pirate cat, my sons renewal had new photos that were signed. They didn't contact the person who signed it. I think most first passports they do. Not sure about the others if it is just random or because of reasons ?

So pleased for you sunshinehopeful and thanks for letting me know. I feel a bit more confident about mine now. I'm calling Belfast tomorrow for an update and hoping for some progress.

thankyou jazzy, i had a little panic that's all! Thinking that there could be a letter sitting at the school and not given to teacher.

so from skim reading the thread, is it Durham that's the worst?

All I know is that i live in Devon and mine has gone to Durham, because Newport Passport office is closed.

I've finally got my DS's first British passport... Our situation was complicated by the fact that we are temporarily in the US so he was born here, and we had to send his US passport to the UK for the British passport to be issued. Cue weeks of stress, the involvement of our old British MP and the British passport eventually arriving before our other documents were returned (including the US passport, which DS can't leave the country without), meaning we were effectively stranded here for even more time.

It was only when our MP became involved that we started to move forward. The online email service is manned by idiots - I asked various questions and just got lies and fob offs as answers. They repeatedly told me the application had been received later than it was, despite me having a FedEx signature for the day it arrived with them, they sent me an email saying I needed to wait another eight weeks THE SAME DAY as another department emailed me to say our docs were on their way to us and another email to say we'd have to wait when I had the British passport in my hand!

All in all, a total balls up and a total shambles compared with the US system (which should have been complicated given we are foreigners but wasn't!).

Ps - this was Durham. Avoid!!!

I'm sure one office isn't better than another to be honest, the applications are surely distributed evenly between offices.

jilly mine is at Peterborough, see a couple of pages back for an update on them I'm so worried.

Sharing my horrible tale in case it helps. We are due to fly out on 4th July and waiting for baby twins first passports that were sent in via check and send on May 20th. I have called every day for the last two weeks. Been promised a call back from the upgrade team four times and had nothing. In 14 calls and sometimes calls three times in the day I have begged to pay for an upgrade only to be reassured that someone from the team would call back .......they never do. I gave up on 0300 number and called Durham direct. I just waited until they answered (20 min or so) finally yesterday I emailed Peter Pugh and my mp asking for help. Today my mp emailed me saying they had dispatched the passports!! This morning when I phoned Durham they were still waiting to be checked. So use your mp it seems to help. Good luck everyone this was one if the most stressful weeks of my life x

Lookingforadvice - read your update sounds like mine is in the same timeframe as yours. I posted on 8th and arrived at Newport on 17th. I got an update yesterday by email saying the application was currently going through examination process, by the sounds of it that probably means it is waiting. My three weeks is up on Monday 30th so I will phone then. Was yours a renewal?

Did anyone see Watchdog tonight?

Jilly it took 9 days for your passport to arrive in Peterborough from Newport? That's shocking! I got the same email yesterday, after I'd spoken to someone who said it was still in a holding area! Yes mine was just a renewal. When do you travel? Are you calculating the 3 weeks from when you sent it then?

Oh god, no chocchoc what did it say?

I travel on 26th July, I am calculating 3 weeks from when I sent it although it seems passport office calculate 3 weeks from when they receive it. I have prep'd a letter to my MP, so will send that off on Monday. So frustrating. I spoke with someone yesterday on 0300 number, they said it was taking 4 weeks... Did Peterborough office think you would get yours back in time for your trip?

They were just talking about compensation and that the passport office would pay out but would look at each individual case.

They didn't / couldn't say, but they said if I didn't fast track, it wouldn't be looked at for 15 working days. Sorry I misread your post - do you mean yours arrived at Peterborough on the 17th June? So yours is 4 days behind mine in that sense, but it could've gone into the same holding area pile - who knows how their "system" works...

Saw Watchdog and any publicity on this matter is good. Notice that the Home Office weasled out of sending anyone to comment - no surprise there.

Think they could have picked a better case to show though. Whilst no doubt the guy featured suffered the same old shit re: repeated failed call backs and lengthy delays if - as they stated - they had booked their trip to the Greek Islands 11 months ago they could probably have got moving on the passport front sooner (they said it took 11 weeks for his first pp).

There are however specific groups such as those applying for childrens' first passports (as per this forum) who cannot allow months of advance in their cases since the child may well not have been born. Not to mention our expatriate friends faced with months and months of delays in foreign countries and little or no prospect of escalation. Maybe more attention could have been bought to these such cases #justsaying ...

As pp have said, there are lots of reasons why people delay ordering their renewals. We booked our honeymoon in November, when my passport still had 11 months on it so I was unable to renew before booking. I got married in February and have been saving for well over a year for the wedding, as well as for mine and DH's house deposit. I didn't have a spare £80 at all, I got promoted in May and so ordered my passport after payday, when I had a spare £80. My DH ordered his in March, and it took 2.5 weeks. As this is my first adult renewal I had no idea there were often delays in the summer months - if a service says it takes 3 weeks and charges almost £80 for the privilege, I believe it. If I'd have thought there was a risk, being the anxious, anally organised person I am, I would've ordered it months ago!

I do however agree that the news stories always seem to be people ordering their first adult passport, and kicking off when it takes 6 weeks. The guidelines actually at to allow 6 weeks!