Dear ILites
The Member Status changes are completely implemented. In case you get a "Permission denied" message for any of the features like "Private Messaging", "View / download attachment", "Custom Avtar" options do check
this post of Induslady where she has detailed the effective permissions for the various member status.
In case the permissions are not matching that of your user status, do let us know we could troubleshoot.
Thanks for your patience and understanding in making our community a truly quality driven forum.