HMCTS lost court bundle before hearing

What happened

Mr M took his landlord to the small claims court but HMCTS lost some of the court papers so the judge could not read them before the hearing. The judge went ahead with the hearing, and listened to verbal statements. At the end of the two–hour hearing, he adjourned and ordered a further four–hour hearing to complete the case. But the judge did not put his papers in the file and HMCTS spent weeks trying to contact him for his notes and court order. HMCTS also had difficulty contacting the judge for a date for the second hearing so another judge agreed to hear it. At the second hearing, five months after the first hearing, the judge found partly in favour of Mr M and awarded him £750 plus costs. Mr M complained to HMCTS about the delay and said that he had experienced very poor customer service. HMCTS apologised and offered him £75.

What we found

We partly upheld Mr M's complaint. HMCTS should not have lost the court bundle. We understood Mr M's annoyance and frustration at the delay in rescheduling his court date but a significant part of the delay was caused by a judicial error and practical difficulties arising from that error. However, HMCTS's communication with Mr M was poor and not customer–focused. We also found failings in its response to his complaint.

Mr M did not suffer any injustice through HMCTS misplacing the court bundle. Even if the judge had had the bundles, he would still have adjourned the case because he considered that it needed more time. As we found no fault in how HMCTS dealt with the case after the hearing, we could not say that Mr M suffered any injustice. However, HMCTS's poor communication increased Mr M's anxiety and stress, and that was an injustice.

Putting it right

HMCTS apologised and offered Mr M a consolatory payment of £75.