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Contacting the CAA

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Contacting the CAA

Old 17th Oct 2016, 12:48
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Contacting the CAA

Hi All,

Any tips on getting through to the people at the CAA. I keep getting the 'we are aware you're waiting, and one of our advisors will be with you soon', and then immediately afterwards 'regrettably, we're unable to take your call at this time'

This is ridiculous, why can't they just put you into a queue?

Thanks
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Old 17th Oct 2016, 13:36
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A bloke on the Flyer forums says this (post from last Friday):

Originally Posted by Cessna57
CAA licensing department have now shut their phone lines.

as they were having to tell people 3 months. [to issue a PPL]

Seriously, it's unbelievable isn't it.
I don't know where he got the information from.
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Old 17th Oct 2016, 14:16
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Let DVLA handle it, or tell the CAA how to manage their throughput, they work with 10's of thousands not a few 10's.
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Old 17th Oct 2016, 14:23
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How ridiculous is that? What if my enquiry is nothing to do with a license application? They really are just a bunch of clowns

Update:

I can get through to their Medical and Exams department, but not the one I really need.
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Old 17th Oct 2016, 18:40
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They are not there to answer industry questions any more, if its about flying ask an ATO, and if its about medical talk to an AME. Even if they answered the phone, they probably wouldn't have a clue what you are talking about!
My recent experience of the DVLA was no better!
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Old 17th Oct 2016, 21:29
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FWIW I phoned the FCL guys this morning and got accepted into the queue. Was 7th and got answered in about 10 minutes.

But I have recently experienced phoning around 7 times over three days and getting the 'regretfully' message... Must have been lucky this morning.
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Old 18th Oct 2016, 10:02
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I think this idea comes from the top (in other words, the CEO) and his brief is obviously to maximise income and reduce expenditure.


They are moving (and have been for a few years) towards one centralised CAA so a single number for contact where you have to hold like you do for BT or any one of the high street banks seems inevitable. They are a regulator and, as an organisation, have no reason to offer any level of customer service. At least they haven’t moved to an Indian call centre like BT and even Pratt and Whitney.


I have been dealing with the LAA recently and, to be honest, the CAA are a little better than the LAA when it comes to delays and for the same reasons, too few staff with knowledge.


Where that leaves the regulation of UK Aviation with Brexit is anyone’s guess. The CAA has been on a diet to meet it’s lean and mean role under EASA. It will take years to replace the skills lost from the CAA if Brexit means leaving EASA also so I would expect worse is yet to come at the CAA.
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Old 18th Oct 2016, 15:02
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Contact the CAA? You've got to be having a laugh...

Even if you do manage to get through they won't have a clue what your on about and will transfer you you time and time again.
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Old 20th Oct 2016, 23:10
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I called licensing today - was on hold for a short while, 3rd in the queue apparently, got connected, got told I needed to wait at least another week and that they "probably had" everything they needed and my email (14 days ago) with additional notes on my additional rating restriction removals "probably will get merged with the application sometime", and hung up - total call time 11mins.

Doesn't fill me with much hope...
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Old 21st Oct 2016, 06:14
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When I got my PPL, it took them 3 months and lots of phone calls. They even called me, left a message telling me go phone back on a number...that later transpired was only accessible internally!

Too many politicians...what do I get for £250?!
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Old 31st Oct 2016, 20:25
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Still nothing from the CAA... thats week 4 gone, and the first lie from them (that it would be a week... a week ago)...

An interesting twitter exchange brought no joy either

Called them today, the switchboard got fed up with me repeatedly calling back when the automation told me they were too busy to even put me in a queue and hung up...

Considering a Freedom of Information request just to see how big the queue is...
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Old 31st Oct 2016, 20:29
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Originally Posted by GBEBZ
Considering a Freedom of Information request just to see how big the queue is...
www.whatdotheyknow.com is great for FoI requests.
Expect they would take 6 months to process though...despite the legal obligation!
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Old 31st Oct 2016, 20:50
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submitted: CAA Complaint

Your complaint has been submitted and will be acknowledged within the next 5 working days.
Submitted: Freedom of Information

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. The details you have entered have been forwarded to the CAA.

Maybe if more people raise official complaints on the delays it might fall on some not so deaf ears... Cant believe Pilot/Flyer and other magazines have not jumped on it for a story and attempted to get the CAA to explain themselves...

... maybe the DailyMail type rag might....


.... but then who cares, pilots are two a penny at the moment...
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Old 31st Oct 2016, 20:55
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I raised a complaint straight to the CEO via email on Thursday last week. (Regarding time taken to process my license).

Got my license today after intervention from his team.
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Old 31st Oct 2016, 23:21
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I'm still operating on an Irish licence following my retirement from a well known budget carrier.

For comparison I recently sent documentation and logbook to the Irish Aviation Authority to have my FI Rating revalidation to be entered on my licence.

The turnaround time from the UK (having been sent by normal surface mail) to receive a new rating page and logbook back from the IAA was 12 days.

It was posted from UK on the Thursday and a very helpful person called me from the IAA the following Tuesday asking for card details for the required 145 Euros.

If the IAA can do it then why not the CAA?
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Old 1st Nov 2016, 10:36
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So after my complaint and FOI request overnight, I get this email at 10:31am

Dear Mr Taylor

Thank you for your email regarding your application, please accept my apologies for you being unable to speak to us on the phone.

Your licence was despatched yesterday and is currently out for delivery. The tracking number is xxxx.

I have attached a link below

https://www.fedexuk.net/accounts/Qui...nsignment=xxxx

Kind Regards


Caroline Ellett
Licensing Support & Examiners Technical Officer
Licensing Support and Examiners
Civil Aviation Authority

I guess I was just impatient... It was delivered today that would be 22 working days for initial issue CPL - which I guess is not too bad... And they got my ratings right

Last edited by GBEBZ; 1st Nov 2016 at 10:56.
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Old 1st Nov 2016, 11:36
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Lucky you! I was 45 working days for initial ppl...
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Old 1st Nov 2016, 21:23
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then why not the CAA?
Because the issues at the CAA are way bigger than turnaround time on licences. Just look at their documentation it's just utter chaos and beyond pure resourcing what of the quality of the resources? This situation didn't just happen. Question really needs asking is who regulates the regulator?
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Old 28th Nov 2016, 15:19
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Well I received my FOI request reply today.

Shocking reading.

I don't feel comfortable sharing it verbatim online as I don't feel thats fair to the CAA (although its public data really, available to all), if you ask I can share privately.

Some headline figures for you...

Apparently 18 staff work full time (+/- staff leave and/or other absence) on applications, the longest takes 8 weeks at the peek in October, and there were 1392 applications to process on w/e 23 Oct - (225 initial issue professional, 853 private, and 284 admin changes) - gulp... (these figures are less today with 851 licenses still in the queue w/e 20th november)

What is interesting is that the net reduction in the queue in October was only 100 a week (incoming - processed = net reduction).

With 18 staff working a 5 day week, they were only able to clear 101 applications that week. Thats 1.1 per staff member per day... draw from that what you will...

At the end of that week there were still 1392 applications to process...

Another more recent example, week ending 20th November they received 239 new applications, and only processed 267. Thats a net reduction in the queue of only 28, leaving 851 in the queue at the end of that week.

28 applications between 18 staff members is 0.3 applications processed per day per staff member processed. again draw from that what you will...

The usual excuse of under staffing, and lots of applications over the summer being the excuse that it takes our regulator 8 weeks to issue a license...
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Old 28th Nov 2016, 17:20
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With 18 staff working a 5 day week, they were only able to clear 101 applications that week. Thats 1.1 per staff member per day... draw from that what you will...

At the end of that week there were still 1392 applications to process...

Another more recent example, week ending 20th November they received 239 new applications, and only processed 267. Thats a net reduction in the queue of only 28, leaving 851 in the queue at the end of that week.

28 applications between 18 staff members is 0.3 applications processed per day per staff member processed. again draw from that what you will...

The usual excuse of under staffing, and lots of applications over the summer being the excuse that it takes our regulator 8 weeks to issue a license...
They have sent you misleading data because no doubt that doesn't give you a clear picture of the processing of same day items.

Clearly the people who are physically turning up at the CAA on a daily basis and paying [what is it £80+ a go for someone to tick some boxes and press print] are getting service and those in the inbox are getting ignored. If you think about it on that basis the poor service is a cash cow.

In the end its the CAA or nothing, poor service encourages more people to turn up and spend £80 and ultimately what are you going to do? Ask for data from a FOI request, which you then want to protect them from anyway!! I'm sure the executive must be quaking.
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