Guest Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 My 18 year old son needs a new passport. We get the forms from the PO, get the photos taken, fill in all the relevant bits on the form, get the counter signatory to do his bit, take it all back to the PO for their check and send service; needs to be done again as counter signatory has missed son's middle name out when signing the back of the photo. So back to see countersignatory, get him to sign the back of another photo of son remembering to put his middle name in. Back to PO see somebody different, tells me she cant accept it as some of the characters are outside of the boxes, tell her this is the 2nd time that form has been checked and it wasn't mentioned before; sorry she says. Get another form, fill it in (over a cup of tea and a piece of cake as by now I'm fuming!), take form to son in work to sign (5 miles away), go back to countersignatory (10 miles away) for him to complete his bit on the form, then back to PO. Sorry she says again, son has gone out of the box with his signature by about 1,00000000000000 of a cm!!! AARRGGHH!! I was the 3rd person in the queue to be turned away at that time (dont forget I've already been turned away twice!!!!!) Cant face doing it all again just now so back home for another cup of tea, before I do it all again!!! All this because my son is trying to get OUT of the country...............pity they're not as stringent when letting people in the country!!! Rant over.........................for now!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inge Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 My sympathy... I too would be a bit enraged by now... not yet had this problem myself.. but have been countersignatory for several children through work.... one they refused because there was a tiny tiny spot on top right hand corner of photo.... another because child was not quite positioned right in photo.. this was for a 18month old who poor had been trying to get something without crying for 2 months, going in and out of specialist shop so often they knew them by name! but my son had not a problem.. but then his company did it for him as it was second one he needs for work.. Inge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louby loo Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Any chance you could just try same forms at different post office? you could give them a selection to chose from!!!!! xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Yes I've got a vast array of forms - I could fan them out and say"pick a form, any form" lol!! Unfortunately not all PO's offer the check and send service!! I'll just keep plodding on!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alechunter Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 I had an argument with the passport office after they had refused my son's second photo for some silly reason and they back tracked and decided to except the first one that they had rejected originally. How silly is that. But my advice to you is stand your ground and hopefully they will get somewhere. My husband recently renewed our car tax with an old insurance certificate (which I had given him by mistake) and they didn't even notice and gave him his tax. You just can't win!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louby loo Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Yes I've got a vast array of forms - I could fan them out and say"pick a form, any form" lol!! Unfortunately not all PO's offer the check and send service!! I'll just keep plodding on!! Is the PO one of the places you can pay the £25 (or some such amount) and they do it all for you, or is that some banks? Only asking because if the PO can do this - are the deliberatly trying to make it difficult as to 'encourage' people tp pay the 'we do it all for you' service? or am I just getting to cynical in my old age?....................or is this the 'check and send' that you're talking about anyway? xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Yes I think you are talking about the check and send service. It costs £6.85 fortunately I havent paid anything yet so I guess you only pay once it's correct and then sent - just as well, I'd have forked out £27 by now!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louby loo Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Yes I think you are talking about the check and send service. It costs £6.85 fortunately I havent paid anything yet so I guess you only pay once it's correct and then sent - just as well, I'd have forked out £27 by now!!!! Are you in a hurry? I sent mine direct last year -admittedly renewalls - but I have terrible writing and I even made a few mistakes but they came back ok, even though my husband the photo's wouldn't be accepted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cait Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 SOOOOOO frustrating! I've not got a passport, and this isn't making me want to have one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 He's going to Belgium on a Youth Worker training course at the end of March, he had a child passport but was 18 3 weeks ago and in a flash of "oh my God" in the middle of the night I realised he's now an adult and needs an adult passport (his child one is still current but dont want to take the risk), cant make an appointment with the passport office until you have less than 2 weeks to go before you need it!. Have decided not to do it again today so will attempt to get it all done tomorrow, the check and send service reckon they can get it back within 2 weeks as by using that service you are fast tracked!! Here's hoping!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cait Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Perhaps the answer is to take all the people with you who need to sign and just keep at it till they are happy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hali Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 passports are a real pain - i do feel for you.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louby loo Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 SOOOOOO frustrating! I've not got a passport, and this isn't making me want to have one! but you have to have one - just so other people can laugh at your picture! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cait Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 But if I have one, everyone will get me to sign their forms and stuff - by not having one it lets me off! Great excuse!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hali Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 very good reason for not having one that cait.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMaz Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 All this because my son is trying to get OUT of the country...............pity they're not as stringent when letting people in the country!!! Well that depends - if they were, I wouldn't be here at all! Hope you get it all sorted soon - there's nothing like a bit of bureaucracy mixed with a bit of 'jobsworthism' to make your blood boil! Maz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyday Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Hope you don't have to go down the Passpport office route - 'been there done that' - no fun at all. sunnyday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Hi I still get wound up easily by passport and visa issues. Last year I lost my passport, noticed two days before I was due to fly. Got an appointment at passport office for next day and got passport same day (spent a couple of hours wandering around Liverpool). Costs a fortune doesn't it - over £100! That was the easy part! My visa took a week to sort out with embassy and then had to reapply and pay for a new residency visa once I got back to work (I work overseas). I got back to work a week late - headteacher taught my class for that week!! Now I think pah, even that was easy. Now, everyone who wants a work visa has to go to embassy in London and fill in forms, give in documentation and have fingerprints taken. This is once they have a letter of invitation. My husband does not have residency over here, so he has taken a few trips to London, staying in hotels etc just to get out here for work! Tit for tat, as Britain ask for biometric data before nationals of certain countries are alloweed to enter UK. UK is definitely a BIG BROTHER STATE, in my opinion! I wanted to come home to UK for half-term but left it too late to get an exit visa - so am here for my week off, keeping busy! I have family visiting soon, but luckily tourists don't need to jump through hoops to get in - just need a 4 week holiday visa and registration to pay for. Oh forgot all about arabic translation of passport, which is needed in all UK passports before applying for a visa! Lovely country and great weather (on the whole) though. Cheers Louise xx PS sorry, rant over! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alison Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 i had a similar problem first the counter signer(husbands boss) had used blue ink then the second time the counter signer had gone outside the box third time my husband hadnt signed his part I was fumming so I phoned him up at work and told him he either came straight to the post office there and then or I was going to cancel the holiday!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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