They seem to take wednesdays off for EASA training, so that will add two more days to the 10 working days quoted.
Last thing I sent in about a month ago was a simple rating, took about 3 weeks total time, so I would imagine for a full licence issue it could be more like 4. They'll often tell you when your application will be looked at, and it will usually be 3 or 4 working days after that you actually see the paperwork, but patience is the name of the game really.
They always take the money first, my understanding is that's actually done by a different department to the person who will actually process your application, so really means nothing in terms of when your application will be processed. In theory if you keep calling to chase it up, that's just more time they're spending not doing the paperwork.