Lost my Passport!

[TheAnimus]

Do'h!

I think it must of slipped out of my pocket on the way from gatwick to london bridge.

So now i've got to get a new one by the 22nd. Problem is the first appointment they can give me is a week today. Leaving less than a working week to provide the new one in.

Considering this costs £100, what the hell are we paying all this money for, i might have to cancel my bank holiday break!

Argh!

I've turned my flat upside down looking for it. Every shelf/desk/draw has been sifted through. Every bag, coat, trousers have been checked, no sign. I only used it 3 months ago...

Its really driving me nuts now, to the point i think i'll need a nightcap to get any sleep

[Stewart]

But if you find it in your nightcap, all will be well.

£100 as well... thats well steep.

[Aez]

Its a long shot but call the cop shop see if they have had it turned in

[TheAnimus]

Its a long shot but call the cop shop see if they have had it turned in

I thought about this because its unlikely i've 'lost' it in my flat.

But given that my passport has my name, address, contact numbers etc. I'd of thought they'd of called me. Also given the number of districts between me and gatwick is hudge i doubt it would help. Is there like a central police number to call or something?

[Aez]

try 999, if they can dispatch units to identify the moon im sure they can put a squad on your passport

on a serious note no the police are not that organised

[tiggerai]

There's a central TFL one...

it's like me "losing" my wallet on Global weekend.... it was on my desk at work.

[Whiternoise]

Go for the one week service? £97

http://www.ips.gov.uk/passport/apply...-two-weeks.asp

Fast Track one-week service

This service will not be available if you are applying for your first adult passport from 1 June 2007. This guarantees that your passport will be delivered by Secure Delivery within one week (not including bank and public holidays) of you bringing us your form and documents. If your signature is needed and you are not in at the time of delivery, the one week guarantee no longer applies.

I would have suggested going for the premium one day option, but apparently it's only for renewals and won't cover you for stolen ones.

EDIT: Ah, i assume this is what you're doing then? Bit shoddy claiming that you get your passport within a week but you have to wait a week for the appointment anyway!

Try a different passport office though, if it's really desperate you can go to the one in Newport - it'll likely be a LOT less busy than the London branch.

[Funkstar]

Considering this costs £100, what the hell are we paying all this money for, i might have to cancel my bank holiday break!

I thought £100 was for the 4 hour turn around?

I paid something like £115 for my replacement extended and the same for my second passport back in December at the Glasgow office. Got them both back within 4 hours.

[TheAnimus]

not available for lost/stolen.

[Funkstar]

Ah, ok. I didn't realise that.

[TheAnimus]

turns out that most of what the website and call center for IPS say is absolutely gordon brown.

They couldn't off been further from the truth. First off, they're are bookings almost always released the day before, between 11AM and 2PM. Obviously call at 11AM and every 10 min until you get a booking.

The advice your given by a phone operator may well be utter crap. I was told i'd need my birth certificate and utility builds etc. Of course I didn't.

Also because this was a lost, and still valid passport, i didn't need the signature of someone who's professional and known me 2 years. That was a fun 2 hours spent traveling to the opposite end of town and back!

So in short i was able to use the 4 hour service funkstar speaks off, even thou the website specifically states you can't for lost passports. When you actually get to the office they are knowledgeable and helpful people there, its just getting to be able to use them thats hard!

[Funkstar]

We have had a lot of hastle getting appointments at work for all our guys to get second passports for visas etc.

I was told I needed two appointments, one for the renewal, one for the second application. Both were different days as they didn't have back to back appointments available. Turned up on the first day and asked the guy if you could take both applications at the same time. It wasn't a problem, the guy there was a fairly tipical friendly glaswegian. Got chatting to him about offshore and working overseas etc.

[TheAnimus]

thats the thing, and i hope anyone reading this thread takes this away.

Get an appointment to see one of the clerks, not the phone monkeys!