Paphos People

Once again the process of getting any result from enquiries made to any of the UK Government departments is leading to my frustration!

To my mind a blind man on a galloping horse can see that their imposed procedures are not only archaic in this century, but constructively obstructive to effective measures for getting things done in a timely fashion, given the technology in this day & age.
They have a website, but you are forced to either phone them or put your request in writing & use snail mail - just like their 'toy soldiers' the banks. Having said that, some banks now have a secure online message service so you can at least communicate with them direct, a step ahead surely.

They must always have 'original' documents with 'wet' signatures.
IMHO this practice serves only to induce the frequency of high blood pressure for individuals having to endure it.

What is so secure about this outmoded method versus a document produced electronically & digitally signed, indicating the source, transferred almost instantaneously at the click of a mouse?

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I'll be back!

In a word I think Topgun, unions. They will keep people in jobs on inflated salaries and pensions whatever the cost, and who knows, what would be the cost of increasing the unemployment figures?

Pretty much the same here in Cyprus I would guess.

To be honest, we found that getting in contact and providing all the necessary information by phone, internet or specific website to the right people following my Dads death was quite straightforward.

To make changes to our own private (civil service and local authority) pension details I sent a message through Twitter and they phoned us back to verbally do the security checks before sending a letter of confirmation to us.

The most difficult was dealing with Social Services and the Local Authorities about my Dads needs and care because there are too many different departments, all doing different things and no communication between them. Nothing ever caught up from the time we arrived at the end of April until he died towards the end of October. In fact, we're still waiting for one piece of paperwork to put closure on the whole thing... but that's not a big issue and we're not chasing it.

I changed my green paper issued driving license to a photo one in the space of 10 days, including the extra time taken for postage by Registered Mail at each end as I needed to send my passport as proof of my married name change as well. I was under the impression I had to pay but they returned my cheque along with the license....

Worst brick wall has been the Jobs people... Sent me an appointment for a place at the other end of the country because they didn't double check the postcode properly which meant my subsequent phone call to them to change the venue cost me almost four pounds as it's a premium rate number. Then when we got there they had only made the application appointment for me as a single person but the form was on behalf of us both meaning they either did me and other half had to wait until he was given another appointment or both go again for a two hour stint. We used the hour slot for them to check out our scenario which produced three different answers from three different people regarding the number of years pension qualifying years... we gave up on this one!

The tax office, again a message to them on Twitter gave me a contact number and a five minute phone call sorted out the hiccup there and a small refund.

Much better than running around various offices like a headless chicken in Cyprus never knowing if you have the right forms, required number of copies and whether you will be greeted by a friendly face over the counter or indeed, if you can resolve everything in one visit....

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Busy exploring England's green & pleasant lands since May 2016 after 12yrs in Cyprus.
There appears to be a misapprehension I run a photography business... it's my passion as a hobby.
I sell and buy postage stamps!

As George says in his post, pretty much the same here in Cyprus.
To be honest I have never had many problems here dealing with officialdom - just don't be in a hurry and keep a smile on your face; and most important say THANK YOU.
Geoff.

Absolutely right Geoff.

My current beef is with the Nat West who refuse to accept a document copy which has been certified as a true copy by a registered Cyprus certification officer. They also insist on identification paperwork even though I am one of their customers.

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Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. - Albert Einstein

I sympathise with your views JK.
Recently I was asked to provide a another authorised copy of my passport by my bank.

Given that a similar document was requested, then provided just under a year ago & the fact that my passport remains current, I consider that the numbskull at the bank responsible for the request should; (a)engage his brain & at least check the documents already held on file & (b) make a sensible judgement call as to the need for another copy of the same thing.

Of course this individual is operating under anti-money laundering procedures put in place by the bank, so it is these that IMHO should take account of the point I make in this instance.
This basic lack of common sense is unfortunately prevalent amongst those employed by governments, council offices & banks, who seem only to wish to tick a box on a form, irrespective of the actual need.

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I'll be back!

Blimey, what put you in such a bad mood?

Is it ALL UK government departments that you have a beef with or is it the Banks or it it just everybody?

Or did you just fancy a rant to grt something off of your chest?

Sounds more like he banks with PayPal

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Busy exploring England's green & pleasant lands since May 2016 after 12yrs in Cyprus.
There appears to be a misapprehension I run a photography business... it's my passion as a hobby.
I sell and buy postage stamps!

One thing that bugs me is when you renew your UK passport from abroad, you have to jump through hoops, pay in advance, pay for couriers etc. etc. and the people responsible for issuing passports can reject the whole application because the photo you send might be slightly too big, on the wrong sort of paper etc. etc and the face could have the hint of a smile on it.

No refund of any sort given. Can take up to a month to get notification of rejection and then you have to start the whole procedure all over again.

How do I know this? I know because I was that man.

You were just unlucky..... we renewed 2 passports, 3 years apart from each other whilst in Cyprus with absolutely no problems whatsoever.

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Busy exploring England's green & pleasant lands since May 2016 after 12yrs in Cyprus.
There appears to be a misapprehension I run a photography business... it's my passion as a hobby.
I sell and buy postage stamps!

Same here, renewed my passport a few years ago, back within 10 days. Renewed my granddaughters passport last year, with the court documents etc which have to be sent, verified and witness statements obtained, no probs and back within 2 weeks. Excellent service IMHO.
Marios on TOTK knows exactly what is required re photos, forms just need careful checking and Roberts your fathers brother!

Hi Artlin,

Frankly my perception of the mindset of most individuals I have encountered in government, councils, or banking (when trying to get something done from a distance) is that they seem to enjoy placing obstacles in your path (that really don't need to be there), rather than assisting with the process.
My current "rant" eminates from suffering yet another merry-go-round of witless demands & requirements from these type of people.
It unfortunately occurs on a yearly basis, as these people seek to justify their mundane existence.

Just waiting for another round of requests for 'proof of life' letters to top it off! The fact that I can respond using other media in the 21st.century (other than by using a quill pen, ink & parchment) seems to have eluded them.

To answer your final question; "is it just everybody" - no, just those people who display these sterio-typical characteristics by their behaviour .

All will be well with the world about a month after this reccuring phase has been concluded for this year & both my blood pressure & temper have returned to normal levels!

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I'll be back!

This all happened 4 years ago and I was renewing from Dubai and I didn't have the benefit of Marios (See George's post) experience in this matter. Hopefully the Passport Office has got its act into gear more recently.

Our experience was further back than 4yrs ago and we did it all ourselves (twice) by post - no agency required.

Hubby is getting ready to renew his this year so that gives a clue and mine is due for renewal in 3yrs time. But we're now back in UK.

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Busy exploring England's green & pleasant lands since May 2016 after 12yrs in Cyprus.
There appears to be a misapprehension I run a photography business... it's my passion as a hobby.
I sell and buy postage stamps!

Have to say, I don't actually think I want the passport office to change its procedures. Yes, they were painful regarding my granddaughter - as much to do with witness statements and declarations as anything - but mine was pretty painless. I feel, passports are extremely valued documents and I'm happy for the FO to take whatever measures they feel necessary to ensure safe travel and protection for me and mine.
Not helpful I know when you're suffering loadsa probs, but I think overall they just want to secure our travel. Not something with which I would want them to take shortcuts!