A devastated mother shared how messy delays caused by passport officials working from home left her plans for a dream family trip to Disneyland Paris in shambles.
Zuleika Pilling, 47, accused the passport office of performing a “Mickey Mouse operation” and said she left thousands of pounds out of her pocket when she made the once-in-a-lifetime trip for daughter Lailah, 16, and son Isaac, 18 , experienced .
Your hopes in travel France on the Eurostar Monday’s trains were reduced to rubble after Lailah’s new passport failed to arrive on time.
She told MailOnline: “My kids have been looking forward to going to Disneyland. For them it is a dream trip.
Her hopes of traveling to France on the Eurostar train on Monday were dashed after Lailah’s new passport failed to arrive on time
“Unfortunately, it looks like that won’t happen due to our country’s passport system. Mickey Mouse could certainly provide better service than her people who work from home.’
Zuleika told how she cost £300 in addition to the £2,300 cost of the four-day trip trying to solve the problem.
She told how the application was met by “one delay after another,” with officials telling her they didn’t have the right database at home to ensure the application was processed in a timely manner.
After “dozens of calls,” Zuleika recounted how she was reassured that the passport would arrive on time if she made an extra payment.
But the process was again held up when officials told her she could only pay by postal order because they couldn’t process the payment from home.
Zuleika, from Brighton, East Sussex, was told she might have to travel to Belfast or Cardiff to collect the new passport but has since been fobbed off by officers – followed by “radio silence”.
The devastated mum, who was also due to travel with her partner, said: “It was a disaster from start to finish.
“They keep telling me they can’t do this and that because they work from home. It is ridiculous.’
Zuleika Pilling, 47, accused the passport office of performing “a Mickey Mouse operation”.
Zuleika shared how she booked the dream holiday in March as a surprise for her children after they passed their GCSE and A-level exams.
She said the teenagers are “adrenaline junkies” but Lailah was unable to take part in theme park rides after undergoing brain surgery three years ago.
The trip was scheduled after the youngster was finally given the all-clear in December.
Lailah, whose travel documents were previously renewed every five years, had a passport that expires in August. New rules mean passports must be valid for at least three months after the departure date.
Zuleika was told she would have to wait up to 10 weeks after she applied for her daughter in April.
When she found the application had stalled, she was advised to make an additional payment of £26.50 to speed up the process and ensure her documents arrive before her July 18 departure date.
Zuleika said: “It is a once in a lifetime trip to celebrate my son and daughter finishing their A levels and GCSEs.
‘It was a surprise. My kids are teenage adrenaline junkies. They like rides but my daughter couldn’t do them because she had brain surgery three years ago. Since Christmas she finally got the green light.
“It was supposed to be a real double celebration trip. They went to Disneyland about 10 years ago and loved it so much they kept wanting to go back.
Zuleika shared how she booked the dream holiday in March as a surprise for her children after they passed their GCSE and A-level exams.
“After the new rules, when I saw my daughter’s passport expired in August, I applied for a new one, obviously thinking it would be here within 10 weeks.
“But it was just one delay after another. I realized the process had stalled when I checked the link they send you so you can track the progress of the application.
“It still said what it showed in April – that they had received my daughter’s identity confirmation from my boyfriend. From then on it hadn’t gone any further. It had not gone through any further further stages.
“When I called them the first time, they said their passport wasn’t in the system. That was a bit of a shock. That’s when I knew something was really wrong.
“It wasn’t easy to get people on the phone. I was on the phone for up to an hour and 40 minutes. They have to call at a special rate and they make the money for it.
“They keep turning around and saying we can’t keep looking at the system because we’re working from home. They say this database is not on my system because we work from home. That’s all I keep getting.
“I spoke to someone a couple of weeks ago and she said if you pay £26.50 the application would be expedited. Then I was told that they cannot accept payments for the upgrade because they work from home.
She said the teenagers are “adrenaline junkies” but Lailah was unable to take part in theme park rides after undergoing brain surgery three years ago. The trip was scheduled after the youngster was finally given the all-clear in December
“I had to go to the post office to pay by postal order. It’s like going back to the dark ages.
“I had to do it the old fashioned way by postal order and send it to them again by registered post with all the documents because they all work from home and they can’t take the payment at home.
“I had to prove I was going on holiday on July 18, which I did. I have sent the documents. I got an email from them last week confirming I’ll get the pass before we leave – but nothing is there now.”
“I am a single mother. After the pandemic and everything else, a trip like this isn’t everyday — it’s a one-time thing.
“Because they were doing their exams they finished early so we booked it so we could go away before it got really busy and really expensive when the school holidays started.
“I booked the Eurostar because of the problems at the airports.
‘I was last told the passport was in Durham. I was told that I have to wait for them to call me. They said I might have to go to Belfast or Cardiff to get it.
“But now there’s just nothing – radio silence. The problem is just not knowing because there hasn’t been a call to tell me what to do.
“They promised I would have it this week. Now I call and they say I can’t speak to anyone on the upgrade team – they will just contact me.
“They just say I have to wait for the upgrade team to call me. That sounds pretty messy. They seem to be everywhere and on top of that I get charged for calling them.
“I just can’t believe it. Why can’t anyone know what’s going on and talk to me?
“Why don’t they have the right systems? If you work from home, you should have the right databases in your homes.
“It’s been two and a half years now that Covid should certainly be a little more operational now. It was very frustrating. I have no idea what we’re gonna do. I’m a little lost
“We’re supposed to go on vacation on Monday and I just had nothing, nothing, nothing. I hear it’s a very common topic. It’s pretty shocking that they’re getting away with it.
The passport was eventually issued after MailOnline intervened on behalf of the family.
The Home Office said: “The family have been contacted and they will collect it from the London office on Saturday morning (July 16).
A spokesman said the £26.50 fee was imposed when Lailah turned 16 in June and was being charged £75.50 for an adult pass instead of a child’s pass of £49.
The spokesman added that staff at the passport advice center were more likely to work from home than staff at the passport office.
The spokesperson added, “Not all have full access to HMP systems, but all have the processes in place to allow requests to reach the right team.”
