A friend who started at the same time as me has expired on the 18 months to finish the course
Is that what the CAA have told him? Or the groundschool? I took, from enrolment to completion, 32 months. However, I did the exams within the last 9 of those months.
Some schools may well impose a time limit since study material becomes out of date and the fee paid I8 months ago is not worth so much to them now when you're sitting the groundschool.
If it is a JAA/CAA rule, then there must be some discetion allowed given the time I took. If it's an individual school's rule, then they should certainly allow some discretion especially if aided by some extra remuneration for up to date material (although I personally think that's "off").
Cheers
Whirls