Bladerunner

I was in a real panic yesterday, as I thought my passport had been lost or stolen and I am due to travel to England next week. I thought I'd call the British Consul in New York to ask if it had been handed in.

No chance. There's no way of speaking to a real person - you can only listen to a series of recorded messages. Even the "emergency" line is not staffed. You get a voice recording, and are prompted to leave a message.

The embassy in Washington is the same. There's no opportunity to speak to an actual person, just a series of automated choices - none of which seemed relevant to my enquiry.



Rant over

meauxna

Tell Dean and see what he says; at least you can complain to a human.

Octang Frye

I had a family emergency three or four years ago.
I managed to get a passport expedited to me in three days from the embassy.
You just have to try different things on the automated menus.
Try 0 for a start.

And PM Dean Churm. Can't hurt.

Bladerunner

Did you manage to speak to someone then? I thought I exhausted all the options.

I don't mind automated systems - they save time and money. As long as they give an option to speak to a real person, that is. At the embassy and consul there is no option to speak to an operator, as fas as I can tell.

Octang Frye

I did somehow but, sorry, I don't remember how.

British Consul

Sorry to hear you had trouble getting through. General information about passports, visas etc is contained on our website free of charge, or you can contact our service delivery partners if you wanted to speak to someone (who don't have any more information available to them than is on the website). The problem is that a lot of people just need to speak to someone, but don't necessarily know why. If we tried to speak to everyone we'd need an army of people to answer all of the questions. Although our consulates have emergency numbers, you will sometimes be asked to leave a message in our smaller offices, especially if all of the staff are busy assisting other callers. In Orlando/Miami you get delightful music until we can get to you, but you're not normally on hold for long.

Just to answer your question about the passport. Not many get handed in. If they are, we're not permitted to store them for a while or hand them back. We cancel and destroy. To replace your passport and report your old passport as lost or stolen then visit www.UKinUSA.fco.gov.uk/orlando and download the necessary forms. If you need to travel urgently, call your nearest consulate to see if your travel requirements qualify for an emergency travel document.

Octang - The zero button is hit and miss on our systems. Normally a miss, as it replays the message you're trying to avoid listening to......


Hope this helps.

Dean

Folinskyinla

Hi There:

My only experience is from the other end -- when my mother-in-law [then a sprightly 69-year old] lost her US passport in London in 1987. Grosvenor Square told us to report it to the London Metro Police, which we dutifully did. Two days later, while up in Scotland, the London Police contacted us noting the passport was ready to be picked up.

I know this was a long time ago and security concerns have increased dramatically -- but would the scenario be different today?

Just curious.

dbj1000

But it doesn't, does it?

You effectively responded by saying "it's intentionally difficult to talk to a human being, and most of the time we don't want to talk to you."

Oh, and you neglected to give any suggestion of how to talk to someone useful. Just how to talk to your "service delivery partners", whoever they may be, who you imply are basically useless if one has access to the web and can read.

"Service delivery partners"... thanks for reminding me of so many things I don't miss about the UK with that one little bureaucrat-speak catchphrase.

Rant Over

Octang Frye

Gets popcorn...

To be fair, the folk in the Embassy did turn mine round in three days and were actually quite helpful, once I got through.
I'm not usually given to complimenting government workers, but they did alright by me. Although my gran did die before I could get home.

Bless you, Nanny.

Marocco

Why are you not permitted to do this?

What do you mean by "destroy"? You wouldn't destroy a passport with a valid visa in it, would you?

Norri

Good questions Marocco

Dean, The OP wanted to know how to speak to a live useful person, is there a way to do this with the emergency numbers?

British Consul

Sure, but I would ask that the callers satisfy themselves that their enquiry justifies speaking to someone. If it's about a passport related matter then read our website (www.UKinUSA.fco.gov.uk/orlando), and the notes that accompany the application form before calling the consulate. We don't answer any enquiries about visas. Again, check the website and then call our service delivery partner. We can't advise on US immigration matters, how to get your dog a pet passport, or how to find good B&B's in the UK. But we know people who can, and so you will get recorded information on who to phone. In some cases you will have to pay to get the information from a premium rate number, but we will always give you a website address too so you can get the information free of charge.

We do help British nationals in distress and our consulates will give you the option to speak to someone "if you are a British national requiring emergency assistance or are calling about an emergency involving a British national". To speak to someone at a consulate, or the embassy, dial the main switchboard number (all listed at www.UKinUSA.fco.gov.uk) and select the options as follows:

Chicago and Washington D.C. - Press 1
Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, and Orlando - Press 2
Los Angeles and San Francisco - Press 4

Hope this helps....

Dean

Norri

That does sound helpful, but it seems the OP only reached a recording on the emergency number, is this correct? will someone call back immediately if they determine it is a real crisis?

On a seperate point I have lost touch with my Aunt Mary in Edinburgh do you know her 'phone number

Kate2112

Again the cost of these calls are outrageously high, your comment would be appreciated

Visa Enquiries
Please visit the visa pages of the website. For further visa enquiries, contact Worldbridge, our commerical partner, at these numbers:

1 900 656 5000 - calls cost $3 per minute

OR

1 212 796 5773 - $12 flat fee (residents outside the US will need to call this number)

Please note: Worldbridge is NOT able to provide information on the status of an application that has already been submitted.


Consular/Passport Enquiries


Passport enquiries:
Passport services for British Citizens are centralised in Washington, DC. Please visit the passport section on the website.

All passport telephone inquiries are handled by our outsource partner Abtran, at this number:

1 900 285 7277

Hours of operation: Weekdays from 08.30-20.30 Eastern Standard Time.
Calls cost $2.49 per minute (on 1 October 2008, the US price will change to $2.60 per minute).

If you have difficulties reaching the above number and wish to pay by credit card, please call 1-800 630 3332.



If you wish to speak to an operator with a general inquiry about the UK, please call 1-900 255 6685. This is a premium rate service handled by our outsource partner Abtran. All calls are charged at the rate of $2.49 per minute (on 1 October 2008, the US price for calls will change to $2.60 per minute).

If you have difficulties reaching this number and wish to pay by credit card, please call 1-800 443 8882.

Hours of operation: Monday through Friday, from 0830 to 2030 EST, excluding public holidays.

Email and telephone inquiries about visas and passports to the above contact details will NOT receive a response. For visa and passport inquiries - see information above.

British Consul

In our smaller posts you will get a recording if the person who normally provides assistance is busy with another caller. As I said above, you'll hear music in Orlando/Miami until we can get to you. It normally isn't long.

The OP's enquiry couldn't be classified as an emergency and although they might get a return call, it won't be immediately.

As for Aunt Mary, hang on for a second, I'll just get my Glasgow telephone directory from the cupboard.

Dean