On hold

We should have had tickets for our annual UK visit sorted out by now - only there's a glitch.  The Girl's passport needs to be renewed.  We had in fact cottoned on to this a while back and I submitted the old passport to the British Embassy in Washington DC some seven weeks ago, knowing this would give us plenty of time as the relevant website clearly states that renewal takes four weeks, six at most.

Or it did.  They posted a message on the website on June 16 to say that due to unexpected demand they are "experiencing delays".  And since they only got round to processing payment for our application on June 17, we know those delays apply to us.  In an effort to confirm when, if ever, we're likely to get our daughter's passport back, I've been trying to ring the inappropriately named passport "helpline".

Advice on the helpline costs money (72p a minute, plus tax) so the automated message when you first call up instructs you to have your credit card at the ready - otherwise no advice.  If you don't have a credit card that's just too bad, I suppose.  Anyway.  I listened to the message, then was surprised to get a real dial tone almost at once...but it cut out.  I rang again.  Listened to the message.  Listened to the dial-waiting and the soothing Scottish voice telling me that due to a heavy load of calls I might want to ring back later, or I could stay on the line if I didn't care about the cost of an international call... I hung on, got through to a real person (!!) and got as far as telling him I'm in the USA...and then the call cut out.

I rang again.  Listened to the message.  Listened to the dial-waiting message.  Eventually got through to another person.  She needed me to key in my credit card number.  I tried to do so via my on-screen skype dial-pad but it didn't register her end.  Neither did my keyboard.  She advised me to check on my "keyboard connectivity settings", or try another phone, but didn't offer to key in my number herself even though we were clearly two real people speaking to each other - she wasn't allowed to do that, don't ask me why.

I hung up.  Tinkered with my settings.  Rang again.  Credit-card message.  Dial-waiting message.  Dial tone... Cut out.

Bureaucracy meets technology, with tedious consequences.  I have given up.   I might try again - when I have regained the will to live.