I is well annoyed

[Matt2584]

My dad is in the middle of filling in forms to acquire a passport for me right now.

He has filled in the forms for me, I have got some passport photos and I have got a counter signature which all sounds quite simple.

My dad took the forms to my local post office today and there are some problems. They are basically being nitpicky ********.

They pointed out some of the things that were wrong and some of the things referring the photo were that I wasn't near enough to the screen. I was wearing glasses. And the woman at the counter said to my dad I should close my mouth.

Because of my BI, I have nerve damage and therefore weak muscles, especially notable in my face. I cannot naturally press my lips together.

I told my mum about what this person said about closing my mouth, my mum said she would've ripped her head off. It was such a rude thing to ask. My dad said she was simply just asking but still it is a very rude thing to be asking. It's like asking an amputee (armless person) for their fingerprint.

Anyway, because of this nitpicking, I will have to get new photos done now which means I have to spend more money. So they want me to spend more money because they are being buttmunches.

What if I were poor? What if I was a person who could not get gold of money so easily? They don't think about that do they. And why do they have to be so anal about the photo? Is it because of security reasons? Or is it because they are being massive **** heads?

If it were for security reasons, the reason why my mouth is open is because I am holding a capsule full of poison under my tongue :).

[cat3]

The post office woman would be well aware of the fact that, with this photo on your passport, you would have been denied permission to travel on any airline. Sunglasses can significantly disguise our appearance and we're required to remove all adornments or accessories which obscure the face.

The mouth issue is probably best addressed by your explaining your problem in person to the assistant.

It can be intimidating having to fit in with other people's ideals of what we should look like but I think it's just a general rule that everyone should adopt as natural pose as possible with no features obscured. Even if we smile on a passport photo it'll be rejected. xx

gov.uk/photos-for-passports....

[Matt2584 in reply to cat3]

When I got my photo taken at the photo booth it had the instructions to sit straight so that your eyes are level with the bar on screen.

This means I had to pose in a slightly uncomfortable position to level out my eyeline. My natural pose/level has been altered by my BI.

The instructions on the passport form did not tell you take off my glasses so that is why I kept them on. I've got to use them to see what I am doing and the fact with leveling my face too.

I think the instructions in the booth did show obscurities such as putting your hand over your mouth or wearing a hat or bandana and wearing shades as the reflection could hide the eyes but it never actually said about glasses and plus it is a dim light in the photo booth, no reflections to be had. One might think "shades, glasses, same thing" but I say "Should've pointed that out".

I couldn't actually explain the nerve issue problem to the assisstant as my dad was the one who handed in the application form while I was at my Headway group this morning. BUT! Ideally, I should not have to explain about my open mouth. "It's my problem. I can't do much about it. So hard luck" is what I say to that.

[BaronC]

I'm sorry, I'm not usually one to argue, but... I personally think you're being a little over sensitive and a tad hard on the staff who's job it it to make certain that the forms are filled in correctly. Not their own standards, but to those of the Passport Office. If you have genuine issues as to why you can't conform to the rules, the Passport Office can take that into account if you explain why. After all, how are they supposed to know anyone has any sort of issues unless it is explained to them? Yes, you may have to jump through some hoops, but trust me, we all do.

My wife, who is 100% able bodied and sound of mind (occasionally) had to travel to another city to collect her passport, after being denied initially and then having to provide a folder of documentation because her father died years ago and she no longer had the same surname. It was frustrating, annoying even, but ultimately worth it. The staff couldn't have been more helpful and explained their reasons for the trip, which, again, were not of their own making, but Government regulations that couldn't be avoided.

I've twice been asked at customs to empty my hand luggage and explain the medication in my bag. Perfectly understandable and not the actions of over-zealous staff. They're just doing their job, no point in name calling

[iforget]

In my passport I am squinting like a demented bat because they made me remove my glasses and I cannot see without them so I was desperately trying to locate the voice of the woman taking the photo telling me to "look this way a bit more". It took several tries before we got to the stage where I no longer cared and just said whatever and took the demented bat photos and sent them off...This is what now gazes out from the pages of my passport and will do so for the next 8 years... It looks absolutely nothing like me at all but hey ho...rules is rules LOL

[Elenor3]

Oh dear the whole beaurocrcy thing is such a pain. Nothing's simple I think the post office assistant was trying to save you the trouble of the application being returned and the delay that would cause. The post office people are just the agents of the passport office, but they probabl know the things that the passport office send applications back for better than anybody. Maybe they were a bit insensitive in how they spoke about it? Anyway.....positive side is.......it hasn't all gone off in the post only to be rejected and returned to you. You have the chance to get it adjusted now, and the best part is, you don't have to do it again for another ten years :). Who knows - maybe by then we'll be using biometrics or something, and it won't matter if our mouth is open or shut, or whether we wear a hat. I feel your pain - staff in a lot of public places just live in another world, but I don't think they mean to come across as annoying. They can't help it sometimes

Hope you're new photo comes out better and you're happy with it. I too am the owner of a passport picture I'd rather not show people

[angelite]

Hiya Matt,

Sorry you are having to redo your pics. The rules for official photographs are quite strict. When Ed used to have to get photos for his taxi badge he was refused twice -once for a vague Mona Lisa smile and another time for wearing his hat. He is famously known locally as Eddy the Hat, as he always has it on : ))

I think the lady at the P.O. was genuinely trying to be helpful and didn't realise that you had mouth closing issues due to disability. The main problem lies with the photo booth - if the instructions are not clear, do not cover all the required information or are not displayed prominently enough then the manufacturers/owners of the booth may not be complying with the legal requirements. It could be argued that a lack of comprehensive instructions leads to customers having to reuse the machine when unsuitable photos are refused, leading to more profit for the photo booth company methinks ! The providers of the service also have to make 'reasonable adjustments' under the equality act for people with disabilities. So for instance, if instructions were only written and not verbal, this would be a disadvantage to those with sight impairment. As a point of interest, how would a wheelchair user access a booth ? I must look this up ! x

[angelite in reply to angelite]

Ah, I've just read Cat's link - special provision is made for those with disabilities, quite rightly so. Your mouth issue would come under this category, Matt. x

gov.uk/passport-services-di...

[Matt2584 in reply to angelite]

As my dad was saying, the lady at the P.O. Was only asking if I could close my mouth in the photo. I think really my mum made it sound worse when she said she would rip her head off and when my dad first told me that was what this lady said I sounded more disgruntled. I was annoyed though about how this, that and the other was wrong though.

My dad is the one filling in the forms so I blame him for any mistakes that may have/have not appeared on/off the form.

I definitely agree with you about a lack of comprehensive instructions leading to failure, leading to profit for the P.O. I think it is done deliberately. I sometimes go to Warner Leisure Hotels and the nearest one to me is Sinah Warren, Hayling Island. I love the place dearly but each time I have been it has been way too hot because of the heating and I wouldn't be surprised one bit if the main reason why was to make their guests thirsty so that they can pay for more drinks. Again, it is about the money. Everything is about money, it disgusts me.

But on the other hand, the heating problem can be seen to suit their guests. With Warner Leisure Hotels, a lot of older people use the place. This is one reason I like Warner, no kids. I'm not much of a fan of kids. So maybe the people their have complained in the past that it is too cold and that is why the heating is hot? I can't exactly answer that but in my opinion I wouldn't be surprised at all if it was the for-profit reason.

[angelite in reply to Matt2584]

I've always wondered why curry nights are so popular at pubs - I suspect the sale of spicy food ups the sale of cold drinks ! x

[Matt2584 in reply to angelite]

That probably is the main reason why so many pubs have curry nights, cos they have got a lot of cold drinks to 'supposedly' cool you down.

I say "supposedly" cos although beers or whatever might help cool you down while eating curry, beer or alcohol is not exactly the best way to cool you down while eating hot food. One of the best ways to cool down is drinking milk. Might sound odd but it works, I've tried it.

I think after BI my taste can be a little sensitive to hot foods like some curries. Usually if the curry feels hot in my mouth, then the heat of the curry is worse on my tongue. I sometimes like to let the curry cool down a bit before I eat it.

But anyhow, milk does the trick when eating spicy food and another reason why I don't think beer is as effective is because drinking beer dehydrates you.