can anyone advise re: allocation questionnaire

horseykirst

Hi,

If you PM me I think I can help. I work for a firm of solicitors although I cannot give you legal advice as I don't specialise in debt problems I can certainly advise you how to complete the Allocation Questionnaire. This is simply the form the Court uses to allocate the claim to the appropriate track and helps them understand how tlong the hearing is expected to take so that they can list it for an appropriate time and day.

tyllwyd

Yes, I agree, I wouldn't know how long the hearing should last. I would have thought that someone at the court might be able to point you in the right direction, or the CAB. Have you tried asking the CCCS that question directly?

I just had a look here
http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/ex305_0405.pdf

and found this
"
Completing the allocation questionnaire
[FONT=Arial,Arial]The judge will expect you and the defendant, or the defendant’s solicitor, to cooperate with each other when you complete allocation questionnaires. The idea is that, so far as possible, you each know, or can agree, how you will answer the questions in it. You may, therefore, be contacted by the defendant, or the defendant’s solicitor, after the questionnaires have been sent out by the court. If you are not, you should make the necessary contact yourself, since you [/FONT]must return [FONT=Arial,Arial]the questionnaire to the court [/FONT]within 14 days [FONT=Arial,Arial]of receiving it. If the defendant is acting without a solicitor, and will not cooperate, you [/FONT]should not [FONT=Arial,Arial]let this delay your own completion of the questionnaire, and its return to the court.[/FONT]
What sort of things would I be expected to agree with the defendant?
[FONT=Arial,Arial]You might be expected to have agreed:[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Arial]• which was the most appropriate track for your case;[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Arial]• how long you think the trial will take; [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Arial]• if possible, how long you expect it to take to prepare your case for trial, and the time and manner in which you should exchange your evidence; and [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Arial]• if you want to use expert evidence, which expert, and whether you can both use the same one, as the court will usually expect this."[/FONT]

Reading that, it says that you should be expected to agree with the claimant "how long you think the trial will take" - to me, that would imply that you should give the other side's solicitor a ring and both try to agree what should be entered onto the form.