An applications backlog at the Passport Office has led to many holidaymakers having their plans thrown up in the air. Brits spent £5.4 million was forked out on the fast-track application last month alone, The Times reported as families fear having to cancel holidays due to delays.
In April, the Passport Office blamed “unprecedented levels of demand” on the lengthy passport processing times. With people waiting for their passports ahead of their respective trips, holidays have been derailed and travel disrupted.
HM Passport Office said that more than five million people delayed applying for passports during the Coronavirus pandemic due to restrictions on international travel. The Passport Office anticipates that a total of 9.5 million British passport applications will be made this year, leading to this lengthy backlog.
Read more: Brits warned to carry passport with them at all times on holiday in Turkey or risk arrest
Although passport renewals typically take three weeks (although this is often longer in the build-up to summer), they have been advising people to allow up to 10 weeks when applying for their British passport. While the Passport Office said that most applications are dealt "well within" this timeframe, that hasn’t stopped many anxious waits from people looking forward to their trip abroad, hoping that the application will be completed by the required time to travel.
For a number of people, time simply ran out and holidays were cancelled as a result, leading to many applying for compensation. Now the Passport Office has updated its guidance in response to these claims.
The guidance tells Passport Office staff about the compensation policy and advises staff to warn applicants not to book holidays until they have received their passports. A section has been updated “to explain when we may consider refunds or compensation for missed travel”.
This section now states that customers “not to book travel unless they’ve received their new passport as we cannot accept responsibility for missed travel. We will not give a refund or compensation if they miss travel because we did not meet our guaranteed or standard service level agreements.”
The new guidance states that the only compensation it would offer if the turnaround time was missed would be the extra service fee. The cost of the passport and any travel expenses would not be covered.
The guidelines on missed turnaround times says: "We recommend customers do not to book travel until they receive their passports, as we are not liable for compensation if we do not meet the standard turnaround target."
However, the service will consider refunds for missed travel if the passport is faulty or an error has been made on it. In those circumstances, the office will consider the refund request on a case-by-case basis and take into account the number of days lost, any extra costs the customer incurred and if the customer already received a refund from elsewhere.
If you can’t make the flight because you can’t provide a valid passport, you’re not likely to be entitled to a refund from your airline or holiday company. MoneySavingExpert.com also says that insurance companies are unlikely to pay out, but advises it is always worth asking them to take a claim into consideration.
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