First time I timed out because of financial issues as I had a series of temp jobs after leaving military service. Ironically I choose temp jobs so I could have the study time but that led to unforeseen financial difficulties.
Second time I had a full time flying job and was struggling to get the study time in and left too many exams for the last sittings and failed one subject by one question. Appealed to the CAA and they said tough luck.
So unless you know the individual’s circumstances be careful jumping to conclusions.