Raw Deal: Expat heads home after we stamp out passport confusion

The long arm of Raw Deal has reached out 5,000 miles to aid an expat who was stranded in California without a passport.

Janette Forbes, originally from Glasgow, has returned to Scotland to visit family almost every Christmas since moving to America’s West Coast in 1975. However, she ran into issues in November when trying to renew her British passport.

“I renewed it in Glasgow when I was back for a visit a decade ago,” said Janette. “I thought it would be simple enough to do it online from California this time but I was wrong.”

On the application form Janette was asked for her full legal name. “My old passport didn’t have my middle name on it but I thought the rules might have changed so I put my full details on, as instructed,” she said. “It turned out to be a bad move because of the hassle this caused.”

Janette, 69, now splits her time between Bakersfield and Ventura, north-west of Los Angeles, where she until recently ran her own insurance business.

“I always like to get back to Glasgow in December but this hasn’t been possible for the past couple of years because of Covid,” she said. “I was looking forward to arranging another trip soon but that was thrown into turmoil when I couldn’t get my passport renewed.”

Janette thought she had correctly filled in the online form and sent her old passport to the UK office as requested.

“I was stunned to receive an email stating I had changed my name, when I had most definitely not changed anything,” she said. “I sent a bank statement to verify my identity.

“I then received three additional emails and finally called the UK passport office to find out the problem.

“I was shocked to find my passport was held up because I’d put my middle name on the application.”

Janette forwarded more personal documents including copies of her driver’s licence and birth certificate showing her full name as Janette Fraser Forbes.

“They then wanted original documents to show a name change but I haven’t changed my name,” she said. “My previous passport was issued to Janette Forbes and now they said there was a name change. They issued the previous passport incorrectly.

“If I were to send them an original driver’s licence I would have to stop driving as that is an offence in California.

“And if I were to send them an original birth certificate it would be a 69-year-old document that was signed by the minister who baptised me, and I didn’t trust them to send it back.”

The saga had already cost Janette about £250 but she was still no closer to getting a result. At the end of her tether, she reached out to Raw Deal from California as she is still an avid Sunday Post reader.

“I would greatly appreciate any help you could give as this conundrum never seems to cease,” she said in an email.

After Raw Deal contacted the Home Office in London, the matter was cleared up within a few hours. Janette’s new passport was soon rubber-stamped and she has now received it in the post.

The passport office confirmed the issue had been resolved but said it did not comment on individual cases. A relieved Janette is now scoping her next visit to Scotland in July. She added: “I now can’t wait to get back to Glasgow for a decent cup of tea.”