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The govt website says to order a GHIC card at least 2 weeks before you want to travel, to ensure it will arrive in time.
I allowed three weeks. And guess what? 🙄
Broken Britain 😀
this country is ****ed. I used to think labour wasted money due to incompetence and the Tories wasted money through corruption. Its clear now Tories manage both spectacularly well, they perfect storm of corruption and incompetence.
I love the way the system verifies your identity then doesn't use your identity to poulate the card data. So my fit fingered cretinous self ordered a card for my drag alter-ego Andree rather than Andrew. Theoretically you could order cards for Adolf Hitler and Joeseph Stalin and they'd blindly print them, vogon-style.
I reckon I could automate the entire process in about a day: it's two ID lookups in systems that have good published APIs. But then we'd need another B-Ark.
Ordered on 6th May, arrived 24th
Mine came pretty quickly, but you're right, it wasn't the easiest process to navigate.
Also note - if you're driving in France, make sure you order a crit'air vignette. They are checking apparently 👍
Crit'air only required for the places with those zones yeah?
Thanks for the heads up, I didn't realise these existed. Ordered for the family
just ordered mine, for my trip to the Megavalanche in just over a week and a half.... will be nice to come home to it (assuming i survive!!)
Still waiting for my British Cycling card to come through too, despite it being sent on the 7th.
Its a good time to be alive! 😀
I reckon I could automate the entire process in about a day: it’s two ID lookups in systems that have good published APIs. But then we’d need another B-Ark.
It pretty much is automated, it's when the APIs says no, when the application is valid that decent service design kicks in - or doesn't.
I applied for a replacement card for me and Mrs OTS. My ID checked out, Mrs OTS' didn't. You then get directed to send photos of bank letters etc., most of for which we've gone digital and so don't get the letters.
We passed all the online checks, got the email saying the application was successful within minutes. The wait for the actual “G”HIC cards goes on…
I got mine in about 4 days, ordered it on 1st June.
@v7fmp - if you are in a bike club, give the club secretary a shout as they may have your card. Doesn't seem to happen for me as my membership card is sent direct to me, but I've known and heard of some being sent to the club secretary and then handed out from them (never been sure why that was a good idea).
I love the way the system verifies your identity then doesn’t use your identity to poulate the card data. So my fit fingered cretinous self ordered a card for my drag alter-ego Andree rather than Andrew. Theoretically you could order cards for Adolf Hitler and Joeseph Stalin and they’d blindly print them, vogon-style.
I reckon I could automate the entire process in about a day: it’s two ID lookups in systems that have good published APIs. But then we’d need another B-Ark.
No idea what process you went through, but for me it was Name, NI number, DOB, submit and an immediate confirmation e-mail that it had successfully gone through?
Still waiting for my British Cycling card to come through too, despite it being sent on the 7th.
An envelope/booklet arrived for me, with no card attached.
Trouble at '(paper)mill?
Ordered mine on the 25th of May - nothing yet.
@DickBarton - not in any club, so in theory it should be coming directly to me. They did say they can send a PDF copy if need be.
@thisisnotaspoon - interesting! could well be issues. I blame brexit/putin/boris/hay fever etc
I cant apply for one online because it asks for home address (only one space and not asking for time period), but on the final page there is a thing that the home address has to be from Jan 2021 - but I, like many others I imagine, have moved house in the intervening 18 months!
Guess I'll ask in a post office
We did this lat month. Try not to laugh when the new cards turn up...
No idea what process you went through, but for me it was Name, NI number, DOB, submit and an immediate confirmation e-mail that it had successfully gone through?
There's no validation on the Name page. So whatever you put, mis-type or vomit into there, even it's a nasty SQL statement, it's not compared to the data from the DOB or NI number and they'll print it. You'd think there'd be some matching, but no, it's a simple "is present" test against the NI number. I'm not even convinced they've done a match on DOB against the NI number.
I raised this with one of my mates who works for the BSA and trains the people who staff the GHIC contact centre. He seemed to think that it wasn't up to them to validate any of the data.
We did this lat month. Try not to laugh when the new cards turn up…
yeah, it's blatantly a flagshaggers w@nk card.
Try not to laugh when the new cards turn up…
Are they one whole union flag, with a little bit of info printed as small as possible... all looking like they were knocked up by an MP's son who fancies himself as bit of a designer?
Are they one whole union flag, with a little bit of info printed as small as possible… all looking like they were knocked up by an MP’s son who fancies himself as bit of a designer?
Wasn't sure if that was a genuine question, or rhetorical because you've seen them already...
The new UK Driving License is a bit red, white and blue, too.
Anyone had one yet that was ordered late May /early June? Am I at the back of the queue cos I called Boris a ****?
Ours arrived yesterday. I ordered them promoted by this thread, so 2 weeks ago.
or rhetorical because you’ve seen them already…
I hadn't seen them. It's the way all this stuff goes now though, right? Not just proudly British (I don't mind that, see British Rail, British Steel etc) but cheap and tacky looking. We used to be proud of our design standards in the private sector... the world followed us... one can only presume they now just laugh at us.
About 2 weeks for mine to arrive...I certainly hope I never fall ill in a foreign country as that card won't get taken seriously as it looks like a collection of sweety wrappers scrunched up!
Our cards were waiting for us when we got home!
During the holiday, MrsDoris tested positive for COVID (probably caught it on the flight out) and we needed to pay for a test at a local doctor. Was about £25. Not sure if that would have been covered by a GHIC card but at least she didn't require any more treatment than that!
(remains to be seen whether we'll get back the costs of changing our flights and extra accommodation costs from the travel insurance....)
Application submitted for me and the 2 kids on the 15/6. Arrived today.
Approved for mine on the 9th June. No sign of it yet.