Our court admin team were up against the clock to file a defence by 4pm that day.
A technical problem with the court portal meant we couldn’t upload the defence, so we emailed it to the court and to the claimant. We also called the court to notify this had been done to ensure the email was not missed.
The court representative unhelpfully stated the obvious: “All our systems are down this afternoon.”
We said: “The only thing is, we may get judgment in default if you don’t get it on time, which is hardly our fault when we haven’t been able to access the system.”
And the court representative’s reply was: “Well it’s not our fault either.”
This disengaged response, lacking in ownership and accountability from a representative of an institution with a duty to administer justice in this country, is, unfortunately, hardly surprising.
In July 2025, the House of Commons Justice Committee published a major report on the County Court, concluding that the civil court system in England and Wales is “dysfunctional” and has failed to adequately deliver civil justice. MPs described the County Court as the ‘Cinderella service’ of the justice system.
The reasons given are numerous: chronic underfunding and building disrepair, outdated technology (and, as our example shows, new technology with its own problems), systemic delays, and shortages in the judiciary and staff, with recruitment difficulties.
The user experience is poor for litigants, defendants and those representing them.
Reform is underway, apparently, and in the meantime all those involved in the system can only hope that justice is delivered, eventually.
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If you have faced similar hurdles with court deadlines or portal issues, our legal team at Lawgistics can help. Call the helpline to talk it through, or ask about our casework support.
