OK. As promised: details of delivery.
1. Despite being told by TWO Passport Office members of staff on their Advice Line this weekend (6/7 June) that I would ‘definitely’ receive a text and/or email from the courier to confirm tracking details, I received nothing after the passport left Peterborough’s PO.
2. Thanks to a very helpful person at TNT who responded to my query on Friday when she told me the passport had not yet appeared on their system, she emailed me this morning (Monday 8 June) to tell me the passport had now appeared on the system and was out for delivery today. She provided me with a link that showed the TNT consignment number which is completely different from the Passport Application Number. It would appear you won’t get anywhere tracking it without the consignment number. You can try with the PAN but don’t include any letters.
The email address to contact TNT is delivery.hmpo@fedex.com (yes, TNT is part of Fedex)
The tracking page is delivery.tnt.com/tracking
3. The envelope with the passport showed only the TNT tracking number, not the PAN. On the back someone had written in biro my mobile number which shows that the PO and TNT had it, but I never received any texts from either.
4. The passport was delivered by a courier driving a small van, not a big TNT van. I assume the passports are delivered in batches by drivers only delivering passports. They do not seem to deliver passports on Saturday or Sunday.
5. The tracking showed that the passport was collected late in the evening on the date it was printed (Thursday 5 June) and was entered into TNT’s system the next day, even though that did not show up until this morning.
Summary of my timeline: application 28 April, old passport received 29 April, being processed 12 May, approved 4 June, printed 5 June and sent (Thursday), received 4.50 pm Monday 8 June. Five weeks and six days.
I have found this to be a monumentally stressful experience. I cannot imagine how much more frustrating it is for anyone else on this forum still stuck in limbo. You have my sympathy – truly. Now I am going to go and enjoy not having to worry about this again for 9 1/2 years.
