It seems to me that this "I'll ask my leader" is a very common excuse as I was given this very same statement many a times. Also, when I was originally recruited I had a "Tom Pei" of my own, who did their job exceptionally well before leaving the position to someone less qualified and rude in my opinion. I was fortunate though in that my recruiter was a genuinely good person who later helped me to the extent that she could; though the damage has been done. I wonder if this might be something many "bad" schools do?