Unable to create online account for probate application

Caver47

I am trying to create an online account to begin the probate application process. I answer all the initial questions, then get to the create an account option. I click the button and the system sends me an email. It contains a "Confirm your email address" line. This is meant to be a link to click on, however it is not actually a clickable link. I have tried different computers, phones and ipads, and several different email clients and web browsers, however it does not work on any of them.
Last week I emailed the help address quoted on the web site (contactprobate@justice.gov.uk) but have had no reply. Yesterday I called their help line number. After waiting 45 minutes I spoke to someone who was clearly out of his depth. After around 20 minutes during which time he went off to speak to someone more senior twice, he eventually gave me an email address for technical support (MyHMCTSsupport@justice.gov.uk) so I wrote to them. They did reply but told me they would not deal with me as I was not a legal professional, they told me to use the email address or phone number I have already used, so I am no nearer being able to create the account to begin the probate process.
Is anyone else having this problem? Is there a way round it? Or is their system fundamentally broken?
Thanks for any advice or ideas.

poppystar

I assume you tried copying and pasting the link into your browser? I’ve had to do that previously - but also had links that are incorrect🙁. V frustrating!

Marcon

Caver47 said:

I am trying to create an online account to begin the probate application process. I answer all the initial questions, then get to the create an account option. I click the button and the system sends me an email. It contains a "Confirm your email address" line. This is meant to be a link to click on, however it is not actually a clickable link. I have tried different computers, phones and ipads, and several different email clients and web browsers, however it does not work on any of them.
Last week I emailed the help address quoted on the web site (contactprobate@justice.gov.uk) but have had no reply. Yesterday I called their help line number. After waiting 45 minutes I spoke to someone who was clearly out of his depth. After around 20 minutes during which time he went off to speak to someone more senior twice, he eventually gave me an email address for technical support (MyHMCTSsupport@justice.gov.uk) so I wrote to them. They did reply but told me they would not deal with me as I was not a legal professional, they told me to use the email address or phone number I have already used, so I am no nearer being able to create the account to begin the probate process.
Is anyone else having this problem? Is there a way round it? Or is their system fundamentally broken?
Thanks for any advice or ideas.

From the information in your post, it looks as if you are using the route intended for professional advisers. If so, that's why you've been having such a frustrating time - t he people you've been talking to will have been puzzled by the questions, as you found out!

Have you tried https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate/apply-for-probate which should do the trick? Their email for technical support is contactprobate@justice.gov.uk, whereas the one you are quoting is for professionals.

Caver47

poppystar said:

I assume you tried copying and pasting the link into your browser? I’ve had to do that previously - but also had links that are incorrect🙁. V frustrating!

The link is not obvious in the email, the message just shows text "confirm your email address". However by saving the email then opening it with a text editor I was able to see the underlying HTML code. This enabled me to see what the error is, which is in fact a missing < on an href statement. However even when I took the link it was intended to go to, it still did not work, possibly there is something else missing. The link was hundreds of characters long.

Caver47

Marcon said:

Caver47 said:

I am trying to create an online account to begin the probate application process. I answer all the initial questions, then get to the create an account option. I click the button and the system sends me an email. It contains a "Confirm your email address" line. This is meant to be a link to click on, however it is not actually a clickable link. I have tried different computers, phones and ipads, and several different email clients and web browsers, however it does not work on any of them.
Last week I emailed the help address quoted on the web site (contactprobate@justice.gov.uk) but have had no reply. Yesterday I called their help line number. After waiting 45 minutes I spoke to someone who was clearly out of his depth. After around 20 minutes during which time he went off to speak to someone more senior twice, he eventually gave me an email address for technical support (MyHMCTSsupport@justice.gov.uk) so I wrote to them. They did reply but told me they would not deal with me as I was not a legal professional, they told me to use the email address or phone number I have already used, so I am no nearer being able to create the account to begin the probate process.
Is anyone else having this problem? Is there a way round it? Or is their system fundamentally broken?
Thanks for any advice or ideas.

From the information in your post, it looks as if you are using the route intended for professional advisers. If so, that's why you've been having such a frustrating time - t he people you've been talking to will have been puzzled by the questions, as you found out!

Have you tried www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate/apply-for-probate which should do the trick? Their email for technical support is contactprobate@justice.gov.uk, whereas the one you are quoting is for professionals.

As I said in the original post, I used the email for technical support last week but have had no reply. Hence I spent an hour phoning them, and they gave me the second email address who refused to help me. The point here is that I did not have a query relating to a specific case, in which case it would have been fair enough to refuse to help, but my query relates to a fundamental problem in the system and they should have been interested in helping me resolve it.

Caver47

To update this, and in case it helps anyone else, I now know why it is not working. The issue specifically relates to anyone using a BTinternet email account. I tried the process again using a Gmail account and it worked perfectly.

So, to be clear, do NOT use a BTinternet email address to register for an online probate application.

Clearly this is not good enough, the process should be working regardless of which email provider anyone is using. I am guessing BT will argue it is the probate department's problem and vice versa. The chances of the two technical teams talking to each other to sort it out is probably close to zero.