Passport issues

[schnoogles]

Please help! a good friend of mine just rang me in tears because she thinks that she has lost her babies birth certificate. She sent it off with a passport application but forgot to put a stamp on the envolope. She's really upset that it might get destroyed by the post office. She has rang the post office and the passport office and neither could give her any help or advice. Also, she goes away to Spain in 5 weeks so needs a passport pretty quickly!

Does anyone know what happons in this situation, she's so upset and I just dont know what to say to her. I don't want to upset her further or give her false hope. I googled it and people have asked the question online before but no one ever comes back to tell the outcome.

 

[Natasha2605]

Are you in the UK? If so she can phone her local registry office and make appt to get another birth certificate. Costs about £10 . She can then reapply for the passport. Pretty sure the passport office will confirm whether or not they are dealing with her LOs passport. When I applied last year we got a letter back saying they'd recieved and would contact us if anymore info was needed.

 

[JASMAK]

I mailed candies and medicine to a friend in another country. I forgot postage. It got there....made it through two countries! That being said, she needs to go soon. I would reorder the birth certificate and redo the passport renewal. This is why I always take the day off work and travel to another city to do it in person. I am paranoid about things like this!!

 

[petite ping]

She can reorder a birth certificate, I have done it a zillion times. She can also call up and get an appointment at the passport office and if she is willing to pay she can get a super rapid one - I managed to renew my passport in the 2 hours. I dunno if it works if it's for a first passport though...

 

[moomin_troll]

Yup she can get another birth cert, usually turns up in about a week. Send off the passport through the post office so this won't happen again. With my youngest this time last year I got his passport within a week

 

[Lou1234]

In terms of the birth certificate making its way back to her what will normally happen is you will get a card from the Post Office saying something is waiting there that needs the postage paying.

We had a card through from them in December 2012 and got excited it might be a surprise Christmas present but nope. My mum hadn't realised our Christmas card was a 'large letter' size and hadn't put enough postage on it. We had to collect it and pay for the difference plus an admin fee!

 

[Amyface]

Get a new birth certificate, as others have said. It's easy done. Then fill in the passport forms and take it to the post office. Cheaper than going to the passport office and paying through the nose for an last minute one. Check and send costs about £8.95 I think per passport, it's guaranteed to be correct, and it's a maximum 3 week turn around service.

 

[schnoogles]

Thanks everyone, I have told her to get a new certificate done. Do you think the passport agency will pay to receive post or is that certificate lost forever now? She said that there is no return to sender address on it and it's in the generic passport application envolope so I don't think the post office will be able to trace it. I feel gutted for her, I know how upset I would be in her shoes

 

[JASMAK]

Well, there is no point being upset. She can get another birth certificate. She can reapply for the passport. Its a pain, but is she upset because it is sentimental? If so, okay, but otherwise, it is an inconvenience.

 

[KayBea]

my friend did this, they orocessed her passport & posted it all back leaving it at the sorting office (she got a red card through the door) saying she needed to collect it & pay X amount of postage. xx

 

[moomin_troll]

I can't say I'd be upset, pissed off at myself for sure. But it's easily sorted out

 

[R_x]

I can see why she's upset. I know they are replaceable but would still feel like I'd lost something sentimental. X