Passport Application and Civil Service

I tried   applying for a new UK  passport recently

The  local  photograph specialists took great care,  provided good photos and a code for my online passport application, at a reasonable price. The code did not work on-line and naturally the passport office blamed the photo shop.

 

I then returned to the photo shop and explained what the passport people had reported, so the photo shop gave me new photos and new code for no charge, having first double checked that all was well.

The new code still failed to work so I telephoned the passport people to complain (16p a minute phone charge) they still blamed the photo shop despite my having been back there already. 

 

I asked to speak to a civil service supervisor. Eventually she came on the line but only to continue to blame the photo shop, so I completed the civil service formal complaint form yesterday and obtained a paper passport application form from the post office.

 

A UK  online passport application is cheaper than one made through the post office but the in person application is even more expensive, over £100 more and although one such personal renewal office is in London  that would be at far greater cost than the suggested  Peterborough alternative though there would be travel costs involved with the latter.

 

Today, before filling in the paper form and paying extra, I tried the online passport code again and found that it now works.

 

My complaint therefore  seems worthwhile, but the UK civil service is dreadful in my view, by not even taking responsibility for their mistake let alone apologising, but instead trying to blame third parties, even at supervisor level. 

Postcript: The new passport arrived within a week of application, so the civil service have  at least resolved some of the earlier issues, satisfactorily.