Passports

[McShane79]

The 2 times I've got a new one I have had my old one returned in the post with just the corners cut off to show that it's cancelled.

You've been done son!

 

[eastlondonseagull]

The 2 times I've got a new one I have had my old one returned in the post with just the corners cut off to show that it's cancelled.

You've been done son!

Yeah, I know. They're a bunch of cunts

 

[KNC]

Is that the 'Eastenders' theme I can hear?

 

[eastlondonseagull]

Is that the 'Eastenders' theme I can hear?

Of course

 

[Vankleek Hill Seagull]

The 2 times I've got a new one I have had my old one returned in the post with just the corners cut off to show that it's cancelled.

You've been done son!

Same with mine. I had to get a new passport at the British Embassy in Tokyo as I had no room in my old one for a Chinese Visa to visit Shanghai.

The problem I have is that whenever I go through passport control, I keep being asked where my passport was issued as all it says is FCO (Foreign Consulate Office) instead of United Kindom Passport Agency.

 

[The Wookiee]

as cancelled without prejudice??

Do they say that now because they don't use black passports anymore

 

[tedebear]

Do they say that now because they don't use black passports anymore

poor!! very poor!!

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Have just got back from a wasted morning at the Passport Agency in Victoria, trying to renew my passport.

It's rammed with visas and stamps from around the world and so I want to keep it for posterity. Nothing wrong with that. But because it's dog-eared, they're saying it's damaged and that it will have to be destroyed! What the f***?!

Why destroy damaged passports but return the others? All old passports, whatever their condition, are cancelled, so what's the f***ing problem?

Officious bitch in their office wouldn't give me an explanation as to why they destroy so-called 'damaged' passports - she just told me it was the law. Why destroy it? All it's got is 10 years of wear and tear.

Am gutted, cos I wanted to keep it to show my future kids where I'd been on my travels etc etc etc. Wankers

Do not, repeat, NOT let your new passport fall into the hands of 'Special Mail Services' the wide-boys who won the contract to deliver for the Passport Office. Pay whatever it takes on top to keep your vital travel documetns (or gig tickets) out of their clutches. Seriously. Do a search on Special Mail Services and you'll see what I mean. They got whole sites devoted to hatting them. Or check out their website if you need further proof. World's Worst Privatisation Bar None. Fact. And on no account ever take a day off work so they can 'deliver between 8 am and 6pm'. Cos they won't. Best you can expect is a card saying 'we called but you were out'. Cos the wise guys get paid for failed deliveries same as for completed deliveries. Evil scamming bastards

 

[dougdeep]

The cost of passports almost doubles next month so get them now folks.

 

[Da Man Clay]

Re: Re: Passports

Do not, repeat, NOT let your new passport fall into the hands of 'Special Mail Services' the wide-boys who won the contract to deliver for the Passport Office. Pay whatever it takes on top to keep your vital travel documetns (or gig tickets) out of their clutches. Seriously. Do a search on Special Mail Services and you'll see what I mean. They got whole sites devoted to hatting them. Or check out their website if you need further proof. World's Worst Privatisation Bar None. Fact. And on no account ever take a day off work so they can 'deliver between 8 am and 6pm'. Cos they won't. Best you can expect is a card saying 'we called but you were out'. Cos the wise guys get paid for failed deliveries same as for completed deliveries. Evil scamming bastards

Weird, I got my gig tickets from then and didn't have a problem.

 

[acrossthepond]

You might want to check what they mean by destroyed. in the past this has meant rendering it unusable by slicing off the corners...

 

[Gully]

I have had the corners sliced off both of mine, they were sent back with the new one each time.

 

[bhaexpress]

My tale. I couldn't say anything because Seagull73 would have read it...

Last Sunday, I took my brother, sister and father to lunch. What I didn't tell them was that it was in Brussels.

Rewind back to the Thursday 10 days before. My partner walked into the room with a purple pulp in her hand. "You're not going to like this." she said. That purple pulp was my passport that had gone through the wash.



So I immediately phoned the passport people, and got through to a completely unhelpful automaton. In order to get a new passport urgently, I needed to make an appointment with my nearest passport office (Victoria), and there wasn't an available slot until the following Wednesday. Then, after that, it would be seven days. No f***ing good.

Cut a long story short, I went to London (I was going anyway for the Seagulls over London meeting), and headed for the Victoria office. They were VERY helpful, and, because my new form had not been countersigned, all I needed to do was get that done, and return 7.45am the next day with the countersignature and they would see me.

Next day, depsite 30 people ahead of me in the queue, I got seen and was out by 8.30am. My passport arrived 4 days later.

The moral is that if I listened to the prat on the phone, I would have been screwed and missed out on my day in Brussels. Instead, I went straight to Victoria and got it sorted by a very helpful bunch of people.

I worked there a few years ago on a Software Rollout (IT people know what that means). What struck me was how slack the security was, I'm sure it must be tighter now ......

 

[Stumpy Tim]

Re: Re: Passports

Better not as I'm off to throw plastic chairs at Germans in a month.

Auckland immigration allowed me in their country, but the corners off the passport so I couldn't leave! I had two days to get a new passport, and the good old British Consulate in Wellington did it in a day

 

[eastlondonseagull]

You might want to check what they mean by destroyed. in the past this has meant rendering it unusable by slicing off the corners...

Destroyed, as in mulched, apparently. And you don't get the mulch back.

 

[London Calling]

Yeah, I know. They're a bunch of cunts

Have you handed it in yet,

otherwise you've got nothing more to lose than sending it off and hope that they will just cut the corners off!

 

[McShane79]

Destroyed, as in mulched, apparently. And you don't get the mulch back.

I don't get why they would do that. As long as it's obviously no longer valid, just send it back!!

I was glad to get my one back as it had my stamps for Japan 02!!

 

[eastlondonseagull]

I don't get why they would do that. As long as it's obviously no longer valid, just send it back!!

You'd think so, wouldn't you? Idiots