That would have been sensible and understanding especially as there's already a precedent for it and it is noted in their own guidelines!

I'm also slightly frustrated with Ombudsman's office and other influential orgs who can and should have forced agency to take reasonable steps as it has impacted a large proportion of applicants who filed their applications in a timely manner and have a lot riding on this. Rather, we get the lip service and a whole bunch of uncertainty and random info thrown at us.