So why did the jobs worth at the CAA not call either the applicant or examiner before simply sending a rejection letter?
Because most of them are only trained to tick boxes. Using initiative is beyond the scope or remit of any of them.
Couldn't agree more, Makes you wonder if there are (m)any staff left in PLD with much understanding of what they're doing. One of our students sent off his PPL application earlier this year, we'd misread/wrongly copied one of his theory exam set numbers off his student records onto the application form. What did they do? Ring us and say the set number didn't exist and could we please check our records for the correct information - No, write to him rejecting his application, due to an invalid theory exam.
What could have been sorted in 10 minutes, without bothering the applicant, took over a week and resulted in a (justifiably) slightly miffed customer.
I fully accept that the initial mistake was ours, however their response just made it worse.