Passport Renewal Delays and Abtran
May 11th 2009, 5:40 pm
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 27
Passport Renewal Delays and Abtran
I posted on Friday about a huge delay in processing passport renewals. Here is the follow-up I promised as a thank you to those who helped and an alert to others who may have the same problem. The short version is don't rely on what Abtran says even though they charge you $180/hour for listening to musak and give grossly misleading information.
Here is a chronology.I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.
March 30 - FedEx renewal application
April 1 - acknowledge receipt
April 15- charged credit card so processing begins.Embassy website still shows 1o days for processing time.
May 08 - call Abtran because website now mentions delays. Abtran say in a recorded conversation, application is not due for approval,has not been processed and allow another 6 weeks. They reluctantly give me a fax number that is on the Embassy website anyway.
May 08 - sign up for this Forum, warn as many others with related threads that the elapsed time for renewal applications is now 3 months and ask for helpful contacts. This forums British Consul - Dean kindly offers to help. I send a fax and 2 Fed Ex letters asking Embassy what happened to my application and questioning the protracted processing time.
May 10 -(sunday afternoon) I receive an automated call from UPS saying a package from Landover Maryland will be delivered and must have an adult signature. Why don't they email this information?? No mention of British Embassy/Passport. So - a mystery package from our friends who happen to live in Maryland? Fortunately I am not traveling and get the message.
UPS tracking data shows package was ready to ship May 05 and actually shipped May 08.Why the delay?
I deduce that when I called Abtran on May 08 the passport had been waiting for shipment for 3 days yet they told me it hadn't been processed.
Lesson
1. Don't have only 1 passport if you travel at less than 3 months notice.
2. Don't rely on Abtran information.
3. Share such experiences on Forum so others may be alerted.
Oh and the 2 FedEx letters and fax I sent asking what happened to my application - no reply so far.See 1. above
My thanks to those who may have helped -whoever you are.
Here is a chronology.I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.
March 30 - FedEx renewal application
April 1 - acknowledge receipt
April 15- charged credit card so processing begins.Embassy website still shows 1o days for processing time.
May 08 - call Abtran because website now mentions delays. Abtran say in a recorded conversation, application is not due for approval,has not been processed and allow another 6 weeks. They reluctantly give me a fax number that is on the Embassy website anyway.
May 08 - sign up for this Forum, warn as many others with related threads that the elapsed time for renewal applications is now 3 months and ask for helpful contacts. This forums British Consul - Dean kindly offers to help. I send a fax and 2 Fed Ex letters asking Embassy what happened to my application and questioning the protracted processing time.
May 10 -(sunday afternoon) I receive an automated call from UPS saying a package from Landover Maryland will be delivered and must have an adult signature. Why don't they email this information?? No mention of British Embassy/Passport. So - a mystery package from our friends who happen to live in Maryland? Fortunately I am not traveling and get the message.
UPS tracking data shows package was ready to ship May 05 and actually shipped May 08.Why the delay?
I deduce that when I called Abtran on May 08 the passport had been waiting for shipment for 3 days yet they told me it hadn't been processed.
Lesson
1. Don't have only 1 passport if you travel at less than 3 months notice.
2. Don't rely on Abtran information.
3. Share such experiences on Forum so others may be alerted.
Oh and the 2 FedEx letters and fax I sent asking what happened to my application - no reply so far.See 1. above
My thanks to those who may have helped -whoever you are.
May 11th 2009, 5:53 pm
#2
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 35,082
Re: Passport Renewal Delays and Abtran
This is still not a US immigration issue. Moved to USA forum.
May 11th 2009, 5:56 pm
#3
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 27
Re: Passport Renewal Delays and Abtran
thanks
May 20th 2009, 6:49 pm
#4
Just Joined
Joined: Feb 2006
Location: Basingstoke, UK - moving to Fremont, CA
Posts: 7
Re: Passport Renewal Delays and Abtran
I posted on Friday about a huge delay in processing passport renewals. Here is the follow-up I promised as a thank you to those who helped and an alert to others who may have the same problem. The short version is don't rely on what Abtran says even though they charge you $180/hour for listening to musak and give grossly misleading information.
Here is a chronology.I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.
March 30 - FedEx renewal application
April 1 - acknowledge receipt
April 15- charged credit card so processing begins.Embassy website still shows 1o days for processing time.
May 08 - call Abtran because website now mentions delays. Abtran say in a recorded conversation, application is not due for approval,has not been processed and allow another 6 weeks. They reluctantly give me a fax number that is on the Embassy website anyway.
May 08 - sign up for this Forum, warn as many others with related threads that the elapsed time for renewal applications is now 3 months and ask for helpful contacts. This forums British Consul - Dean kindly offers to help. I send a fax and 2 Fed Ex letters asking Embassy what happened to my application and questioning the protracted processing time.
May 10 -(sunday afternoon) I receive an automated call from UPS saying a package from Landover Maryland will be delivered and must have an adult signature. Why don't they email this information?? No mention of British Embassy/Passport. So - a mystery package from our friends who happen to live in Maryland? Fortunately I am not traveling and get the message.
UPS tracking data shows package was ready to ship May 05 and actually shipped May 08.Why the delay?
I deduce that when I called Abtran on May 08 the passport had been waiting for shipment for 3 days yet they told me it hadn't been processed.
Lesson
1. Don't have only 1 passport if you travel at less than 3 months notice.
2. Don't rely on Abtran information.
3. Share such experiences on Forum so others may be alerted.
Oh and the 2 FedEx letters and fax I sent asking what happened to my application - no reply so far.See 1. above
My thanks to those who may have helped -whoever you are.
Here is a chronology.I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.
March 30 - FedEx renewal application
April 1 - acknowledge receipt
April 15- charged credit card so processing begins.Embassy website still shows 1o days for processing time.
May 08 - call Abtran because website now mentions delays. Abtran say in a recorded conversation, application is not due for approval,has not been processed and allow another 6 weeks. They reluctantly give me a fax number that is on the Embassy website anyway.
May 08 - sign up for this Forum, warn as many others with related threads that the elapsed time for renewal applications is now 3 months and ask for helpful contacts. This forums British Consul - Dean kindly offers to help. I send a fax and 2 Fed Ex letters asking Embassy what happened to my application and questioning the protracted processing time.
May 10 -(sunday afternoon) I receive an automated call from UPS saying a package from Landover Maryland will be delivered and must have an adult signature. Why don't they email this information?? No mention of British Embassy/Passport. So - a mystery package from our friends who happen to live in Maryland? Fortunately I am not traveling and get the message.
UPS tracking data shows package was ready to ship May 05 and actually shipped May 08.Why the delay?
I deduce that when I called Abtran on May 08 the passport had been waiting for shipment for 3 days yet they told me it hadn't been processed.
Lesson
1. Don't have only 1 passport if you travel at less than 3 months notice.
2. Don't rely on Abtran information.
3. Share such experiences on Forum so others may be alerted.
Oh and the 2 FedEx letters and fax I sent asking what happened to my application - no reply so far.See 1. above
My thanks to those who may have helped -whoever you are.
I sent for my son's passport in April as he is travelling in June. It stated 10 days processing at the time I applied - it is infuriating to know that they have had these issues since March.
I have faxed a letter to the number given, although I have been told I won't get a reply anyway. How do I contact Dean?
May 20th 2009, 7:28 pm
#5
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 27
Re: Passport Renewal Delays and Abtran
You need to search for all the related threads before you contact him so you understand the situation. You'll find him if you search for "British Consul"
May 21st 2009, 8:59 pm
#6
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 27
Re: Passport Renewal Delays and Abtran
Strangely I got a response from the UK Public Affairs Team to whom I had made a "responsible citizen" alert about the Passport Renewal delays. If you actually want to complain the details they require are quite troubling . Anyway I took the time to reply to their email. You get an immediate automated response implying you've used the wrong email address !I begin to see a pattern here........
