Re: Passport Delays
 

I got my passport this morning. So like everyone has been saying, I think they are speeding things up. It was my first passport so I feel like I got it pretty fast. I did not call the careline and I never got an email saying my passport had been shipped. It just showed up this morning.

Re: Passport Delays
 

That's great news. Just over a month. Alot better than the 3 1/2 months it took my husband to receive his! I hope this wasn't just a one off and that they are actually starting to get their act together!

Re: Passport Delays
 

not good for me 17 WEEKS NOW WTF!!!!!!

Re: Passport Delays
 

pbx have you called the careline and asked them about your application?

Re: Passport Delays
 

Yes, I really think you need to contact someone. 17 weeks is too long, even if there are delays. Something seems to be wrong.

Re: Passport Delays
 

My daughter's been away for a week...when she got home her UK PP had been delivered.

She lives in Toronto and sent it in for renewal 14th June. She has a US PP...so she wasn't desperate to get the UK PP back and she did not call CareLine. It took approx 1 1/2 months.

Re: Passport Delays
 

1- Sent April 5 2011 with birth certificate Parents Marriage license and dads passport in formation Photos and stuff

2- Washington received April 8 2011

3-Wait till June 2 2011 called British Counsel in Toronto

4-Alot of calls to Toronto no help due to privacy act.

5-E-mail from Washington July 29 2011 stating more photo id is needed .

6- Sent 3 expired Ontario drivers licences and one student id all with photos June 30 2011

7- Washington received July 5 2011

8-Off to bank to see if money order has been processed July 19 2011 not yet

9-Call to Toronto Embassy July 25 2011

10- August 3 2011 still waiting

Re: Passport Delays
 

With all due respect, why are you calling the Toronto embassy for help without calling the passport folk first? You're creating a middle man. I understand exploring other avenues if you have tried the standard procedures with no success, but why haven't you called the dedicated careline to press your case to them?

It also doesn't make sense that they are working on your application - they wouldn't have contacted you for more info unless an examiner was working on it - but have yet to process the payment. Call the dedicated passport careline in the UK on + 44 208 495 8079 and ask them what is going on. If someone from Washington has emailed you, then you should be in their system and they will be able to tell you what stage your passport app is at. If they can't find you in their database, then (hopefully) whoever you speak to will take your details (name, DOB, when your app arrived in DC, etc) and get in contact with the DC office to find out what is going on.

Re: Passport Delays
 

got e-mail from Passport help line

Dear Mr Miller,

Thank you for your e-mail.
I can confirm that on this occasion we have raised an escalation to the
processing team asking them to contact you with regards to your
application.

The processing team will be in contact with you within 72 hours from them
receiving your escalation. It may take up to 24 hours before they may pick
up the escalation.

Kind Regards,
The British Passport Information Helpline

Re: Passport Delays
 

and i wait yet more.

All this because i let my Ontario drivers licence expire

The Province will not renew it unless i have a passport!

Re: Passport Delays
 

The boy's passport arrived this morning!

Rough timeline:

9th June - Application sent off

10th June - Application arrived in DC

June 13th - Credit card details compromised, had to cancel CC.

June 14th - 30th June - Multiple calls to careline to explain about our payment details being cancelled, and explain that we were moving back to England at end of August. Multiple unhelpful responses.

July 2nd - Tried passport helpline again. No help. Contacted my family's MP back in UK, who was appalled by our situation, and the general situation in DC. He agreed to help us.

July 8th - Tried helpline one last time - figured it couldn't hurt, and it didn't. Got someone helpful who told me I would be contacted within 72 hours for new payment details.

July 11th - Lady from DC rang, took new payment details, payment taken the same day. She told me that they had tried to take the payment sometime previously, and the app was sat in the "payment rejected" pile, contradicting what I was told by careline folks during June, who told me that when payments are rejected, DC will contact the applicant for new details automatically.

July 20th - Called careline to check that the boy was now in the system and things were progressing. Told that he was only in there as "payment taken" and was yet to go to an examiner, and that it was possible the previous escalation had only been for the payment details, not to put a rush on the application. Lady I spoke to re-escalated as urgent.

July 25th - Figured I would call again given that the first escalation hadn't been fully actioned. Spoke to the same lady as on 20th - she assured me that his application was now with an examiner and barring any eligibility or documentation issues, his passport should be done in a couple of weeks.

August 3rd - Passport arrived!


Can't begin to express the relief I feel at this. Had it not been for the fact that we were moving back to the UK, I would have been happy to wait our turn and if it took 3 months, so be it. I almost feel bad that I had to be so pushy about it all, but needs must. Good luck to everyone else who is still waiting!

Re: Passport Delays
 

Glad to hear your son's passport arrived, aml! I know I just can't imagine the relief you must be feeling right now!

I am just staggered by how variable the info given by careline is. My move date is after your's, if I remember correctly, but I seem to have been lucky that I got a helpful person right away and they had my son's passport out to me right away. There just shouldn't be this much of a difference in the levels of service people receive.

Re: Passport Delays
 

That's been one of my biggest peeves. I would read that people were getting hold of helpful folk at the careline, and it would get my hopes up, then when I spoke to them I would get the standard "can't do anything for you until you're in the system" response.

I don't know if it's a training issue with them and some of them don't actually realise that they can push to help people before they are in the system, or otherwise if it's just that some are more willing to help than others. I was just so relieved when I finally got hold of a lady who wanted to help us.

Then there is the issue with timing. I would hear that some people would get an escalation and then receive their passports less than a week later, while others would have to wait much longer. That's not a huge issue for me, because I always said that as long as we got it before August 23rd it wasn't an problem, but it's still surprising how inconsistent they seem to be.

Re: Passport Delays
 

Well i went to my bank and they informed me that the money order that
i sent with my passport application

HAS BEEN PROCESSED MAY 11 2011

I put my dob and name on the back of the money order

So i will ask again where is my passport and all the identification i
sent to the Washington office.

The bank has put a note on my account to protect me.

And the nightmare continues

Re: Passport Delays
 

Call them and find out.

011 44 208 495 8079