Delay of Passport Renewal - Emotional Distress and Financial Loss

[Cendboy]

My job requires that I travel fairly regularly and can often be at short notice. My passport was due to expire in November and therefore as I knew I would not be travelling for at least 7 weeks and the HMPO website states that

“It should take 6 weeks to get your first adult passport once your form has been received. For all other application types, it should take 3 weeks. It can take longer if more information is needed or your application hasn’t been filled out correctly”

I decided it would be a good opportunity to renew my passport early. I completed the online application on the 4th February and sent the signed application on the 10^th February which was received by the HMPO the next day. The application was then received by the Examination office on the 13th February. To date I still have not received my new passport and I am due to travel on Sunday for a family holiday.

Below is a timetable of events with regard to my attempts to get my new passport sent to me.

Date	Action	Call Centre	Response
04/02/15	Online Renewal Application received
11/02/15	HMPO received signed application
13/02/15	Signed application received by Examiners office
09/03/15	Called to Advice Line for update	Belfast	Given local office number to speak to & requested call back (48hrs)
10/03/15	Called local HMPO office for update	Southport	Informed that application had been received and checks being carried out
18/03/15	Called local HMPO office for update; informed travel on 23/05	Southport	Informed checks being carried out
19/03/15	Called local HMPO office for update	Southport	Informed checks being carried out
20/03/15	Called local HMPO 3 times	Southport	Informed checks being carried out; asked for an email to be sent to Examiner on 3rd call saying passport required urgently
21/03/15	Called Advice Line	Belfast	Informed checks being carried out; requested an email be sent; a 48 hr call back requested
22/03/15	Called by HMPO	?	Informed checks being carried out; requested that the HMPO review the urgency of my request; email sent to Examiners office
23/03/15	Called Advice Line twice; missed travel	Belfast	Informed checks being carried out; requested 24 hr call back via email
24/03/15	Called Advice Line	Belfast	Informed no call back; request made by email for a 2 hr call back
24/03/15	Called by HMPO	?	Informed checks are being carried out; email sent to Examiners office stating that I would pay additional sum to pay for premium service and would come to Liverpool collect passport;
Date	Action	Call Centre	Response
24/03/15	Called Advice Line (18:40)	Belfast	Requested another email sent to emphasize the urgency as family holiday booked for travel on the 5th April (48 hrs)
25/03/15	Called Advice Line (10:50)	Belfast	Formal request to upgrade to premium 1 day service (2 working days to respond)
26/03/15	Called local office	Southport	Informed that checks are being carried out and that I have to wait until the end of the 27th March for a call back to see if an upgrade has been approved.
26/03/15	Called Advice Line	Belfast	Informed that Examiners office chased up results of checks on the 25th March and expect results in 2 days
27/03/15	Meeting with local MP	Enfield	Local MP called MP Passport hotline and requested a call back on my behalf; not actioned by HMPO
27/03/15	Called local office (16:00)	Southport	Requested feedback on whether fast track approved, no call received by end of the day 18:00
27/03/15	Called Advice Line	Belfast	Informed that no response to upgrade request or offer to pay for upgrade and come to Liverpool; a further email request was sent to the Examiners office
30/03/15	Called Advice Line (08:30)	Belfast	Informed them no response from Liverpool to various requests. Escalation sent for 3 hr call back
30/03/15	Email to MP (12:19)		Informed MP no response from HMPO to various requests from last week. Stated his office would call for an update
30/03/15	Called local office (12:15)	Southport	Informed office that no call back had been received. A further email sent to Examiners office requesting urgency
30/03/15	Called Advice Line (16:15)	Belfast	Informed them I still had not received a call back from the Examiners office. A further request for a call back submitted
30/03/15	Called by local office (16:55)	Southport	Received a call stating that further checks were being carried out and that I should call back the next day at the same time.
31/03/15	Called local office (16:00)	Southport	Informed that checks are still being carried out. Email sent to the Examiners office stating urgency of request

I have done everything I can to get my new passport sent to me but all to no avail. Every time I call I am told that checks are being carried out but am not informed as to what are the checks nor where they are in the process. Regardless of all the requests for the Examiners office to contact me I have never received a call back only from the local call centre who can only tell me what they can see on their screen. Even a request by my local MP to call me was ignored. It is not possible for the person in the call centre to phone the Examiners office but only send emails.

On the HMPO website and when you call them it states "Don’t book travel until you have a valid passport - doing so is at your own risk" which is their get out clause. However I believe that this is unfair as I have a child in school and if you wish to go on vacation during the school holidays then it is imperative to book in advance. In addition, as stated previously, I travel with my work and can do so at very short notice and therefore the opportunity to submit my passport for renewal is very limited. I was informed by HMPO that 97% of applications in 2014 were processed in the target time of 3 weeks. I have no idea why I am probably in the unlucky 3% but despite my requests asking for an explanation as to why there has been such a long delay, despite informing the HMPO that I would be traveling on the 23^rd and that a family holiday is planned for the 5^th April, despite stating that I would pay additional money and travel to Liverpool if it meant that I could get my passport, despite all the requests for call backs and only receiving 3 replies and none from the actual Examiners office, the only response I have received is that ‘checks are being carried out’ and ‘I may make a complaint’ neither of which help to solve the problem of still not having my passport. If the HMPO was a business they would not last long based on the way that they treat/ignore their ‘customers’.

I personally have not had a full nights sleep for weeks, I have a permanent headache and I feel as if I am going to be sick every time I eat. I have not been able to concentrate on my work for the past 2 weeks. My wife is also very stressed and my daughter very upset that she will not be going on holiday. This was our main holiday for the year and I am likely to lose over £3,500 as a result. I am determined to insist a full investigation is undertaken and will do everything in my power to find out who personally is responsible for us missing our vacation. HMPO should not be allowed to use their get out clause to avoid any claims. I want HMPO/the Home Office to compensate me for my losses as well as for the emotional distress it has caused me and my family. If I do not get my passport back soon I will not be able to do my job as I am due to go to Germany in a few weeks.

Please can you advise on what legal redress I may have against the HMPO.

[Amethyst]

Re: Delay of Passport Renewal - Emotional Distress and Financial Loss

I'm sure you'd rather just get your passport but if things continue to go wrong..

Whilst HMPO aims to deal with all applications within the published turnaround
times, these cannot be guaranteed. Turnaround times are therefore intended as
guidance only. This is because a number of factors can affect how long it takes to
process an application and the website is clear that customers should not book travel
until they have received their passport. Therefore, we have tended not to
compensate customers when their passports have not been issued within the
published turnaround times, other than in premium or fast track cases where the
turnaround period of four hours and one week is guaranteed on payment of the
required additional fee. Applicants have used the upgrade facility over many years
to speed up their passport application in order to travel and it would create a
precedent to offer compensation on this single occasion, without facing the
possibility of claims for earlier periods. That has been HMPO’s policy for some
years, under successive Governments, and we propose that this should remain the
case.

HMPO publishes its staff guidance on the payment to customers of compensation.
The guidance recognises that there are cases where financial redress is appropriate
and there is an obligation to reimburse any out of pocket expenses incurred by a
customer as a direct consequence of an error or omission by a member of staff.
Compensation for such errors can take the form of an ex-gratia payment and can
cover items such as replacement documents, additional travel to HMPO’s offices,
telephone, and postal costs at one end of the scale to the cost of the loss of a
holiday at the other end of the scale. Each case is considered on its merits. The
guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...s-handling.pdf .

In the large majority of cases IPS will have no legal liability to meet claims from passport holders for compensation arising from errors or omissions by its staff. It would only be in exceptional cases where the legal position would need to be outlined to a customer, however it should be made clear that information provided relates in general terms to the law in respect of issuing or refusing passports. IPS should not provide specific legal advice and applicants should be advised to consult an independent legal advisor regarding their case if they consider it appropriate to do so.
Whilst the legal obligation may not be there, as a matter of policy, IPS accepts that it has a moral obligation to reimburse any out of pocket expenses incurred by a customer as a direct consequence of an error or omission by a member of staff. Compensation for such errors by IPS should take the form of an ex-gratia payment and could cover items such as replacement documents, additional travel to IPS’ offices, telephone and postal costs at one end of the scale to the cost of the loss of a holiday at the other. Each case should be treated on its merits.

Full details on IPS Compensation, Consolatory and Ex-gratia Payments Procedures can be found under Compensation, Consolatory and Ex-Gratia Payments below.

We sometimes make mistakes, or circumstances beyond our control affect our service delivery standards. When this occurs, we will explain what has happened, apologise and do everything we can to put it right.

Step One
Complaints can be made by phone, letter, e-mail or fax
We will acknowledge receipt, investigate and let the customer know what went wrong and what we are doing to put it right
We will respond to complaints within 10 working days
We do not normally accept complaints after 12 months following the issue of the passport or ID Card.

Step Two
If following step one the customer is still not satisfied with our response, or they have a more general complaint (for example, a policy matter) that is not related to a specific application they can write to, fax or e-mail:
Parliamentary & Correspondence Management Team IPS Chief Executive's Office 2 Marsham Street 4th Floor, Peel Building London SW1P 4DF
Fax: 0870 336 9175 Email: hqenquiries@ips.gsi.gov.uk

Step Three
If the customer has followed step one and / or two and is still not satisfied, they may ask their Member of Parliament (MP) to raise the matter with our Chief Executive or the Home Office Minister responsible for the Identity and Passport Service (IPS).

Step Four
If they still remain dissatisfied they may ask their MP to raise the issue with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (PCA) (the Ombudsman).

[suzie04]

Re: Delay of Passport Renewal - Emotional Distress and Financial Loss

They sent my Sons passport out last year with his surname spelt wrong. I emailed the boss at the passport office, and within a week I had his new passport.

'paul.pugh@ips.gsi.gov.uk'

ps sorry if i'm not allowed to put the email link up.

[Moretonhall]

Re: Delay of Passport Renewal - Emotional Distress and Financial Loss

I would be so interested to know how your story ended - my son is having an almost identical problem with his pasasport renewal and should be in New York on a training course with his company at the moment. Having waited almost two months for his passport to be renewed he pulled it back so that he could go on holiday (it does not expire until 15th July) and then booked a one day passport application in London almost three weeks ago. He received a phone call that morning to say that it would have to be sent to Liverpool for checks and he has been calling two to three times a day since then.
in three weeks we are due to go away as a family (14 of us) to celebrate my birthday, an expensive holiday which has been planning since May 2014. We are all absolutely devastated at the thought that his passport may still be sitting in Liverpool. Is no-one accountable? What possible checks can take so long? What recourse does he have?