FLR(M) - No response/payment 1month after posting

[rwgs]

Hi all

We posted my Wife's visa in the last week of May. It was recorded as being delivered the day after posting, however we have heard nothing back until today. No payment has been taken, and because we want to go on Holiday over the summer, needs to get her passport back before the end of next month.

What we can can't understand is the letter received is simply an acknowledgement (from Sheffield) that the visa was received and is being processed with the date due within 8 weeks of posting (which is now about 4 weeks away).

Would we have even got this letter if payment had been taken? As we hadn't heard anything, we actually issued a cancellation online for it last week, so that we could then get the documents back and then do a same day appointment (the extra cost will be worth it for the Holiday!)

The fact we got this letter today makes me think the application got lost somehow, and they have only just found it (although not sure if our request for cancellation online had anything to do with it). I don;t want them to take payment, only then to need to have to pay even more next time because they have started processing it but if it is only 4 weeks from being completed, we obviously want it to continue. Shall I put a stop on my card to make sure no payment is taken? Then wait for it to get rejected, get the documents back and just do a same day? It's incredibly annoying that there is no way of contacting them to find out these questions, the call centre can't help - they previously said that if we haven't received anything within 10 days of posting, there must have been an issue with the payment as that is always taken first before anything is done, but the fact we got this letter seems to say otherwise. Is there a chance that somehow they think payment has been taken, (no money has come out of my account), and the application would just proceed as normal?

Has anyone else had this? What shall we do?