News: more Border Force strikes planned, cost of passports increasing next week

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• executiveclubber says:

  3 Apr3 April 03:27

  Cost to incorporate a company online also leaping from £12 to £50. I mean, wtf? Where’s the money actually going?

  • CarpalTravel says:

    3 Apr3 April 09:48

    The annual confirmation statement increases from £13 to £34. Some others are shooting up too.

  • CJD says:

    3 Apr3 April 10:25

    Companies House is undergoing a lot of changes, as the government have finally woken up to the fact that having an open corporate register where data isn’t actually verified is a bad idea.

  • Thegasman says:

    3 Apr3 April 11:44

    Completely justified in my opinion if it allows them to do at least some verification. It’s a joke how vulnerable current system is to being exploited for nefarious purposes. If your company can’t stomach an extra £21/year then it should probably be wound up!

    • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

      3 Apr3 April 16:28

      I read a story recently about a poor guy who was innundated with letters from Companies House all related to dozens of businesses that were registered to his address that he knew nothing about.

      There were no controls that said ‘hang on there are already dozens of businesses registered there is it a legit address’?

      • Tariq says:

        3 Apr3 April 16:39

        Been there, done that. Fortunately, it was only one company. Complained to Companies House at the time, but they told me there was nothing they could do about it…! So I would definitely approve of more robust checks.

• Mark says:

  3 Apr3 April 05:36

  Is the virgin Mastercard fee free for online transactions? I thought it was 0% only for in person purchases. I hope I am wrong!

  • Andrew. says:

    3 Apr3 April 06:58

    Might depend on which Virgin card you have?

    My Virgin card is definitely FX fee free worldwide at MasterCard rate on all transactions.

    • John G says:

      3 Apr3 April 08:26

      Worldwide or Europe-wide?

      • Andrew. says:

        3 Apr3 April 13:54

        Non Sterling Transaction Fee (For foreign currency transactions): 0.00% of the transaction

    • Max says:

      3 Apr3 April 10:57

      It’s only FX free in Europe

      • Andrew. says:

        3 Apr3 April 13:53

        My Virgin MasterCard is definitely FX free worldwide.

        Check the PDF of your most recent statement for the terms that are specific to your account under “Foreign-Usage”, it’s usually on the last page.

        Mine quite clearly states:-

        Non Sterling Transaction Fee (For foreign currency transactions): 0.00% of the transaction.

        The terms that you signed up to for your Virgin MasterCard may differ from mine though.

        • Rob says:

          3 Apr3 April 14:43

          There is a travel Virgin Money credit card, no longer available, which is 0% globally.

  • Travel Strong says:

    3 Apr3 April 08:01

    T+C is in person. In practice it applies everywhere as far as I’ve experienced.

    • Rob says:

      3 Apr3 April 08:28

      Definitely ok online.

• Gordon says:

  3 Apr3 April 06:22

  Saw the border force strike news a few days ago, And thought I’m glad I’m not traveling through Heathrow in April!

  • Bervios says:

    3 Apr3 April 06:55

    Why? Last time it was even quicker than normal.

    • Gordon says:

      3 Apr3 April 07:03

      Why? Because that’s not always the case, if I can avoid the risk factors, then I will!

    • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

      3 Apr3 April 10:06

      it was quicker because the Home Office staffed every desk up with cheap military labour whereas they don’t employ enough staff on a day to day basis to do that with fully qualified Border Force Officers.

• Robert says:

  3 Apr3 April 06:49

  OT booked 2 nights at IC NYC using points and wondering if you get breakfast included with reward bookings or have to pay on top, and if it’s the same for HH, Bonvoy etc. many thanks.

  • G says:

    3 Apr3 April 07:13

    Diamond benefits or other status benefits are honoured on IHG reward bookings. You can also use suite upgrades too.

  • Gordon says:

    3 Apr3 April 07:17

    https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/topic/intercontinental-new-york/

    Rob also wrote an article about the IC Barclay in 2016!
    If you send an email to the relevant properties, you should get an answer to your query.

    • Robert says:

      3 Apr3 April 08:25

      Thanks for the link and advice. I’ll check it out.

• Paul says:

  3 Apr3 April 07:03

  If the experience of going through Heathrow during the last strike is anything to go by, then most will welcome this strike. It was speedy and friendly and quite unlike anything when the “work” normally.
  My wife put my old red passport through a hot wash and I have just replaced it. The process was relatively straightforward taking just 10 days. The only stress was the 5 day between the old passport getting to them and their acknowledging its arrival.
  Sadly the new Brexit passport is a flimsy thing which I can’t see lasting 10 years. Much like the Brexit itself to be honest

• NFH says:

  3 Apr3 April 07:39

  My British passport is more than 10 years old and has less than 3 months until expiry, so it’s about as useful as a chocolate teapot with one exception – VAT-free shopping in the EU. Many shops in the EU refuse to accept my Irish passport card or booklet because they incorrectly confuse nationality with residency. So my British passport is a solution – except that one shop didn’t want to accept it because it still says “European Union” on the front!

  I assume I can pay the current renewal fee online before 11th April 2024, and then wait almost 3 months to send in my current British passport to complete the renewal process?

  • Rhys says:

    3 Apr3 April 09:00

    You take a very charitable view of what the Home Office will accommodate 🙂

  • TGLoyalty says:

    3 Apr3 April 09:48

    Current waiting time for a renewal is about 8 days!

  • RussellH says:

    3 Apr3 April 10:29

    Well, it must be a difficult one for the shops to get right. Passports do not specify residence, which is why one gets asked for separate proof of residence in many official situations.
    I would imagine that a UK passport holder, resident in Ireland, would have no difficulty getting a VAT refund in Calais if they were then headed for a UK bound ferry.
    I had a similar, but different problem in February.
    A German Bank asked for my ID; when travelling within Schengen I always use my Swiss ID. The bank official looked on my passport for my place of birth, but Swiss passports do not include that. Instead they specify one’s “Place of Origin”, which is the Swiss Community at which one’s birth is registered, even though I was born in London.
    The German could not get his head around this at all, so I told him to put Weinfelden on his form, even though I have only ever been there twice, and never more than for a couple of hours.
    🙂

    • John says:

      3 Apr3 April 10:37

      It’s better nowadays but in the past the majority of people I met in the UK couldn’t get their head around the fact that I am an Australian citizen but not white (before I became a British citizen). If they needed to look further they got even more confused because I was born in a country that does not match my ethnicity either.

      • Holyphuket says:

        4 Apr4 April 01:53

        I have the reverse, I was born in a country that doesn’t exist anymore of a colour the native people aren’t and all the grandparents are from the same sort of beginnings and that confuses N to the power of 4 🧮

• paul says:

  3 Apr3 April 07:45

  Border / Immigration

  I just got off a 16 night Fort Lauderdale to Southampton Transatlantic cruise last week.

  When we reached Lisbon, we were joined by 2 UK Immigration staff, who stayed onboard for 3 nights.

  During the 2 full sea days, everyone had to present themselves for a chat that lasted under 1 minute while passports were glanced at.

  They had no computers, not even a notepad and pen out, so no further checks were possible.

  It was a complete joke.

  It would be funny if it wasn’t for the fact that UK Immigration had 16 days to view details and investigate everyone on board the ship.

  Who paid for staff time/wages to fly out, probably stay overnight in Lisbon (with food etc), working hours onboard for 2 days (and allowances for being away from home).

  I think someone misheard that we have a “problem with boat people”.

  IF we were sailing Europe to the USA we are expected to queue for immigration when we disembark but not the UK, we just waste ££££ instead.

  • executiveclubber says:

    3 Apr3 April 08:05

    That’s hilarious!

• Stewie says:

  3 Apr3 April 07:55

  Cost increase for jumbo passport please (might be relevant for a few more than just me)? Thanks

  • Gordon says:

    3 Apr3 April 08:11

    Not sure if Rob will have the answer to that! As The government has not confirmed how much the cost will rise for the 54-page version will be yet!

  • Rhys says:

    3 Apr3 April 09:01

    Instead of asking us to google that for you, why don’t you just google it for yourself 😉

    • NFH says:

      3 Apr3 April 09:07

      Not even the government mentions the fee for a large passport at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/update-on-passport-application-fees so it seems like a reasonable question.

      • Rhys says:

        3 Apr3 April 09:12

        Then how would you expect us to know?!

        • Greenpen says:

          3 Apr3 April 09:28

          Gosh, did your hotel refuse a complimentary upgrade to the Presidential Suite when you checked in after a long Y flight (also refused upgrade) where the person in front reclined fully throughout the trip?

          Seriously, we all ask odd questions of the travel websites, not in this case as the cost was not public, but often things that could be discovered easily and quickly.

      • Gordon says:

        3 Apr3 April 09:27

        @NFH- That was exactly my point!
        The Government has not mentioned a fee yet, so how is anyone from hfp going to know! I know Rob and the team are great in what they do, but it’s a stretch asking them for advice on something the government has not decided on yet!

      • Nick says:

        3 Apr3 April 12:31

        Well it’s current £11 more expensive so maybe taken an informed guess?

    • Paul says:

      3 Apr3 April 14:42

      The price isn’t readily available until you ask specifically for the larger version during the application process.

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