Appeal fee refund - family visitor

[jdbatty]

Has anyone been awarded their visa appeal fees recently? How was it paid to you and by whom?

My story - an overseas Post decided to refuse my mother's UK 2 year family visitor visa application back in June (lack of evidence of funds, apparently), despite the fact that she has built up a tidy immigration history over the last 40 years with more 30 visits and never overstayed, mostly 2-week summer breaks, as one does. She also has 2 UK-born adult kids(+grandkids) resident in the UK.

As her representative and sponsor, I appealed and a tribunal date was set for late November, Post ECM to review and decide whether to overturn by September. In the meantime, we engaged the Post via email multiple times urging them to review the additional evidence sent to them via the tribunal. They refused stating they needed original docs sent directly to them (the tribunal requested photocopies). I was not having this, so we ended up in a stalemate.

A week before the tribunal judge was due to review the case, the Post suddenly asked us to come collect the visa. However the tribunal judge still went ahead as scheduled and allowed the appeal stating that "the decision of the ECO was not in accordance with the immigration rules or law". S/he then award the cost of the appeal to the appellant. The UKBA did not file documents for the hearing.

My questions are:
1. Who pays the refund? The Post or some other UKBA unit or the Tribunal?
2. Who is the refund issued to? The appellant (currently oversea till next summer) or the UK representative / sponsor, who actually paid the fee.
3. What are the timelines for refunding the fee.
4. Can the Post/UKBA just ignore the determination given that it occurred after the visa had been issued?
5. If I want to complain about the Post's handling of the application and/or the ensuing appeal, who and where is the best place to send the complaint to make the maximum impact? (I am mainly frustrated by the blatant waste of public funds).

[peppekalle]

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