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Source: ONE News
A Hamilton man's dream OE has been thrown into chaos that has left him thousands of dollars out of pocket after a courier firm lost his passport and visa.
Daniel Finlay, 21, thought he had reorganised his life to start afresh doing a two-year OE based in London this year.
The qualified mechanic, who specialises in Volvo repairs, notched up a year working for Tauranga's Bay Prestige before flying out to Britain on December 27. But his paperwork getting lost in the post just before he left means he has to fly home to reapply for a new visa, lumping him with a $3500 cost.
"I [had] applied for my visa and got it all approved and went up to Auckland and did the biometrics, took fingerprints and had to send a whole lot of paperwork and that came back and I sent it off on November 11."
He was told the maximum processing time would be about three weeks but, after a month, he'd still heard nothing.
With plans to be in Britain for New Year, Finlay was getting anxious and called the UK Border Processing Group with little success.
It wasn't until December 19 that Finlay was told his visa package had last been seen at a Morrinsville depot on November 29.
"That's when I started to worry about it because it had been three weeks sitting in a Morrinsville depot."
He then alerted Courier Post who declared the package lost. With flights booked, Finlay made the decision to drive to Auckland to acquire an emergency passport.
He then flew out to Britain after Christmas only to learn he had to be in New Zealand to process the new visa - which would mean booking a flight back from Britain for three weeks.
Combining the booking of connecting flights in Britain, petrol and other associated costs [see panel], his bills have ballooned to more than $3500.
Courier Post has agreed to pay the $676 cost of applying for the visa which has left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"It's just frustrating and really, really stressful. At one point I wasn't even sure I wanted to go [on OE] at all, I thought maybe it's not supposed to happen."
Express Courier chief executive Mark Gibson said that, as Finlay did not report the package missing until December 19, it was only then the firm could try to help.
"To further try and assist Daniel, as he was flying out on December 27, we also contacted the British high commission on December 20 to try and expedite the replacement process for him but we were told that, even in a rush situation, it would take at least six days and that they were closing for Christmas on the December 23."
Gibson said the firm would be "ready to assist" if Finlay made a claim but it was not liable for consequential loss as stated in its terms and conditions and had a top limit of $1500.
