Passport error costs family a dream trip
Sunseekers forced to rip up holiday plans after mix-up
Susan
Grassie was thrilled when her daughter gifted her a holiday to Majorca for Mother’s Day. Kimberly, 18, had saved hard from her night-shift care home job to take her mum on their first overseas break together. She had booked a hotel in Palma Nova for a May trip. Susan, 40, who is also a care home worker, realised she did not have a passport but applied for a new one with plenty of time to spare. She paid for a “Check and Send” service at the Post Office in Broughty Ferry, Dundee. “I hadn’t had a passport since I was 13, so going to Majorca was something special for me,” said Susan. But as the weeks wore on and the holiday loomed, the passport never arrived at the family home in Carnoustie, Angus. “I was so excited about going away with Kimberly but I soon started to worry where my new passport was,” said Susan. “I contacted the passport office three weeks after I applied and was told there was no record of my application, which sent me into a panic.” Susan’s next stop was a return visit to the Post Office. “I was told there that seven other applications had also gone off the same day with the same service and all the others had arrived on time. It was only mine that was missing.” To her dismay, Susan said her passport application was eventually discovered lying in a drawer at the Post Office. In error, it had never been forwarded to the Passport Office – and now it was too late to submit another application in time for the trip. Susan called Jet2 to arrange alternative dates but nothing was available for the same resort. Instead, she and Kimberly had to take an alternative holiday in Yel, Turkey, in June, and it cost another £300 just to make the changes. “I had to borrow the money from my dad to pay for that,” said Susan. “We were gutted because the original holiday had already cost Kimberly more than £1,300. “Turkey also wasn’t our first choice for a trip. It was OK but I wouldn’t hurry back.” On her return, Susan had difficulties while trying to claim back the £300 extra the holiday had cost from the Post Office. No one seemed to be listening and she was furious when she was refunded just £9.50 – the cost of using the Check and Send service. Susan contacted Raw Deal and we asked the Post Office to investigate. It took a while, but Susan recently received an apology plus a cheque for £300. She said she was grateful to Raw Deal for stepping in. The Post Office said: “We work very hard to offer our customers the highest levels of service and we are very sorry that this did not happen on this occasion. “Having investigated, we are aware that the customers’ passport was not sent on time after using the Check and Send service in one of our branches. “We have ensured that our branch has been reminded of the correct processes to follow and we will be offering our customer a full refund for the cost of the change of her holiday dates to say how sorry we are for our mistake.”