British Embassy Incompetancy.

[oldsailor35]

Just how arrogant can the staff (Thai) be at the Bangkok Embassy.

Last week a mate of mine on Koh Samui discovered that he had lost his Passport. So he booked an early return flight from Samui to DM. Went straight to the embassy to report the lost passport, explained what he was there for and was told that he did not have an appointment so they would not listen or even talk to him. He said that it was just a case of talking to a glass window.

So now we know that if one is to loose their passport, one has to first know about it and make a "Pre- loss" appointment.

He flew back same day at the cost of around Bht11000. Meanwhile the British Embassy in Bangkok could'nt give a stuff! How efficient is that ?

So what happens if he gets 'pulled' for not having a passport, will these muppets in Bangkok look after him..........i doubt it.

A far cry from my own experience of being robbed of my Aussie PP in Holland a couple of years ago, they could'nt do enough for me, even gave me some cash to get a coffee telling me to come back in a few hours for a temporary one.

It seems that the British government are only interested in looking after their migrants these days.

Edited September 6, 2014 by oldsailor35

[FritsSikkink]

He should go to the police first. With that the paper the police gives him he doesn't have a problem when he can't show his passport.

The embassy need the police report too and can't help you without it. That fact that your friend buys a plane ticket but doesn't

bother to check the embassy's website is his own fault and not the embassy's staff.

[Sena Dave]

I don't know why the British embassy bothers to open. Don't do Visas to the uk , Don't do British passports , they have just turned into a Notary , a Money Making Notary at that

[OJAS]

And the relevant website is https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports. By drilling down through the various options he would have eventually discovered that he shouldn't go to the Embassy but to the (arguably) incompetent fools at With-It Tower (aka the Trendy Building) instead!

[digitalchromakey]

And the relevant website is https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports. By drilling down through the various options he would have eventually discovered that he shouldn't go to the Embassy but to the (arguably) incompetent fools at With-It Tower (aka the Trendy Building) instead!

... and then he needs to send an email to book an appointment first as well.

Embassy had passport renewal removed from their portfolio by HM Government late last year - job was given to the Home Office, aka HMPO who then subcontracted applications to an Indian Company in Bangkok run by Thais.

British subjects overseas are now, it appears, regarded by the British Government as being purely third class citizens at best.

[LotusBoy]

And your telling this because........

If one had checked the website or called first, then one would know what one should do.... Bitching and moaning wont help!! Ones friend not have a computer. May I suggest the Acer ONE....

Yawn......

[Suradit69]

And your telling this because........

If one had checked the website or called first, then one would know what one should do.... Bitching and moaning wont help!! Ones friend not have a computer. May I suggest the Acer ONE....

Yawn......

It's a matter of losing face or, in this case, having " a friend " who lost face at the hands of those conniving Thai staff at the embassy.

Just how arrogant can the staff (Thai) be at the Bangkok Embassy.

Notice how the rules and the procedure, inadequate though they may be, are set by the British Embassy/ Government, but of course it's Thais who are to blame for Khun Farang flying into Bangkok without checking to see what he should do.

[peergin]

There have been numerous serious, I mean really serious, complaints about the British Embassy in Bangkok ever since I arrived in Thailand in 1967. Nothing new.

[evadgib]

From the local news outlet of the OP dated 26 Mar 14:

http://www.samuitimes.com/letter-british-community-changes-british-passport-services-thailand

Edited September 6, 2014 by evadgib

[BritTim]

My degree of sympathy for the person who experienced this depends on how long he has been traveling. The inexperienced British traveler is very often under the delusion that British Embassy/Consulate staff are there to assist British travelers in trouble. 100 years ago, when foreign travel was generally a luxury for the elite, this was actually true, and someone turning up to report a lost passport would certainly have received assistance. If the person is, indeed, inexperienced then he made a natural mistake, and I feel very sorry for him. He just assumed they would want to help. If he had ever had any contact with a British Embassy before, he should have known better, but he still has my sympathy to some extent.

[simple1]

I attended an expat briefing in 2013. BKK Embassy Consular Services is one of the busiest in the world. Can't remember the details, but one number that did stick in my mind was the assistance provided in 24 sexual assault cases for British nationals in Thailand during 2012. Much of their work is not reported, whilst there maybe some valid critism in individual cases, blanket condemnation is unfair.

[LivinLOS]

My degree of sympathy for the person who experienced this depends on how long he has been traveling. The inexperienced British traveler is very often under the delusion that British Embassy/Consulate staff are there to assist British travelers in trouble. 100 years ago, when foreign travel was generally a luxury for the elite, this was actually true, and someone turning up to report a lost passport would certainly have received assistance. If the person is, indeed, inexperienced then he made a natural mistake, and I feel very sorry for him. He just assumed they would want to help. If he had ever had any contact with a British Embassy before, he should have known better, but he still has my sympathy to some extent.

I have to say.. The british embassy globally has been, multiple times, a huge help to me..

They have issued me a new 10 year passport in an emergency in a matter of hours once in belgium.. They went above and beyond to help with the arrangements surrounding the repatriation of a body of a child... They have processed swiftly and easily multiple UK visas for different ladies I have traveled with, generally had accurate information, and generally tried to do the job within the constraints of the rules.

Yes I have often called in advance and planned it.. Yes I have checked how best to approach a problem, and yes (tho arguably in an emergency it should not matter) I turn up dressed tidily and early..

I am sure my luck will run out, but frankly I dont expect them to be the answer to all my problems, yet they have helped more than a few times to solve them.

[digitalchromakey]

To repeat, the British Embassy should not be given a hard time about the passport issue problem.

When they (Foreign and Commonwealth Office - FCO) were in charge, overseas passport renewals took a little over a week and the whole process could be done painlessly and quickly from home via EMS.

This all changed when the British Government took overseas passport issue from FCO and gave it to the Home Office - HMPO.

HMPO led by Paul 'no problem here' Pugh have created the monstrous train wreck of a fiasco that masquerades as a passport service which is in place today.

Despite only now having responsibility for emergency passport issue, still behind the scenes, the British Embassy are now quietly helping those who are facing overstay or ruin due to the British Home Office's extreme incompetence.

This problem will only be fixed when HMPO Boss Paul Pugh and his senior management are all fired (with no golden handshakes/parachutes, just p60s) then HMPO is re-orgainised from top to bottom, with overseas passport issue being returned to the Foreign Office where it has been traditionally situated and rightfully belongs.

Edited September 7, 2014 by digitalchromakey

[srn89]

How true your last sentence is.

[PiPiFFS]

Whoever told your friend to jump on a plane and go to the embassy in BKK is the one to blame. There is a huge post regarding replacement passports and how to do it here on TV. The Thai staff at the embassy are probably sick of angry Farangs turning up there demanding a new passport immediately. Sorry

[oldsailor35]

He should go to the police first. With that the paper the police gives him he doesn't have a problem when he can't show his passport.

The embassy need the police report too and can't help you without it. That fact that your friend buys a plane ticket but doesn't

bother to check the embassy's website is his own fault and not the embassy's staff.

Easily enough said for persons such as yourself who know it all. This guy was afraid to front "any" Thai policeman, without a passport, don't think he could trust them not passing him on to Immigration Police who have sometimes have the habit of locking people up first and asking questions later. I guess to him it was a case of which comes first "the chicken or the egg" In any case the least the British embassy could have done was to advise him to make a police report first, not just refuse conversation because of no appointment.

Although you obviously do not agree, i believe that any national Embassy has a duty to at least have initial dialogue with any of their nationals who are in a foreign country and in some form of distress, the amount of assistance given could then be assessed.

Anyhow thanks for your expert advice, which is more than the embassy were prepared to give.

[oldsailor35]

He should go to the police first. With that the paper the police gives him he doesn't have a problem when he can't show his passport.

The embassy need the police report too and can't help you without it. That fact that your friend buys a plane ticket but doesn't

bother to check the embassy's website is his own fault and not the embassy's staff.

And of course like you everyone just has to be computer savvy and in fact own one. Many i know do not have a computer and openly admit, they would'nt even know how to turn one on.

[Guest]

Why insult the Thai staff who are not allowed to do anything other than follow instructions given from above? Blame the UK government.

[ubonjoe]

Some posts and replies to them have been removed. Please stay on topic and keep it civil.

[oldsailor35]

Whoever told your friend to jump on a plane and go to the embassy in BKK is the one to blame. There is a huge post regarding replacement passports and how to do it here on TV. The Thai staff at the embassy are probably sick of angry Farangs turning up there demanding a new passport immediately. Sorry

Get it right! NO one told him to jump a plane, he was just a worried old man.

[tookwan cottage]

Is there evidence for the claim that the UK government is only interested in helping migrants? Just a word of help, "incompetence" is the correct spelling. Thanks.

[oldsailor35]

Why insult the Thai staff who are not allowed to do anything other than follow instructions given from above? Blame the UK government.

Would'nt it be a good idea if the embassy could have handed him a leaflet explaining what he should have done, rather than shutting the window, or is this too difficult for the British Government PP dept.

[evadgib]

He should go to the police first. With that the paper the police gives him he doesn't have a problem when he can't show his passport.

The embassy need the police report too and can't help you without it. That fact that your friend buys a plane ticket but doesn't

bother to check the embassy's website is his own fault and not the embassy's staff.

And of course like you everyone just has to be computer savvy and in fact own one. Many i know do not have a computer and openly admit, they would'nt even know how to turn one on.

The link @ post 9 was published regionally and nationally online and in print. Relying on 'a bloke in a pub' in the 21st century is frankly asking for exactly the sort of prob outlined in your OP.

[oldsailor35]

Whoever told your friend to jump on a plane and go to the embassy in BKK is the one to blame. There is a huge post regarding replacement passports and how to do it here on TV. The Thai staff at the embassy are probably sick of angry Farangs turning up there demanding a new passport immediately. Sorry

Get it right! NO one told him to jump a plane, he was just a worried old man.

He was not demanding another passport, just wanted to report the lost one and get advice.

[cooked]

The Swiss Embassy is almost opposite the UK Embassy. I have twice seen people outside the UK Embassy looking distraught, it may be just a matter of time until somebody attempts suicide. The Swiss Embassy probably is expensive as far as fees go but I have always been happy to be able to go there unannounced and get the job done on the same day. I decided not to renew my UK passport years ago.

[PiPiFFS]

Whoever told your friend to jump on a plane and go to the embassy in BKK is the one to blame. There is a huge post regarding replacement passports and how to do it here on TV. The Thai staff at the embassy are probably sick of angry Farangs turning up there demanding a new passport immediately. Sorry

Get it right! NO one told him to jump a plane, he was just a worried old man.

Jumped on a plane is an expression not an actual fact. change that to booked an early flight and shuffled slowly onto the plane. Far from knowing everything I tend to check things before I act when I don't know, which is often that is why TV is helpful, Sometimes

Maybe he is just miffed at wasting his time and money

When I needed to replace my passport I was told various ways but through TV and the embassy website I found out the right way to do it.

[billd766]

He should go to the police first. With that the paper the police gives him he doesn't have a problem when he can't show his passport.

The embassy need the police report too and can't help you without it. That fact that your friend buys a plane ticket but doesn't

bother to check the embassy's website is his own fault and not the embassy's staff.

And of course like you everyone just has to be computer savvy and in fact own one. Many i know do not have a computer and openly admit, they would'nt even know how to turn one on.

I have an Aussie mate like that. At 76 he has never had one and never wants one.

I on the other hand am 70 and I have been using computers since my Sinclair Spectrum back in the dark days in 1982 when using a computer WAS hard work and long before the internet existed and mobile phones were only in science fiction movies.

I help him out quite often.

[keestha]

Bangkok embassies are getting very heavy traffic, constantly tourists/expats showing up who have all kinds of troubles. Showing up at the Dutch embassy in the afternoon, Thai security staff will also tell you to come back the next morning.

Once I got very prompt and friendly service walking into the Dutch embassy in Kinshasha (Congo) without an appointment, you couldn't expect this at a post like Bangkok.

[PoorSucker]

Get it right! NO one told him to jump a plane, he was just a worried old man.

Does he have a Thai driving license?

He should be OK with that as ID if police asks.

How could he else board the plane without passport?

[FritsSikkink]

He should go to the police first. With that the paper the police gives him he doesn't have a problem when he can't show his passport.

The embassy need the police report too and can't help you without it. That fact that your friend buys a plane ticket but doesn't

bother to check the embassy's website is his own fault and not the embassy's staff.

And of course like you everyone just has to be computer savvy and in fact own one. Many i know do not have a computer and openly admit, they would'nt even know how to turn one on.

My mother is 89 and knows how. No excuse for not wanting to learn.