Template letter of complaint to UKBA

bob-russell · Post by **bob-russell** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 2:37 pm

The long processing times for ILR seem to be getting worse. Unless there is a stream of complaints there is little chance of things changing! Most people breath a sigh of relief when the passport comes back and do not complain. If there is a regular stream of complaints this may make it easier for those applying in the future!

I have produced a template letter of complaint for those that have been kept waiting for excessive time. The 95% processed within 6 months is not a valid excuse IMO.

If there are any other similar templates it would be interesting to see them!

Mr Rob Whiteman
Chief Executive
UK Border Agency
Seacole Building
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF

Date

Dear Mr Whiteman

Home Office Ref: XXXXXXXX

I am writing to complain about the time the UKBA has taken to process my Indefinite Leave To Remain (SET X) application.

My passport has now been returned but the process has taken ** weeks from the date of receipt of the application and supporting paperwork.

I would appreciate an explanation why the Home Office/UKBA can process such a straight forward application in person same day, often with no more than twenty minutes effort and a couple of hours for the passport vignette to be applied yet keep postal applicants waiting for months.

Over the last few years the processing times appear to have increased from approximately four weeks to eighteen or more weeks. At the same time application fees have risen astronomically.

I accept some applications are more complicated than others and enquiries are required on occasions but this does not account for the difference in service standards detailed on your website.

If 90% of applications can be processed on the same day please explain why it is felt acceptable for 95% of, presumably similar, postal applications to take up to six months to be processed.

For many the extra costs and inconvenience involved in applying in person make it impractical.

The length of time for postal applications makes it difficult or impossible to find work because employers fear being fined for employing people not entitled to work. This can and does lead to significant hardship for many families.

Applicants are prevented from travelling abroad for significant periods and this can lead to hardship particularly as requesting the return of a passport in emergency leads to the application being 'withdrawn'. I feel this restricts both my freedom of movement but also that of my British citizen partner.

All applicants have a right to be treated in a fair, considerate and timely manner which the Home Office is clearly failing to do at present. It is obvious to those of us unfortunate enough to have to deal with the UKBA that it is unfit for purpose, a situation that is only getting worse.

Why is it taking up to six months to complete applications that take minutes to process? What steps are being taken to improve the standards of service? Is it acceptable to use minimum standards as targets?

I am copying this letter of complaint to my Member Of Parliament and to the Immigration Minister.

I await your response with interest!

Yours sincerely

XXXXXXX

(Edited to put the Chief Executives address on template!)

innocentdevil · Post by **innocentdevil** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 3:18 pm

i think that is spot on. fire away. why wait for bleeding months when you have paid for same day service.

doubletrouble · Post by **doubletrouble** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 4:14 pm

Would you like to correct "waiting time of 16-18 weeks", surely it is a lot longer than that ?20-22 weeks

bob-russell · Post by **bob-russell** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 4:36 pm

doubletrouble wrote:Would you like to correct "waiting time of 16-18 weeks", surely it is a lot longer than that ?20-22 weeks

I have removed the word average! This is a template for people to modify to suit themselves. My wife is the one applying for ILR but it makes me mad how the system is failing.

There is no excuse for anyone, British or not to be treated this poorly. Complain, complain and complain again if necessary until the system is improved.

Unless applicants are willing to spend a few minutes at the end of the application process sending in a complaint nothing will be done and future visa applicants will continue to be treated like this! (Rant over!)

bobby80gh · Post by **bobby80gh** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 4:54 pm

This letter will be thrown into the bin. Trust me. I have been trying to search on the internet whether one can take UKBA to court when his passport is unduly delayed but there seem not to be any law to support that. Unless there is a court case, I can assure you that any letter or complaint will be ignored.

bob-russell · Post by **bob-russell** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 5:52 pm

bobby80gh wrote:This letter will be thrown into the bin. Trust me. I have been trying to search on the internet whether one can take UKBA to court when his passport is unduly delayed but there seem not to be any law to support that. Unless there is a court case, I can assure you that any letter or complaint will be ignored.

No it won't be ignored. It will be logged and has to be responded to. Letters of complaint also have to be available to the Chief Inspector of the Border Agency.

A single letter will not make them change how they behave nor will ten but without regular challenges nothing will ever change. If more and more people complain it will upset their statistics and agencies love their statistics. Copying to your MP will add some pressure. Copying to the Immigration Minister is probably a waste of a stamp but will again keep his or her staff busy!

Is it going to make things better? Perhaps not but hundreds over a year will be noticed. Isn't it better to make some effort than to passively roll over and let them get away with it?

I am not sure if the UKBA can be taken to court. They may be protected by Crown Immunity. Even if not they have miserable performance targets and would try to hide behind them.

gj6ab5657 · Post by **gj6ab5657** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 9:33 pm

Hi! bob-russell thanks for hard work for make above latter and if every postal applicant post this letter to UKBA and definitely it will be effect after some times and this advantage will get future applicant. keep it up and thanks for taking time for this draft. my appeal to all postal applicant should write to UKBA after get their ILR. will effect one day............................................................................

bob-russell · Post by **bob-russell** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 9:55 am

Just remember that as far as the UKBA is concerned an application processed without a complaint is a satisfied customer! A satisfied customer is a happy customer and a happy customer means they are doing their job well!

Are applicants happy and satisfied? Complain!

sharjeelpk · Post by **sharjeelpk** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:11 pm

CC this letter to local MP
CC this letter to Leader of opposition

and CC this letter to anybody UKBA scared of

and also mention this in the letter
like in the end of the letter after regards
or name just put

CC to ------
CC to ------
CC to ------
CC to ------

tdoubleoni14 · Post by **tdoubleoni14** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 7:53 pm

I have tried writing and faxing both Croydon PEO and Liverpool Settlement Casework offices respectively but not as much as an acknowledgment.

Its been 10weeks since I sent back the employers letter stating there was no COP relating to my job...

settled_now · Post by **settled_now** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 8:29 pm

2003/109/EC is intended to allow long-term residents freedom of movement after their status has been established i.e. AFTER permanent residence has been granted.

The UK has opted out of 2003/109/EC ( they are allowed to ignore any immigration related directives ). However, they have used 2003/109/EC as an excuse to increase ILR from 4 years to 5 ( convenient ).

The standard within 2003/109/EC is that PR decisions must be made within 6 months - but again the UK has opted out anyways.

Quoting 2003/109/EC will not score many points - I would suggest you omit it. However, a government retaining one's passport for the entire period is not normal ( doesn't happen in Germany for example ) and highly absurd. I wouldn't be too surprised if there is an EU directive out there that forbids this. Worth looking into and certainly worth mentioning in your letter.

AshMad · Post by **AshMad** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 10:46 pm

Hi Bob-Russel,

Thanks for putting up a template.
Actually, I am bit busy in sorting out my options and time is running out.

Sorry, I could not post much of my interaction with my MP but would do so after I sort my issues with UKBA.

Here is one of the REPORTS on the performance of UKBA published by Parliamentary Ombudsman.

Some relevant sections can be used appropriately from different cases and findings to be copied over in the Standard Letter to be sent to people addressed to by Sharjeel.

God forbid, if something untoward happens due to time wasted by UKBA in deciding my application, I have made a decision to go to whatever extent possible and don't mind shedding money and energy.

Can this be also published in print media ?

Attached is the link:

http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/__data/asse ... -02-09.pdf

AshMad · Post by **AshMad** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 10:47 pm

It will be a sincere request to moderators to make this thread sticky as there should be a dedicated thread on complains.

Is there anyone to support ?

bob-russell · Post by **bob-russell** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 9:44 am

AshMad wrote:It will be a sincere request to moderators to make this thread sticky as there should be a dedicated thread on complains.

Is there anyone to support ?

As a 'newbie' with a bit of an axe to grind I didn't think it was appropriate for me to request it to be made sticky!

Thank you for the advice regarding the legal aspect of EU directives! A bit of modification is worthwhile!

settled_now · Post by **settled_now** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 11:44 am

Hi I have been looking for a directive regarding passport retention - found nothing so far.

The one thing that does keep popping up in google searches is the legal status of UK passports ( I have heard a lot about this before ). It is clear from a UK point of view that a UK passport is legally a property of the UK Government. In view of this, only the UK government has the right to retain your UK passport. It certainly is quite odd the UK government sees it fit to retain the passports of citizens other than their own ( which are actually property of a foreign government ) for extended periods of time.

Why this is so absurd to me is I lived on the continent for many years. Although you could easily pass between Schengen countries without a passport, in many cases it was your obligation to carry a passport.

Particularly if you lived in a place like Aachen Germany or Masstricht Netherlands which were in border regions and you were subject to passport checks by the border police at any time. Therefore, the retention of a passport for such a prolonged period would be considered absurd in a large part of Europe - it just would not happen.

bob-russell · Post by **bob-russell** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 3:58 pm

The UKBA has a complaints procedure!!

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/about ... complaint/

Please use it!

bob-russell · Post by **bob-russell** » Thu Mar 01, 2012 2:09 pm

My letter of complain to try to speed things up:

Dear Dr Lewis

UKBA reference XXXXXXXXXXX

I telephoned the Constituency Office in Cadnam last week and spoke to your secretary who recommended that I write a letter of complaint to the UKBA via you!

Yet again we seem to have fallen foul of the incompetence and poor management at the UKBA!

My wife and daughter have been living over here since being granted Temporary Leave To Remain in October 2009.

They applied for Indefinite Leave To Remain (acknowledged 21st October 2011) but we have still not heard from the UKBA!

The application (on form SET(M)) should be one of the most straight forward to process. All the documentation was present and correct! I am sure it will take no more than ten minutes to process!

We have paid around £1500 for these to be processed and feel we have the right to receive a reasonable service for that money.

The UKBA seem happy to stand behind the 95% processed within six months statistic. It seems they are failing to even start processing these for months.

At the same time as holding my wife's passport they are also holding my British passport. I feel this is restricting our freedom of movement for an unacceptable length of time. My wife has already had to postpone a trip to France to see an old friend and we are unable to make any holiday arrangements.

As a veterinary surgeon in a single vet practice I cannot just make plans at the drop of a hat and I have to admit I am ashamed of the appalling standards deemed acceptable by a government agency. The price paid by applicants far exceeds the actual costs quoted by the UKBA.

I will write a formal letter of complaint to the UKBA when they finally 'pull their finger out' and do the job they have been well paid to do but I would appreciate any assistance you can offer.

I am delighted that Theresa May has started the process of reform by splitting the Border Force from the existing UKBA management but I hope this is not at the cost of leaving the existing incompetent management in place at the visa processing arm of the organisation.

If you need any further information please do not hesitate to contact me at work on XXXXXXX.

Once again many thanks for your help past and present!

Yours sincerely

Unless lots of people complain nothing will change. Lots of complaints can make them think again. Don't sit back and take it, try to change things!

anniecc · Post by **anniecc** » Thu Mar 01, 2012 2:36 pm

I applaud you for complaining, although I'm not sure it will get anywhere. For me it's not just about the long decision times, but the fact that UKBA don't provide any form of customer service in return for the fee we're paying. How hard would it be to have a section on their website where you could enter your application number and get an update on where your application was at, and an estimate of the likely date your passport would be returned? It seems like the fees are going up and up and the service is getting worse and worse.

Incidentally, the reason why the fees are so far in excess of the actual cost of processing applications is that the government thinks that migrants should cover the general running costs of UKBA. What b*llocks! I have no problem with paying a fee to cover the cost of processing my application, but maintaining secure borders is in the clear interest of the UK taxpayer and should be paid for by the taxpayer. Of course, I am also a (top rate) taxpayer as well as a migrant, so I get hit twice.

bob-russell · Post by **bob-russell** » Thu Mar 01, 2012 2:52 pm

The whole point of putting up a template is that all complaints have to be processed and if enough are received it will cause them inconvenience!

As I have already said - if there is no complaint it is seen as a satisfied customer and a satisfied customer is a happy customer!

Will it change the world? No, but accepting this cr*p level of service without making any fuss is the same as rolling on your back and submitting to it!

My complaint is not going to alter things. My complaint and one from you will not either. Ours and twenty more may. Ours and two hundred could! Ours and two thousand will change things.

Everyone has to make up their minds whether they are going to be (dare I say) selfish and sit back with relief once the passport arrives back on the doorstep or should we all do a bit to try to improve things for those that are to follow us. Winge about it or do something to change it.

All the other complaints are equally justified but without an active complaint being made who is going to hear them? I bet UKBA staff don't spend much time on immigration discussion boards. Perhaps this should be compulsory for them so they can see the stress and worry their failures cause!

Off my soap box now!!!

Smam · Post by **Smam** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 2:06 am

Hi Bob Russell

Your complain letter looks fantastic mate but I can bet you any thing that your complain will go no where UKBA will come up with millions and millions of reasons to stop your application. They'll come up with things like you sounds like a threat to their national sec and any stupid thing like that and no body has got time to ask from UKBA that can you prove this they'll say no sorry that's what we are trying to do and hence lengthening the application processing time. So there we go and at the end they'll say ok sorry your application is processed.

They have clearly mentioned this that getting a PEO appointment doesn't really gurantee your application being processed at the same day its completely at the discretion of the CW and at the end UKBA that's all I know to the best of my knowledge.

As for UKBA slogan is "Yell as much as you like but we'll put the Glue in our Ears and that's it".

bob-russell · Post by **bob-russell** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 9:29 am

Letter sent to UKBA by MP:

Mr Rob Whiteman
Chief Executive
UK Border Agency
Seacole Building
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF

Dear Mr Whitemen

My constituent Mr Bob Russell and family, XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ref: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I shall be very grateful if you will intervene to see what can be done to expedite this application for my constituent Mr Russell's family for Indefinite Leave to Remain.
As Mr Russell says, the process should be a straightforward one, but nothing seems to be happening in spite of the large sum of £1500 having been paid.

Meanwhile, Mr Russell's passport and that of his wife is being held by UKBA and this too, is causing inconvenience.
I do ask foe this matter to be dealt with as soon as practically possible and look forward to hearing from UKBA shortly.

Yours sincerely

I am not expecting a miracle nor to jump a queue but I do expect a sensible timeline.
Once again I ask people that have successfully been granted ILR but have had to wait extraordinary lengths of time to complain. Unless complaint numbers soar nothing will be done to improve the lot of future applicants!

bob-russell · Post by **bob-russell** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 9:38 am

bobby80gh wrote:This letter will be thrown into the bin. Trust me. I have been trying to search on the internet whether one can take UKBA to court when his passport is unduly delayed but there seem not to be any law to support that. Unless there is a court case, I can assure you that any letter or complaint will be ignored.

You can complain to Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman once the complaints procedure via the UKBA has been exhausted!

http://www.ombudsman.org.uk

noclue · Post by **noclue** » Sun Mar 18, 2012 5:44 pm

first thing i will be doing is complaning. trust me its stupid, its all about money and time. i also have the mp involved and also tried to get higher up people involved in our appeal for settlement visa but no one cares... but once my husband has his visa thats it!!!!! im doing everything i can, its been a year since my husband left the uk and 9 months for the visa.. still no joy and the appeal is in april . but my god!! ill write letters to everyone till my fingers bleeeeed

bob-russell · Post by **bob-russell** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 12:06 pm

So far no response to my letter of complaint! Not overly surprised!
Sadly as this thread has disappeared on to page 6 or 7 not many people are complaining.
If this is the case then so be it and nothing will change. Dozens or hundreds of complaints will get action but a few here or there will be seen as 'normal'.
95% processed within six months is clearly now a target and as such nothing will improve.
Once again i ask everyone who is dissatisfied with the service should complain and keep complaining until something gets done.
Just because you are so relieved to get that ILR stamp does not mean you should forget about it all. There are many applicants to come and they will face the same unacceptable delays until people start standing up for fair treatment.
My letter is just that, it is mine. Feel free to use it but please post your letters and suggestions.
If you don't complain the UKBA consider you a satisfied customer!!

vtp11321 · Post by **vtp11321** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 2:09 pm

Hi Bob-Russell,

Did you get any result from Ombdusman? or from MP?
Did the complaints team advise you of their acknowledgement of the complaint letter and they will get back tro you in 20 days?

Thanks and regards,
VTP

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Template letter of complaint to UKBA

Template letter of complaint to UKBA

thanks!