Did my BFR and converted to Part 61 no problems and fast (Five days). Nice lady on the phone at CLARC fixed up my online access for me and changed some addresses.
What I don't think some people understand is that Bureaucracy is a desirable system where there are procedures that must be followed and strict accountabilities apply to the public servant doing the processing. Bureaucrats are not allowed to use "common sense" and their own judgement because that leads to the slippery slope of corruption.
They need the required documents, numbered and indexed, in the file. The documents have to be filled out correctly. There is very little wiggle room for the public servant doing the job. Then there is the spectre of the Auditor General or worse, a coroner, tearing there paperwork apart and destroying the hapless bureaucrats career in the process...
To put that another way, what happens when another Frank Abegnale convinces CLARC that he has a B737 endorsement?