[News] The National Embarrassment That Is . . . HM Passport Office.

[McTavish]

Got my new passport yesterday a full ten days after applying. Applied on line with photographs from a photobooth allowing me just to send in a code rather than physical photos.

 

[BNthree]

Renewed my daughter's passport last month and used the online service for regular renewal. We got it back in less than 3 weeks; longest part of the process them acknowledging the old passport had been sent in. We used Recorded Delivery so knew it had been signed for but wasn't marked as received on the application for 10 days.

 

[BNthree]

In theory yes, that's the Prestige service, and would be my preferred method, but just try getting an appointment, none are available.

I did after many days trying finally manage to obtain one in Belfast, but l'm not going there!

I've flown to Belfast for passport appointment before! Piss easy but very strange flying without needing a passport. Probably cost about as much as a rush hour ticket to Victoria too.

 

[WATFORD zero]

I agree. Every Civil Service department has been cut back and cut back in the name of austerity.

I hate to be pedantic, but I bet you can't find any Minister's Private office that has been cut during the last 13 years of 'austerity'

 

[Guinness Boy]

Just renewed mine online. The new mug shot, snapped by Mrs T, makes me look like a pissed-off drug dealer -

I wonder when It will arrive....

That, squire, is because you look like a pissed off drug dealer


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I hate to be pedantic, but I bet you can't find any Minister's Private office that has been cut during the last 13 years of 'austerity'

Not even those who have been 'paid off'?

 

[WATFORD zero]

Not even those who have been 'paid off'?

If you mean 'are taking up other opportunities elsewhere', they have all been replaced (often requiring an increase in the size of their 'team')

 

[Iggle Piggle]

I renewed both of my daughters passports online this year, I guess we were lucky as they took about two weeks to arrive.

I renewed my kids ones online and they arrived within 3 weeks. I renewed mine at more or less the same time - which went to the same Passport office - and it came back 11 weeks later.

Kids ones seem to come back sooner.

 

[Dick Swiveller]

My mate's other ordered her replacement in her soon to be married name. She received two passports and documents back. One from a mortified lady 100 miles away. He arranged sending it direct so they can't cock it up again

 

[Springal]

My mate's other ordered her replacement in her soon to be married name. She received two passports and documents back. One from a mortified lady 100 miles away. He arranged sending it direct so they can't cock it up again

Hope they reported them to the ICO ! Massive data protection issue there.

 

[Dick Swiveller]

Hope they reported them to the ICO ! Massive data protection issue there.

He asked my advice. He will let the affected person know if she doesn't already that she has a claim for a complaint/compensation. Apparently it was name change the to divorce so very sensitive documents. Quick Google suggests it isn't the first time.

 

[swindonseagull]

I renewed my passport last month, had my brand new one back to me within 10 days.

My daughters renewal took less than 2 weeks

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

And WFH is causing this issue how?

Home office advice was not to apply for a passport for months during the lockdown due to staff WFH, what do you think will happen if you cause a back log?

Same with DVLA

 

[keaton]

Home office advice was not to apply for a passport for months during the lockdown due to staff WFH, what do you think will happen if you cause a back log?

Same with DVLA

When was this? Two years ago?

 

[jessiejames]

I have some sympathy for your situation, but it has been heavily publicised that the passport office are taking an age to process applications. I’d assume a wait of 15-16 weeks for a new passport to be issued, and I’ve personally decided (as my passport has expired) that I’ll stick to the U.K. for this year and leave travel abroad for next year.

It’s not ideal, and it does seem frustrating that this government keeps talking about removing red tape and making things easier, when all around the evidence mounts that they’re doing the precise opposite. There is nothing I can think of in the last few years that has become less bureaucratic, unwieldy, time-consuming and frustrating to achieve. Nevertheless, we continue to vote in our traditional patterns. I’d take a dull but competent administrator for my next PM please, rather than a glossy suit with an ideological angle.

It’s no good saying it’s the Civil Service’s fault, they’re led by government and have to follow the rules the government lay down for them. What we need is a bit of creative thinking at a ministerial level on how to streamline the process and improve efficiency. The trouble is, if the process can’t be streamlined, the only answer is more Civil Servants, which is anathema to the Party nominally governing our country at present.

Regrettably I foresee no great flash of ministerial genius, and no appetite for bolstering the staff doing the work, so I’m expecting the current situation to continue and will book nothing until I have my new passport in my sweaty little hands.

Its easy to sort this problem out, stop all this working from home shit, get them back in the offices, and employ more staff, same with DVLA.

 

[southstandandy]

Sent mine and the wife's off on May 12th and got ours back last week - 8 weeks approx.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I struggle to have sympathy here. So many people have waited due to lockdown to renew their passports at the correct time - i.e. when the passport was coming up to the expiry date - why ? Now many have booked holidays without a thought about their passport - why ? Never booked a trip abroad without checking my passport date before booking. Yet for some reason it's the Passport Office's fault !

You seem to be criticizing people for renewing their passport at the “correct time”….this doesn’t make sense….am I misunderstanding this?

 

[Surf's Up]

I renewed end of Jan, waiting time said 8-9 weeks. Got new one back after 4.

Ditto - my problem is that my new passport doesn't work with the automatic passport check machines. On returning from a recent trip abroad I mentioned this to the passport control officer and he said, and I quote, "Ah yes, there seems to be some teething problems with these new passports, you're about the thousandth person whose complained!!"

 

[Westdene Seagull]

You seem to be criticizing people for renewing their passport at the “correct time”….this doesn’t make sense….am I misunderstanding this?

You are indeed misunderstanding what I said. Loads of people held back renewing their passports that were about to expire because of lockdown. You could still renew but these same people are now complaining of delaysa because all of them want to get a renewal at the same time. Shock horror ..... there's now delays. Moral ? Start your application process six months before your current passport expires - hardly rocket science.

 

[usernamed]

Its easy to sort this problem out, stop all this working from home shit, get them back in the offices, and employ more staff, same with DVLA.

I’m honestly not convinced that WFH has any bearing on it. There’s a throughput that managers will expect from staff based on the task, and they’ll want to know why if there’s significant difference. I suspect (though can’t say for sure) that this just comes down to staff available vs increased demand, and resourcing is a problem any Conservative government has going forward.

The modern Conservative mantra is “tax cuts!” but if public services are already stretched, then to cut tax further while still “balancing the books”, there will, by necessity, be a further degradation in some aspect of public services.

As such further votes for the modern Conservative Party is a vote for further deterioration in public services. I’m not convinced many people are happy with the level of service offered now, but everyone loves the idea of paying less tax. So far that’s carried the party through, but any voter that thinks about things may decide that things are being cut slightly too lean, and look for an alternative that doesn’t try to run everything quite so close to the bone.