PASSPORT OFFICE INCOMPETENCE.

June 13, 2007 at 7:18 PM · Uncategorized

PASSPORT OFFICE INCOMPETENCE. My son Nick’s passport just arrived. His name is misspelled. His name is misspelled even though the passport office had his birth certificate. (How does that happen?) The passport office has a website with a frequently asked questions link. One of the frequently asked questions is: “What if your name is misspelled on the passport?” Let me repeat that: One of the FREQUENTLY ASKED questions is: “What if your name is misspelled on the passport?” The passport office even provides a form to use when they misspell your name. Let me repeat that: the passport office PROVIDES A FORM to use when they misspell your name. The web site also gives a phone number you can call for information. When you call the number you are told that they are busy and that you should go to the website; at the website you are told to call the phone number, creating a cycle. Ultimately, it appears that you have to start all over again: new passport photos, resending the birth certificate, etc.

4 comments

Molly June 15th, 2007 at 11:19 pm

Hi Uncle Phil,

That’s appalling about Nick’s passport. I wonder if they are hiring marginal workers now because of the overwhelming backlog.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/14/AR2007061402051.html

My next-door neighbor’s passport was delayed for three months and finally had to be overnighted just before his trip.

Nick June 21st, 2007 at 1:37 am

What’s fun about this is, some people want health care fun by the government. If typing a name is too complicated for these people - a task I could have performed competently, and efficiently at the age of 7 - why are we going to trust them with our lives?

Molly June 27th, 2007 at 3:58 am

Coincidentally, I spent half a year trying to get my private health insurer to spell my name correctly and have me listed as Peter’s spouse. It took about 10 hours of our time. I wish incompetence was limited to the public sector.

Annalisa June 28th, 2007 at 11:41 pm

Also, I still remember that day (I believe it was Easter Sunday of all days) when Dad spent 3 hours on the phone with AOL. He wanted to cancel the service and they were having none of it. He was put on hold, shunted back and forth between technicians, and generally dismissed. I have to wonder whether it was AOL’s hope that Dad would give up and keep paying them for their crappy ISP service. Sadly, incompetence is far more widespread than we would like to think.