Passport agency

hartey

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So we send our 4 passports off, 1 for renewal and 3 for our young ones, first time applicants, I have to have my photo counter signed as I look younger! ( read younger as older) 3 little "angels" also need countersigning as new applicants, so we ask our friendly business lady next door to sign them all, she obliges, bobs your uncle off they go.
Two weeks later, 3 passports arrive through door, 1 renewal and 2 new ones, strange we thought, where's the other?
We decide to wait a few days, still no passport so we phone the passport agency, were told
"no problems with form will be sent out shortly, if don't receive in two days phone us back"
"ok thank you"

Two days later still no show so ring back up,

"hi yes can see no problems with application phone back in two days if not received"

Hmm deja vu?

"ok thank you"

This happened twice more!

So we go away two weeks today, we receive a letter from agency, oh joy I say to myself it has arrived!

We are sorry to inform you your application has not been successful due to counter signer not being able to counter sign passports.
Please re apply.

My question/rant is why was she allowed to counter sign for mine and my two other daughters passports but not my sons?
Why tell us two weeks before we go away, when they had ample oppurtunity to tell us in phone calls when there was time to sort it out?

GRRRRRR
 
I used the post office service just so this crap never happened to us.
Hope it gets sorted
 
We used the check and send service at the post office as well!
 
In this instance the check and send service would be no use. They simply check the forms to make sure the relevant parts are filled in correctly (signatures in the box etc.) and make sure all documentation is present.

What's happened here is that the person who countersigned for him is not someone who is allowed to countersign for passport purposes. The Post Office check and send service doesn't extend that far. Fair enough, if you use check and send and it comes back as not valid then you can ask the Post Office for your money back, but that still won't get your passport for you.

People able to countersign are listed here. Link.

Looks like the only option now is go and camp at the nearest passport office and do it in person.
 
I can sign it for you.

However, the point is they let the other passports through without a problem, and they rejected just one of them. I think they are "sampling" when they do checks, rather than check every application they get.

And that is worrying. Is Abu Hamza sends in 4 passport request, only one might get rejected.

Good luck in getting it sorted and I feel you have a perfect right to RANT on this occasion, they have really dropped a clanger and left you in a predicament.

Anyway, on a lighter side, where are you all going for your holiday?
 
It is very worrying!
It seems it's easier to get in the country than out of it!
Hopefully menorca!
 
Have a great time mate, once you get there your passport experience will be long forgotten.
 
hi, how did this turn out? any news? my holiday is booked already, we sent off the babys passport may 15th check and send, i phoned up today and its not even been looked at, they are going to look at it thursday or friday. do they always contact the counter signature for confirmation? if they do then we wont have it back in time. we fly june 11th, its looking doubtful isnt it.
 
Still not received it yet mate!
Looking slightly better, as we had to send another application off, with a different counter signer, which they received Monday, they phoned us this morning, saying everything was ok, was in a que to be printed!

Only thing is they say it should be with us Saturday or Wednesday, due to bank holidays, eek, we leave on wednesday!!!!
 
Quick update, they phoned this morning to say it had been posted and should be with us by sat, 10 mins later it arrived! ****** good postal service lol!

So all in all, after a shoddy service in the beginning, the passport agency were ****** brilliant in the end!!