Lawgistics clients must step up and play their part…
For some inexplicable reason, the format and information required for the Online Claims Portal (OCP) seem to be changing by the day, which is unhelpful at best.
First, a defendant is no longer given an initial 14-day deadline with the opportunity to request a further 14 days.
Instead, the process now gives 28 days straight off the bat for a response by way of a defence, which might seem like plenty of time, but there is much to be done in relatively short order.
Indeed, we/our CIC are now finding that clients are sending the Claim to us very close to the 28-day deadline, wrongly assuming that this deadline is for the acknowledgement of service rather than a fully drafted defence, which is an altogether different proposition.
This means it is now absolutely imperative that all claims received by clients are forwarded to us/our CIC upon receipt as any delay might prove fatal to one’s cause.
Claims Limit
The claims limit for the OCP has now increased from £10k to £25k, so the information generally required on an N181 needs to be entered on the portal.
One can only guess, in due course, what will happen when it comes to drafting the directions questionnaires!
Information Required
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Our CIC may ask clients for more information prior to filing a defence online as the information required by the OCP seems to change like the wind.
The requirements are not consistent for each case. One day, the OCP had a limit of 400 characters (not words) to enter a defence, the next day it was back to an unlimited length, but a few days later, it had reverted to the 400-character limit. There is no rhyme or reason for this, but one is expected to guess and manage the vagaries of the process, regardless.
Randomly, our CIC is being asked by the OCP for more information concerning:
- expert evidence
- attempts to settle pre-issue
- a stay of proceedings for settlement purposes
While we/our CIC seek to come to terms with these changes, we ask that clients play their part by ensuring that claims are sent to us immediately upon receipt and cooperate fully and promptly with all requests made for information/documentation to allow us and our CIC to deal with such matters efficiently, or at least as efficiently as the changes permit.
