Any official paper (ANO, AIP, etc) to substantiate this ? Most likely whoever U spoke to didn't know anything about regs.
It wouldn't B the 1st time (lots of trainees in Gatwick). Just an example : when I applied for my CPL, they told me on the phone I needed to send my passport as well for licence issue. However, I'm not comfortable @ all with sending a passport by post, AND this is NOT a requirement if U had your initial medical issued in Gatwick ! So I sent them back their own official document as a proof, & got a letter 10 days later saying "oh, U are right".
I intend to do the same for this particular issue & will send them an e-mail today. I advise everyone interested to do the same, quoting the JAR reference I mention above. Maybe they'll mention that in their "policy update" if they have enough queries. Here's their e-mail :
[email protected]. These people just need to B woken up from time to time. Considering the stupid amount of money we all give them, the least we can expect is a top-notch professional answer.
MF