Set-Aside Hearing Tomorrow....need help!

Chloe_Meow

@Grizebeck, so you're saying late is late and no delving required?

Chloe_Meow

CPR Part 6 Service of Documents, (1) A claim form may  be served by any of the following methods... 6.3 b) first class post, document exchange or other service which provides for delivery on the next business day, in accordance with Practice Direction 6A;

So, it must be sent first class. Assuming it was, then it was sent after the 2nd for it to be received on the 5th.

Grizebeck

Chloe_Meow said:

@Grizebeck, so you're saying late is late and no delving required?

Its on the small claims track so isnt worth the hassle as a judge wont be interested

B789

Royal Mail doesn't guarantee next-day delivery for 1st class. RM advises customers to allow up to two working days for First Class delivery. Anyway, as advised, there is nothing you can do about it but if you're wanting to expend energy on the matter, complain to RM after you ask whoever sent you the documents for evidence of the date they sent it. It's not going to affect your case.

Coupon-mad

But it is worth a mention that this piece of post was handled by 'the Delivery Group'. They are a mail 'consolidator' middle-man.  They delay mail, inevitably.

We've discussed them before in reference to NCP and the Delivery Group's t&cs were interesting.  Seem to recall it says they only put things into the Royal Mail system 2 or 3 working days later.

Wonder if a SAR to The Delivery Group with a photo of the letter (refs, headers and QR and all other codes showing) plus a photo of the envelope would see them able to tell you:

- on what date was your data passed to them

- what date did they then pass it to Royal Mail

- what service (1st or 2nd class) was used and was that dictated by their arrangement with the parking firm?


Now that last question isn't really within the scope of a SAR but must be dead easy for any mail consolidator to answer, so I would chuck it in. 

B789

The CCBC is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice responsible for handling civil claims and cases. It would appear that it is breaching the Civil Procedure Rules and Practice Direction Part 6 - Service of Documents. Specifically, the CCBC is in breach of CPR 6.3(1)(a) by failing to use first-class post, document exchange, or other service that provides for delivery on the next business day.

Practice Direction Part 6 provides the guidelines for the service of documents in civil proceedings. According to this rule, first-class post or document exchange service that guarantees delivery on the next business day should be used, unless there is a good reason to use an alternative method.

If the CCBC is not complying with CPR 6.3(1)(a) by using an appropriate method of service which provides for delivery on the next business day, can it be sanctioned?As evidenced above, their failure to comply with CPR 6.3(1)(a) can lead to delays in legal proceedings and unnecessary stress for Defendants. Perhaps a complaint to the Ministry highlighting that it is crucial that the CCBC takes immediate action to ensure compliance with the rules.

Johnersh

@B789 has it. Arguably this was sent via an intermediary not via one of the cpr approved methods of service, so there is no deemed date of service at all.

That shouldn't be the sole argument anyone has to hand, simply because (as has also been noted) the DJ may not be interested at all, given that it has been received. 

Grizebeck

Johnersh said:

@B789 has it. Arguably this was sent via an intermediary not via one of the cpr approved methods of service, so there is no deemed date of service at all.

That shouldn't be the sole argument anyone has to hand, simply because (as has also been noted) the DJ may not be interested at all, given that it has been received. 

Spot on the way
The way people should view the small claims track vs multi track etc


Small claims is like football at school where depending on whos in charge can change the rules and the size of the goalposts....

Multi/fast track is like championship football where the rules are set in stone

B789

As a matter of concern, I have just sent the following message to the MoJ using their online service for complaints:

I am writing to express my serious concern regarding the County Court Business Centre's (CCBC) use of an unapproved intermediary service to send court documents. I understand that the CCBC is breaching the Civil Procedure Rules and Practice Direction Part 6 - Service of Documents, specifically CPR 6.3(1)(a), by using an intermediary service that is not one of the CPR-approved methods of service.

I have discovered that the documents, including time-sensitive ones such as claim forms, are being sent through an unapproved intermediary service and do not have any postmark or other evidence of the actual date of posting. This lack of proof of posting can cause confusion and distress to defendants in civil claims and prevent a "deemed" date of service from being calculated, as required by the CPR.

As you may know, CPR 6.3(1)(a) requires first-class post, document exchange, or other service that provides for delivery on the next business day to be used for sending court documents unless there is a good reason to use an alternative method. The CCBC's use of an unapproved intermediary service that does not provide proof of posting is a clear breach of the CPR.

Therefore, I request that the MoJ instruct the CCBC to immediately cease using the unapproved intermediary service and take steps to ensure that all court documents are sent through CPR-approved methods of service that provide evidence of posting. It appears to be a general policy of the CCBC management to use an unapproved intermediary that does not provide the required evidence of "date of posting" and this should be urgently addressed.

I have also sent a very similar email to the CCBC for the attention of their management and to my own MP.

If you don't hear back from me, please send food parcels c/o Tower of London. 

B789

As an aside... Does the "B" in CCBC stand for "Business" or "Bulk"?

I found these 2 pages which may be of interest to anyone who would like to know a bit more about the CCBC:

http://www.civilprocedurerules.co.uk/ccbc_rules.htm
http://www.civilprocedurerules.co.uk/faq2.htm

An interesting flowchart of the process:

http://www.civilprocedurerules.co.uk/f1cpc.htm

The CCBC, in their Code of Practice state:

6.7  The CPC shall effect service of all valid claims on the defendant by first class post within 2 working days of the date of issue of the claim.  The claim will be deemed served on the defendant on the fifth day after issue, regardless of whether that is a Saturday or Sunday.

Having inspected the website a bit closer, I am not sure how up to date the info it. According to the website copyright, it hasn't been updated since 2010. I suppose a give away is all the references to "magnetic media" and 3.5" discs.