My passport's validity got expired a while ago and I had to fill the application for getting it reissued. It takes quite some time to fill the application but back then I did not get a suitable date for appointment, and then later forgot, until they sent a notification saying, the application will be closed, if I don't take action against it. So to not go through all that again, I thought to take an appointment, and make the payment that will confirm the appointment, but unfortunately at the last leg of the transaction, the system was unable to generate a QR code, quoting technical problems as the cause.
Unfortunately, they charge an extra amount for using a credit card and I did not want to use Internet banking services, so UPI was the most appropriate choice without paying anything extra.
But when the payment did not succeed due to their technical problem, it leaves the application status in Initiated state, not allowing to do anything. There is a link that says "Click here to re-verify the payment" and it did not help as well, so I decided to quit yesterday. Ideally, the payment status should reflect in few minutes ( most sites reserve 15 minutes, post which they mark it as failed and user can retry), as it uses the browser redirect method. And even after 24 hours, if I try that link, it tells me "Sorry, can't talk to our servers right now". Never expected this from a premium service like Passport Seva site, but this makes me wonder how bad system design and implementation can lead to poor user experience. Now I will have wait without knowing when I can initiate the transaction again, but the difficult part is getting a date of our choice, as they provide a slot consisting of only 5 working days, without week ends. As the kid is going through his exams, I will have to find out a date that won't clash, as I have to go physically to the Passport Seva Kendra, which is now shifted to a new distant place. I wish, these systems were much more efficient and user friendly, hopefully it should not take very long.
Have you ever faced any similar situations ? How long you had to wait and did the system automatically updated the payment status allowing you for a smoother experience ?
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