Passport Service - why?
Passport Service - why?
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Discussion

simpo two

Original Poster:

92,863 posts

295 months

Wednesday 26th October 2005
quotequote all
Sent off for a new passport recently, and paid the extra £3 for secure delivery.

A few days later it's delivered - amazing! - albeit at 7.40am, which wakes me up and makes me get out of bed Oh well, I do need it and it was quick.

A few days later, the same bloke turns up AGAIN (at 7.40am, waking me up and getting me out of bed AGAIN. )He profers me an envelope 'Passport for you' he says.

'Wha - but you delivered it a few days ago' I reply.

'This is the old one back - they cut the corners off' he says.





1) Why didn't they include the old one with the new one?

2) Why didn't they simply destroy the old one?

If they do this to everyone, their delivery charges are *doubled*. Madness, I say.

>> Edited by simpo two on Wednesday 26th October 12:48

nonegreen

7,803 posts

300 months

Wednesday 26th October 2005
quotequote all
No no no no you don't understand. When you make a passport application the form you fill in must be ticked and stamped in many many places. For security reasons then it has to be inspected, ticked and copied 26 times. A master record must be filled out to ensure compliance with the rules and a senior manager will count the number of ticks and pass it to a senior inspector to count the stamps. An independant audit of every single passport application is carried out to ensure the correct procedures have been followed and the independant auditors are regularly inspected and reported on by the independant inspectorate who report to both the Treasury and the board of govorners of the Passport Agency Independant Inspection Agency. In addition for security reasons old passports are sent off to a different department to have the corners cut off and be copied so that GCHQ, MI5 and MI6 can have a butchers to see if your wanted for anything. This means that in terms of passport flow through the system the old and the new passports are separated almost at birth so to speak and the cost of putting them back together prior to dispatch would be astronomical. Its taxpayers money you know and the civil service are very carefull to make sure they can account for every penny.

C C

8,054 posts

269 months

Wednesday 26th October 2005
quotequote all
Two more candidates for Nervy’s grumpy old gits club.

simpo two

Original Poster:

92,863 posts

295 months

Wednesday 26th October 2005
quotequote all
nonegreen said:
No no no no you don't understand. When you make a passport application the form you fill in must be ticked and stamped in many many places.

Ah yes. I should have seen this bit:

'Are you seeking asylum?' YES

'If so, will you be tortured and killed if you are sent back to your country?' YES.

Bingo, you're in.

gt

1,407 posts

288 months

Wednesday 26th October 2005
quotequote all
I used trailfinders. Fill out form, give them 50 quid on top of passport cost, they go and queue for you at petit france (why is it called that, it's the british passport office!)

turn up later that day with new and old passport.

Job done.

simpo two

Original Poster:

92,863 posts

295 months

Wednesday 26th October 2005
quotequote all
C C said:
Two more candidates for Nervy’s grumpy old gits club.

Feckin right; where do I sign?

Plotloss

67,280 posts

300 months

Wednesday 26th October 2005
quotequote all
Its gone now though hasnt it?

ultimasimon

9,646 posts

288 months

Wednesday 26th October 2005
quotequote all
Typical of a new system designed to cut corners

Plotloss

67,280 posts

300 months

Wednesday 26th October 2005
quotequote all
The postage cost is a profit centre though.

Its costing them nothing like £3 to send two items in the post.

Company I used to work for got first class at 2p just to give you an idea...

r988

7,496 posts

259 months

Wednesday 26th October 2005
quotequote all
simpo two said:

nonegreen said:
No no no no you don't understand. When you make a passport application the form you fill in must be ticked and stamped in many many places.


Ah yes. I should have seen this bit:

'Are you seeking asylum?' YES

'If so, will you be tortured and killed if you are sent back to your country?' YES.

Bingo, you're in.


Be careful NOT to tick the 'I am a Terrorist' box though, easy mistake to make...

(that is in fact an actual question on the form, as if that is actually going to stop anyway, 'oh no Mohammed! we can't lie to the form, we have been foiled again by those infidel dogs!')

simpo two

Original Poster:

92,863 posts

295 months

Wednesday 26th October 2005
quotequote all
Plotloss said:
Its costing them nothing like £3 to send two items in the post.

Actually this was a geezer in a car who'd had to collect his day's deliveries at 4am... I wonder how much they pay him?