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So why do the latest figures show that solicitors account for only 12% of the claims issued for April 2004?
MCOL enables you to issue a Part 7 specified amount claim without leaving your office. You do not need to write a cheque then either post your instructions or queue at the counter, wait for your claim number, then wait for your date of service. Instead, once you have registered as a user you can issue a claim, check the progress of any previously issued MCOL claims, request admission and default judgments and issue warrants of execution. You can also correspond with us by email if you wish.
Assuming you are working normal office hours, your claim will be issued the next working day and is deemed served four days later. Your judgment and warrant requests will be processed the following day and, where you have requested a warrant, the warrant data is sent electronically to the appropriate local court the same day. MCOL is able to achieve this level of service every working day of the year.
Where the claim arises out of a contract, you do not need to append a copy contract (which is just as well because you cannot do this!). The statement of truth is "signed" by you entering your name and position to the electronic claim form. These differences to the standard Civil Procedure Rules are covered by Practice Directions 7C and 7E.
Where a claim is defended, and where the defendant is an individual, the claim is transferred to the defendant’s local court, otherwise it is sent to your local court (which would be the same position as if you had issued it locally).
MCOL does have some restrictions: for example, both the claimant and defendant must have an address for service within England and Wales; there can be no more than 2 defendants per claim; there is a maximum of 1024 characters for details of the claim; and service must be by the court.
The defendant does not lose out with online facilities. The defendant to a claim commenced either through MCOL or the County Court Bulk Centre (CCBC), has the option to reply to the court through MCOL. Just to clarify, this applies to any response which must go via the court, such as an acknowledgment of service, a defence (with or without a counterclaim), or a part admission. Full admissions, as with claims commenced though local courts, continue to be between the parties and the defendant will complete the admission form provided with the claim.
The CCBC has been successfully operating a streamlined service for regular money claim issuers (banks and finance houses, utilities and debt collection solicitors) for a number of years. Although MCOL does not offer the discounted fee available to CCBC users, it provides a way to extend the electronic service to both individuals and regular court users who do not have the facility to produce data files to interact with the CCBC system. Around half of all money claims are now issued through Northampton.
Development of MCOL was undertaken by Court Service staff in partnership with our IT Provider EDS (under the PFI contract) and EzGov, a firm specialising in web products for government offices. Using latest technology, the project went from defining the user requirement to live running in 17 weeks, no mean achievement especially considering the link to all local court systems, and of course a payment engine which provides for 24:7 access.
The project went remarkably smoothly, deadlines were met and the system was then launched in early 2002. Work continues to grow almost every month and March 2004 was our most successful month to date with just under 4,000 claims entered, making a total for the financial year 2003/04 of 39,589. This means that MCOL is now issuing more claims than any of the local county courts.
So, returning to my original question: why are solicitors not using MCOL?
Is it the payment method, i.e. paying by credit/debit card? Most businesses now have these; the MCOL site is secure.
Is there a belief that it would show disloyalty to your local court? Using MCOL frees up your local court’s staff time to deal with hearings and orders.
Is there another reason? I would be very happy to receive any responses to these questions or other comments at: ken.fraser@courtservice.gsi.gov.uk.
Ken Fraser has been involved with the Court Service's Bulk Centre since it began with the then Summons Production Centre which started in 1990.
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