Danny,
the RAF legal 'system' could be used to advantage if you knew how.
One of the members of the WRAF had been told that her ATC aptitude scores had been lost and she would have to start all over again. As the annual AOC inspection was not far away I helped her draft a submission to see the august gentleman in question. Despite pressure at every level to have her withdraw the application we persisted. Now as everyone knows if you finally do get to see the great man it means that the underlings have failed and this is not good for their careers. In this case her scores magically came to light a few weeks later !
In a similar vein on of my airman's application for a commission was lost between Lyneham and OASC . As the application 'window' had now closed he would have to wait another year ! This time we went down the Section 181 of the Air Force Act route, Redress of Grievance. Admin at Lyneham produced their log showing that they had forwarded the application and the resulting confirmation from OASC. Quelle surpise, in this case an exception could be made ! And yes he was successful. Like you Danny I had reached my service ceiling of Spec Aircrew S/L, so no career to worry about.