Mr D complained that HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) had not refunded him a fee of £210 that he paid to issue a claim. Mr D believed he was due the refund because of his entitlement to benefits. He was also unhappy about HMCTS's general handling of his applications for a refund and the time it was taking to resolve matters.
What happened
Mr D issued a claim in early 2012 for a refund of the issue fee (£210) and the fee for the allocation questionnaire (£220). The £220 fee was refunded in winter 2012. However, it was not until spring 2013, and after Mr D had been referred to three different departments within HMCTS that staff told him that he was not entitled to claim a refund of the £210 fee because he had issued his claim online. HMCTS said this was in line with The Civil Procedure Rules. Mr D disputed this, but HMCTS maintained that its position was correct. On that basis HMCTS refused to refund Mr D the £210 fee and so he brought his complaint to us.
What we found
We partly upheld this complaint. There was evidence to show that Mr D had made his claim online as HMCTS had suggested and so he was not entitled to the £210 refund in line with The Civil Procedure Rules. However, HMCTS's handling of Mr D's application for the refund was poor. It had involved a number of departments within HMCTS, and this had confused matters and caused a delay of over a year before Mr D was told that he was not entitled to the refund because his claim had been made online. If he had been told this sooner, he would not have been put to the inconvenience of pursuing matters as he did.
Putting it right
HMCTS accepted that its handling of Mr D's application for a refund was poor. It apologised to him and paid him £200 for the distress and inconvenience caused.
HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS)
UK
Not applicable
Apology
Compensation for non-financial loss