Complaint Review: Texas Dept Of Public Health - Vital Statistics - DSHS

I ordered, via the internet, an express delivery, certified copy of my birth certificate from the Texas Dept of Vital Statistics on October 14, 2006. The final page of the order reads as follows.

"Your online payment has been accepted and your order cannot be modified or cancelled. For any request where the record is not found, the fee is non-refundable and non-transferable."

"Delivery time for your order depends on the type of shipping selected and noted below. Orders sent by First Class Mail require up to 20 business days for processing, mail handling and delivery. Orders shipped by express delivery will be received within 7-10 business days, in most cases."

On October 27, the certificate had not arrived. I called and the representative told me they seemed to be waiting for the certificate to arrive from the printer.

On October 30, I called the Department in the afternoon. The rep I spoke to was very nice and said the certificate had arrived at their office, but would not be mailed out until the next day.

The certificate arrived on November 1, 2006. Considering that I had a prospective employer who would not hire me without the certificate, I was relying on the DSHS to meet their schedule. It was a nerve-racking 18 days.

Patricia
Joliet, Illinois
U.S.A.