john o pilot,
my TR was approx £18k, The remaining £2k covered my living expnses, the criminal check at the time was £150, I went to an open day and handed in a CV and the next Day I had an email from FR inviting me to an assessment, there was no fee for this, I also paid for the criminal assessment which I think was indeed as you say £20, I can go on if we are down to these sums of money, I can tell you that you also pay £2.50 to go to the local swimming pool when doing your safety training. But ultimately these are one of payments (as is the uniform that everyone bangs on about) that IF you want the job then you see beyond them.
If the prices you say are correct (and I dont doubt you) then all I can say is that since 18 months ago it has gone up in price...sounds like FR !
Getting back to my original post the bloke said his mates TR already cost him £40k with another £10k-£15k to go followed by unpaid flying, I dont quite believe any of that.
BW