[coolhandluke]

Hope this helps to anyone who is in the same boat I was in.

Child first passport,Sent passport off via royal mail track and trace April 19th.

Got the “documents received” message 26th April. Papers went to Durham, I live in Lodnon.

Flying on the 19th of April and concern started to set in week of the 6th june, as we had no updates what so ever, i know we had a few bank holidays but knew this was taken to long. Phoning the number and pressing 8 then 3 was great, would only wait 10 minutes to speak to an agent. However i found it pot luck who you spoke to, some would help and some would be very direct. Either way the outcome was always the same, “we only know what you know”.

We applied for the fast track service when we was 2 weeks from flying, and was told what everyone is told, someone will contact you in 48 hours to take payment can you send an e mail with flight details etc etc.
Email sent but days went by with no e mail no phone call.

I managed to get a fast track appointment in london this week, only to find out they cant process two passports at the same time. I still went to it tho, hoping for answers as we fly this sunday with only a few days left… Straight from the off It was chaos. must of been 30 people waiting outside and another 15 queuing. Passed through security and waited all in all about 30 minutes to speak to an adviser, who tried to help as much as he could but was still left in the same position. All I was being told was its at Durham and the upgrade team nothing we can do.
Downstairs is an enquiries desk, i hung about to talk to the lady and finally got some answers, although it was not what i wanted to hear.
She said because we did a track and trace and we didnt submit our application online, the chances of London printing my passport 48hrs before we fly are slim. This was because they had not been looked at yet let alone uploaded digitally. She said I could try coming back friday to London and “try my luck” but nothing is guaranteed.

I made the decision to take a train up to Durham 2 days before we fly. I arrived around 10:30 and was about 15 people in the que, took me 2 hours to get inside and speak with someone and was told I can get upgraded and will have the passport later today.
I’ve got to say I know everyone’s opinion differ but Durham was great. The staff and the security team are only to happy to help. they know its stressful and never stopped helping.

Bottom line, if you are flying within the 48 hours time frame dont be put off by going to a passport office. They will want to help. I’m not sure if I went to London if they could of helped me, but I was very relived i decided to go all the way to the north east as it seemed quite easy once things started to move. Id get there early to give you the best chance of getting it that day, by the time your application is checked and printed can take most the day.

Good luck

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