I called the progress team on Saturday on 0300 105 0850 and was on hold for an hour, but the guy on the line was able to be a bit more informative than the drones on the normal advice line who just read off a script. He acknowledged that my application has been over 10 weeks now with no update, so he said I shouldn’t have to pay for the upgrade, and they should prioritise it. However all he could do was notify the Peterborough office to respond to me within 24 hours.
Still haven’t heard from them yet today though, and my flight is on Thursday. I’m travelling up to the Peterborough office tomorrow to hope for the best if I hear nothing today.