Sometimes it is easy to forget
that even ignoring the most recent hikes in court fees the Civil Court system
in England & Wales operates at a profit.
However for a publically run service which should presumably operate for the benefit of its users it appears to have lost its way. As fees go up but expenditure on staff and infrastructure goes down the quality of service to the customer continues to deteriorate.
This ranges from annoyances like the inability to speak to local court staff by telephone but instead being directed to the dreaded local call centre and the need to make a prior appointment to attend the court office to lodge or issue urgent documents, to more underlying problems to include ever lengthening delays for hearings and the ridiculous over listing which means that cases are regularly removed from the list at short notice or even on the day because of the lack of an available judge.
In a complex case earlier this year which was listed for 3 full days we attended on the first day to be told that due to over listing we couldn’t proceed and were eventually offered a fresh date 3 months later. It even took until lunchtime to be released. So all the court documents had been prepared, barristers instructed, witnesses called to court and experts booked all to be cancelled at massive cost to the clients.
If only this was an isolated example but it is not. Whilst we are lectured by senior judges and legislators as to the need to reduce and control the cost of litigation there seems remarkable lack of concern or action about this hopeless waste of money which is within the control of the court service.
It really is time for the civil court service to remember that it is supposed to be a “service” to its users and start to develop systems which reflect this. In the private sector this situation would simply not be tolerated.
However for a publically run service which should presumably operate for the benefit of its users it appears to have lost its way. As fees go up but expenditure on staff and infrastructure goes down the quality of service to the customer continues to deteriorate.
This ranges from annoyances like the inability to speak to local court staff by telephone but instead being directed to the dreaded local call centre and the need to make a prior appointment to attend the court office to lodge or issue urgent documents, to more underlying problems to include ever lengthening delays for hearings and the ridiculous over listing which means that cases are regularly removed from the list at short notice or even on the day because of the lack of an available judge.
In a complex case earlier this year which was listed for 3 full days we attended on the first day to be told that due to over listing we couldn’t proceed and were eventually offered a fresh date 3 months later. It even took until lunchtime to be released. So all the court documents had been prepared, barristers instructed, witnesses called to court and experts booked all to be cancelled at massive cost to the clients.
If only this was an isolated example but it is not. Whilst we are lectured by senior judges and legislators as to the need to reduce and control the cost of litigation there seems remarkable lack of concern or action about this hopeless waste of money which is within the control of the court service.
It really is time for the civil court service to remember that it is supposed to be a “service” to its users and start to develop systems which reflect this. In the private sector this situation would simply not be tolerated.
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