A gran is on the verge of missing a £3,000 holiday due to huge delays with a passport application.
Mary O'Riordan applied for grandson Alex's passport renewal in February, for a family trip to Turkey's five-star Mukarnas Spa and Resort.
But a catalogue of processing delays means their application has been put on hold - more than three months later, Gazette Live reported.
After numerous "long phone calls" to the Passport Office, On May 11 they were told a birth certificate was required, along with written permission from 15-year-old Alex's parent.
Mary offered to deliver the birth certificate in person to the Durham office, to which she says they were told 'no'.
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The department has told her they won't look at the application for three weeks, which would take them beyond the May 30 departure for the holiday.
Now Mary, 62, says she's at her wit's end.
"It's had us in tears," she said.
"They won't listen, I've been cut off, they put the phone down.
"You get told something from one person then another says 'don't do that', it's terrible. We offered to go to Durham and pick it up, we just don't know what to do.
"They said 'we had to put (your application) on hold'. We got a letter from my daughter and his birth certificate. But it's a renewal, they're not even required.
"We got an email to say we are cancelling your application. I rang up and said 'please don't do that, you are getting the birth certificate tomorrow'.
"They are saying 'you didn't send the application until April 25', even though it's there, tracked on the website in black and white, the application was received in February.
"I just want to sit and cry my eyes out. It seems as though these people don't know what they're doing."
A surge in post-covid holidays has put pressure on the UK's passport service, which has been compounded by staff shortages.
HM Passport Office is estimating it will receive 9.5m applications this summer.
Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald says he has received a "large number" of calls from worried constituents and is urging people to contact the Government's passport advice line while allowing "at least 10 weeks" when applying for their passport.
"Who will be accountable for this? I'm not losing £3,000 for something that's not my fault, we've done everything right," Mary said.
"My grandson said 'it's serious Nana isn't it', I said 'yes son'. His face just dropped, all the joy has gone out of him.
"My friends have had to pay for fast tracking, half of them are getting theirs in time, half aren't. It's just a nightmare. No way can I go away and take one of my grandsons and leave the other one."
The family has been told to email an 'expedited service' for the UK, which the department has said she won't be charged for - now she's waiting to hear back.
A HM Passport Office spokesperson said staff are "working tirelessly" to deal with record demand.
“Since April 2021, we’ve clearly stated that people should allow up to ten weeks when applying for their passport to factor in the increased demand, which has seen five million people delay their passport application due to the pandemic," they said.
“The overwhelming majority of applications are completed within 10 weeks, with the latest figures showing 90% were completed within six weeks. But we cannot compromise security checks and people should apply with plenty of time prior to travelling.”
More than a million new passport applications were completed in March, they added, helped by increasing staff numbers by 500 since last April, with plans in place to recruit a further 700.
However Mr McDonald, who is Labour MP for Middlesbrough, said the Government- was not "putting any mitigating plans into place" - despite "predicting the situation" was causing unnecessary distress to constituents.
He said: "The Government has conceded it is struggling to process the passport applications being submitted now that travel restrictions have been eased and people are booking long awaited holidays, weddings and reuniting with family.
"We are doing everything we can to assist Middlesbrough residents who are having issues with their passport applications, particularly if they are close to their flight date."
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