If he is not an examiner, he will probably know of one who will sign it for you. ( provided it is within 3 months of expiry)
There is no such thing as "provided it is within 3 months of expiry.
The examminer will sign
anytime provided that the rating is valid and the requirements are met.
The requirements do not have to be met in the last 12 months of the 24 month validity. This myth comes up far too often.
The requirements must be met in the 12 months prior to the licence being presented to the examiner for signature.
The licence can be signed at any time provided that the rating is valid. If the signatire is obtained in the last 3 months of rating validity then the new period will run from the expiry date of the old rating. If it is before the 3 month "window" then it will run from the date of signing.
So if your rating expires on Dec 31 then you can present the licence to the examiner on 1 October. The examminer will be checking back to the previous October for the requirements and not just back to January.
As for charging to sign the licence - a token admin fee may be appropriate to cover postage etc etc. But £35 - you can not be serious!!!
£35 for a 5 minute (max) piece of pen pushing?
Regards,
DFC