I don't know if the phone transfer request helped me at all, but I don't think it made a difference at all. At the passport office there were people in the same transfer line as me who had called in for a transfer, but got no response as well and people who lined up to request the transfer in person of their pending application. If I had to do it again, I would save the couple of hours wasted trying to get through to the 1-800 number and just request the transfer in person. I think you have to travel within 10 days, but you won't get it back until 2 days before your trip anyway Again, this is for the North York office. From other posts, it seems like the Kitchener office actual calls people back to fax their proof of travel, etc. who have transferred their file over the phone