[legion]

I think the obvious answer is that they don't want to review you because they don't want to pay you more. The fact that they don't apparently have a process in place for this is bothersome.

There's a good chance that you will piss some people off by asking those questions. Not because they aren't valid, but because they don't want to answer them. My advice is to ask them anyway and get your resume ready. I think there is a very high chance you will get a runaround. Possibilities also include getting fired for rocking the boat, being told no to the review, and being giving a poor review (as payback for rocking the boat). Any of those would mean it's not a place you want to continue to work IMO.

Of course, getting a review and a raise (or just getting a raise to shut you up) are also possibilities. But if you have to fight this battle every year, I'd still look elsewhere.