New Passport? Then include your old one

Collected our visas today (Wed 9th Feb) having put in the application on Friday (4th Feb)- they were ready yesterday for collection at the Hayes centre.

My wife and I had brand new British passports, and I didn't think of taking the old passports with me to the Hayes office. However they would not process the application without them and I had to go back home on Friday to get our old British passports with the previous visas in them. They attached the old passport to the new one with a thick and secure rubberband, and all were returned safely.

Very nice chap at the counter told me that as I had already queue'd, he would see me straight when I returned and I would not need to queue with another ticket - he kept his word.

I had 5 passports in all, all with the new 50mm x 50mm size photographs - they did not make a fuss about the background colour. All were plain light coloured backgrounds, grey or blue. But they were light backgrounds. None of the places we had our pictures taken was capable of producing a white background.

So, if you are like me - I'm on my third UK passport - if you have a new passport, take your old one with you. I don't know if this information is on their website - if it is, I missed seeing it.

5 stars to the Hayes centre, they were polite, efficient, and although very crowded, they dealt with me on each occasion within 40 minutes (and without having to wait on my return visit with the old passports)

I have never heard of this being a requirement: what if the old passport is no longer available? It sounds to me like yet another instance of outsourcer over-zealousness.

I would have thought that in these days of digital technology all the details of previous passports, visas, entries and exits, addresses, etc. etc. would be held on a database that the High Commission visa officials can access at one swipe, or, failing that, with a few mouse clicks.