Holidays ruined after passports get lost in the post

THE number of passports that have gone missing in the post has doubled in less than a year, figures obtained by The Daily Telegraph show, forcing families to cancel Easter holidays.

Many have given up on hopes of going away as processing delays and problems with courier TNT mean applicants are waiting months for their documents. It typically takes three weeks for a new adult passport to be issued.

Almost 1,200 passports or supporting documents were lost by couriers in the first six months of last year, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act.

This is more than double the 519 that went missing in 2019 and almost three times the 437 that went missing in 2018.

Of the passports lost between January and July 2021, 60 per cent have since been found.

Reasons for passports going missing are understood to include application form errors, people moving address or errors by Passport Office or TNT staff.

Twitter has been flooded with complaints from holidaymakers eager for information about their application.

Peter Caulfield said he had not received his passport despite sending his supporting documents in October.

His passport was due for delivery on 10th January. “Nobody on webchat. Zero communication. Had to cancel (my) holiday today. Lost hundreds. Great service…not,” he wrote.

Others have had their passports delivered to the wrong address.

The Passport Office, which is taking longer to process applications, put the problem down to its courier. TNT, which is owned by Fedex, was awarded a three-year contract worth £77 million to deliver new and renewed passports in July 2019.

However, it appears that the Passport Office is sending some passports with Royal Mail instead.

Frustrated holidaymakers have started a petition, demanding an inquiry into failings at TNT. “In recent months thousands of us have experienced significant delays in getting our passports delivered.

“Many have had to cancel their travel plans and as a result have lost out on hundreds or even thousands of pounds,” the petition says. Paul Charles, a travel consultant, said: “[There] will be families waiting for passports to be delivered either because they’ve been lost or because of processing delays.”

A HM Passport Office spokesman said: “Between 1 Jan and 31 July 2021 HM Passport Office sent over 3.3 million items to its customers. While regrettable, less than 0.04 per cent of those were reported as having been lost during delivery, and many of those items have been subsequently recovered.”

Fedex has been asked for comment.