Does the Home Office ever provide proof of postage?

[Elizabella]

I am having trouble recovering documents that the Home Office allegedly posted 3 weeks ago. Royal Mail says I need proof of postage to follow up, but the Home Office help line says that they don't provide proof of postage. Has anyone been in this situation before? What happens when your documents are in limbo with Royal Mail?

[Wanderer]

I am having trouble recovering documents that the Home Office allegedly posted 3 weeks ago. Royal Mail says I need proof of postage to follow up, but the Home Office help line says that they don't provide proof of postage. Has anyone been in this situation before? What happens when your documents are in limbo with Royal Mail?

When I was doing all this I enclosed a special delivery envelope post paid and sent docs in another similar special delivery envelope. Took no chances.

PO does do proof of postage, when you send the letter/package just ask the clerk for prof of postage and you get a little slip showing the details of the delivery. If you didn't ask for it at the time you're a bit stuck.

[Elizabella]

I am having trouble recovering documents that the Home Office allegedly posted 3 weeks ago. Royal Mail says I need proof of postage to follow up, but the Home Office help line says that they don't provide proof of postage. Has anyone been in this situation before? What happens when your documents are in limbo with Royal Mail?

When I was doing all this I enclosed a special delivery envelope post paid and sent docs in another similar special delivery envelope. Took no chances.

PO does do proof of postage, when you send the letter/package just ask the clerk for prof of postage and you get a little slip showing the details of the delivery. If you didn't ask for it at the time you're a bit stuck.

I think you misunderstand me. I sent my documents and application to the Home Office by special delivery and had proof of postage. I know that the Home Office received my documents safely because I tracked my documents.

The issue is that the Home Office sent my documents by signed for post (not special delivery) and Royal Mail hasn't even tried to deliver it after 3 weeks. I called Royal Mail and they say after this much time they would class it as a lost item. Yes, I missed the chance to include a special delivery envelope because I forgot about this issue and only read through the application form and guidance (not the forums) at the time of application. However, the Home Office doesn't always use these envelopes anyway to send your documents back to you, even if you ask them to. You will see comments about this on the forums.

Also, right now I only have the Home Office's word that they posted my documents as the tracking number doesn't even guarantee that the package was brought to the post office. What I need to know is whether the Home Office will provide me with proof of postage showing that THEY posted my documents back to me. If I don't have this, it will be impossible to follow up with Royal Mail.

[Wanderer]

I am having trouble recovering documents that the Home Office allegedly posted 3 weeks ago. Royal Mail says I need proof of postage to follow up, but the Home Office help line says that they don't provide proof of postage. Has anyone been in this situation before? What happens when your documents are in limbo with Royal Mail?

When I was doing all this I enclosed a special delivery envelope post paid and sent docs in another similar special delivery envelope. Took no chances.

PO does do proof of postage, when you send the letter/package just ask the clerk for prof of postage and you get a little slip showing the details of the delivery. If you didn't ask for it at the time you're a bit stuck.

I think you misunderstand me. I sent my documents and application to the Home Office by special delivery and had proof of postage. I know that the Home Office received my documents safely because I tracked my documents.

The issue is that the Home Office sent my documents by signed for post (not special delivery) and Royal Mail hasn't even tried to deliver it after 3 weeks. I called Royal Mail and they say after this much time they would class it as a lost item. Yes, I missed the chance to include a special delivery envelope because I forgot about this issue and only read through the application form and guidance (not the forums) at the time of application. However, the Home Office doesn't always use these envelopes anyway to send your documents back to you, even if you ask them to. You will see comments about this on the forums.

Also, right now I only have the Home Office's word that they posted my documents as the tracking number doesn't even guarantee that the package was brought to the post office. What I need to know is whether the Home Office will provide me with proof of postage showing that THEY posted my documents back to me. If I don't have this, it will be impossible to follow up with Royal Mail.

Ahh, apologies, I did misunderstand.

[Elizabella]

Ahh, apologies, I did misunderstand.

Thanks anyway for commenting. I may have written my opening paragraph a little quickly as I was seeing red after taking to the Home Office "help line" and spending a little too much time googling the cost of replacing various documents.

If everything is really lost, it will be interesting to see whether my application is invalidated because I will have to get a new passport for myself and ID card for my husband.

[007RAHEEL]

Home Office do provide tracking number if you don’t recieved your parcel within 21 days from my friend experience in past home office send documents by second class post and they despatch late as well I strongly advise involve your MP they can obtain tracking number for you. Also call helpline and ask for tracking details. I’m pretty sure they have posted documents atleast 1 week late.

[Elizabella]

Home Office do provide tracking number if you don’t recieved your parcel within 21 days from my friend experience in past home office send documents by second class post and they despatch late as well I strongly advise involve your MP they can obtain tracking number for you. Also call helpline and ask for tracking details. I’m pretty sure they have posted documents atleast 1 week late.

Hi Raheel. I have a tracking number, which the Home Office sent me after I called them twice and submitted 2 online forms about it. However, the tracking number was generated on 2 October and Royal Mail has no information connected to the tracking number. This is already more than 21 days since the tracking number was created, but I can't be sure whether the Home Office necessarily posted the documents the same date that they made the tracking number.

Do you mean that sometimes they create the tracking numbers, but this isn't actually when they post the documents? Did this happen do your friend? How long did their documents take to arrive?

I called the Home Office again and they are double checking internally that they actually posted it. If I don't hear back by next week I am planning to contact my MP.

[djgrubber]

Home Office do provide tracking number if you don’t recieved your parcel within 21 days from my friend experience in past home office send documents by second class post and they despatch late as well I strongly advise involve your MP they can obtain tracking number for you. Also call helpline and ask for tracking details. I’m pretty sure they have posted documents atleast 1 week late.

Hi Raheel. I have a tracking number, which the Home Office sent me after I called them twice and submitted 2 online forms about it. However, the tracking number was generated on 2 October and Royal Mail has no information connected to the tracking number. This is already more than 21 days since the tracking number was created, but I can't be sure whether the Home Office necessarily posted the documents the same date that they made the tracking number.

Do you mean that sometimes they create the tracking numbers, but this isn't actually when they post the documents? Did this happen do your friend? How long did their documents take to arrive?

I called the Home Office again and they are double checking internally that they actually posted it. If I don't hear back by next week I am planning to contact my MP.

Hi Elizabella, would you be so kind as to tell me which online form did you use to communicate with Home Office regarding your documents and telephone numbers for helpline? Thanks

[007RAHEEL]

Home Office do provide tracking number if you don’t recieved your parcel within 21 days from my friend experience in past home office send documents by second class post and they despatch late as well I strongly advise involve your MP they can obtain tracking number for you. Also call helpline and ask for tracking details. I’m pretty sure they have posted documents atleast 1 week late.

Hi Raheel. I have a tracking number, which the Home Office sent me after I called them twice and submitted 2 online forms about it. However, the tracking number was generated on 2 October and Royal Mail has no information connected to the tracking number. This is already more than 21 days since the tracking number was created, but I can't be sure whether the Home Office necessarily posted the documents the same date that they made the tracking number.

Do you mean that sometimes they create the tracking numbers, but this isn't actually when they post the documents? Did this happen do your friend? How long did their documents take to arrive?

I called the Home Office again and they are double checking internally that they actually posted it. If I don't hear back by next week I am planning to contact my MP.

That’s exactly happened to my friend they use the tracking sticker but posted later Royal Mail was unable to track it because it wasn’t scan on there dustmen yet it took 4 weeks for him to recieve the documents and I can imagine how frustrating it is. I’m going you will get something this week. Mean time you can contact your MP if your originals are lost it’s a big headache keep me updated of the outcome.

[Elizabella]

Hi Elizabella, would you be so kind as to tell me which online form did you use to communicate with Home Office regarding your documents and telephone numbers for helpline? Thanks

Hi djgrubber. There are two forms. The initial request form is:
https://eforms.homeoffice.gov.uk/outrea ... ments.ofml

And the follow up form is:
https://eforms.homeoffice.gov.uk/outrea ... quiry.ofml

For an EEA application, call 0300 123 2253. There will be a series of sets of options asking you to pick a number. In order, I pick 2, 2, 1, and then 1. This gets me through to the EEA application helpline. They cannot ever tell you anything, but take messages to relay to the Home Office European team.

[djgrubber]

Thank you Elizabella

[Elizabella]

In a strange turn of events, the Home Office sent me my marriage certificate this week. It is under a different tracking number than I was previously provided for my original request for my passport and recently dated (Nov 1). I never asked for my marriage certificate to be sent and frankly don't need it.

I am trying not to speculate, but I have a feeling that the team did this because my return of documents request is 5 weeks old and they wanted to close it down to meet internal targets for responding. On Monday my employer will write the local MP.

[Elizabella]

Apart from getting my local MP involved and writing directly to the Home Office European Team, does anyone have other ideas on how to put pressure on the Home Office to find my documents? I'm assuming they are either internally misplaced at UKVI or lost in the post.

Is there any use writing the mayor for my area?

[Elizabella]

At long last, I have my documents. On Nov 9 I emailed rodrequestsect@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk and received a reply the same day with an update on my documents. I CC-ed my MP and Mark Thomson. I was amazed to get a personal reply the same day, as 4 phone calls and 3 forms had resulted in no useful responses.

As it turns out, the first time they posted the documents, Royal Mail couldn't deliver them and eventually returned them to the Home Office. I'm not sure when they got them back, but after getting my email, they sent them out by 9am Guaranteed Special Delivery and gave me the tracking number straight away. It still took 2 days to get here, but after a month and a half I'm very happy to have them back!