The cost of justice has just increased - again!

Background
In April 2014 court fees for most civil cases were increased to “near recovery” level meaning that the fees payable almost covered the cost of service provision.
In April 2015 the MoJ commenced its consultation on introducing “enhanced fees” for recovery of money and possession claims. Enhanced fees are set so as to deliver court and tribunal services at a profit to the state.

Latest developments
Hot on the heels of yesterday’s announcement that the Justice Select Committee is to undertake an inquiry into the effects of the introduction and levels of employment tribunal and civil court fees http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/justice-committee/news-parliament-20151/courts-tribunals-fees-charges-inquiry/,  the MoJ has today published its response the consultation on enhanced fees for possession claims and general applications in civil proceedings. Today’s response document also seeks comment on further proposals for wider increases. 

In summary despite 92% of respondents to its consultation being opposed to increasing fees to the levels proposed and just 8% expressing agreement, the Government confirms that proposals
•    to increase fees for possession claims  from £280 to £355 and
•    increase fees for applications in civil proceedings from £50 to £100 for uncontested applications and from £155 to £255 for contested applications will go ahead.
These increases will raise additional revenue of £52m a year. In relation to divorce proceedings fees will be increased from £410 to £510 raising £12m for the treasury. (Original proposal was to increase fees to £750).

Future developments
In addition to announcing these increases the Government wishes to consult about further opportunities to increase revenue through the operation of court and tribunal services.
   •    Proposals include introducing fees in relation to tribunals which do not at present charge fees – for example the property chamber, tax and regulatory chambers of the Tribunal Service. These will initially be set to achieve around 25% cost recovery.
   •    A 10% increase is proposed in relation to a wide range of fees in civil courts. Examples of the type of fees that will be impacted are fees for assessment of costs, judicial review proceedings, Court of Appeal fees, enforcement proceedings and civil cases that are dealt with through the magistrate's courts.
   •    The cap on court fees for money cases is currently £10,000. The Government proposes increasing this cap to £20,000. This proposal will impact claims where the sum in dispute exceeds £200,000.
   •    The chink of light is that the cap on court fees for personal injury claims will remain at £10,000 and remission rules will be adjusted to introduce additional bands of disposable income and an increase capital threshold for claimants aged over 61.

Value from insurance without making a claim, that’s something to smile about

Real life can’t always be wall to wall sunshine and sometimes problems that are difficult to resolve can quickly drag people down. Whether your client’s problem is legal or something personal with our Essential Legal Solutions cover they can get help as often as they need it.

Legal and tax advice

         - Our legal advice line is available 24/7 all year around, we can help with any commercial legal matter from problems with an employee to contract disputes and problems with debt recovery.

        - We are available to answer commercial tax queries 9am-5pm Monday to Friday.   

Business Legal Services website

In addition your clients can access our online legal services and download legal documents that help with everyday business guides which can help your clients business with everything from employment contracts and settlement agreements to leases and health & safety.

Counselling assistance

Your client and their employees (and family permanently living with them) can access confidential help and advice, from our qualified counsellors who are available to provide telephone support on any matter that is causing upset.

Crisis communication

If your client needs help in responding to  negative publicity or media attention effecting their business they can access professional public relations support and crisis communication services.

Avoiding acrimonious court battles

Mediation is increasingly encouraged by the courts as an alternative form of dispute resolution between parties. An unreasonable refusal to mediate can have a bearing on the sum of legal costs awarded where claims are pursued through the courts if judges consider that the matter could have effectively been resolved by parties through mediation. 

At ARAG we recognise the clear benefits that a successfully mediated resolution delivers to the parties involved and for suitable claims, where the parties agree, we are happy to make arrangements for claims to be referred to mediation.
This has the following advantages for our policyholders.

• Mediation is generally much quicker than moving a case through standard court channels, allowing a resolution to be arrived at sooner.
• While court hearings are public, mediation remains strictly confidential.
• Mediation increases the control the parties have over the resolution. In a court case, control resides with the judge who may not have a legal remedy at his disposal that is as acceptable as solutions that emerge in mediation. So, mediation is more likely to produce a result that is mutually agreeable for the parties.
• As a mediated outcome is reached by the parties working together and is mutually agreeable, compliance with the mediated agreement is usually high. This reduces the risk of either party requiring legal action to enforce compliance with the agreement. The mediated agreement is, however, fully enforceable in a court of law.
• Mediators are trained in working with difficult situations and employ various techniques to open and improve dialogue and empathy between the parties. The mediator acts as a neutral facilitator and guides the parties through the process. Parties are motivated to focus on possible solutions to the dispute broadening the range of possible solutions. Through this non-adversarial process each side is likely to be more flexible in understanding the other's position and to work on the issues at the core of the dispute.

Our LEI products cover mediators' costs provided that we have accepted the claim. In such cases we appoint an experienced and specially qualified mediator who impartially assists in the negotiations to settle the issues in dispute. Mediation is suitable for many different types of dispute. Here are a couple of case examples from mediation experts Bond Mediation, who are achieving successful outcomes for increasing numbers of ARAG policyholders.   

Good Foundations

Bond Mediation was instructed to act in a dispute between an elderly lady and a property developer whose building works had damaged a stone wall on her property. She was also worried that the foundations had been affected.

Bond contacted both parties and the builder offered to replace a few stones. This offer was not accepted as a solution and a structural survey was undertaken to assess the extent of damage. The home-owner was concerned that the remedial work that had been recommended in the survey would be insufficient and that the structural survey itself, was not complete. Bond mediation has in-house construction expertise and arranged a site visit in terms of mediation for both parties but also to carry out their own inspection of the wall. The inspection found that the wall and its foundations had indeed been damaged.

The mediator obtained agreement from the builder that he would at his own expense secure the wall foundations and repair/replace the loose and missing stones. Bond's construction expert checked that the work had been done to standard and specification upon completion.

The builder was happy that no further claim would be made. The home-owner was extremely satisfied and relieved that the matter was resolved and it is estimated that the wall will be in place for at least another century.

Contract Dispute - Restoration

Bond Mediation was asked to offer mediation services between two companies (customer and supplier) whose contractual arrangement had broken down due to a query over invoices

This was quite a complex matter in terms of the sheer size ledger of invoices and the dispute over rates and the different types of items involved. The supplier also had some issues that they wanted to discuss with their customer regarding the type of work that was being passed to them which differed from what had been agreed - this was in the antique furniture restoration sector.

After a degree of preparation work with the two parties and a full day of exchanges, held in separate rooms in one location, the mediator was able to slowly build the trust and respect between the parties that existed in the early years of their relationship.

Resolution was negotiated around a mid-point in terms of a financial settlement and the relationship repaired with the necessary degree of trust. This was in effect a restoration job by Bond - restoring the original good will between the parties that previously existed! 

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Lesley Attu

Product Development Manager

At ARAG, clear and concise messaging at the point of sale takes priority

The FCA's concern regarding the sale of add-on products and how customer behaviours at the point of sale can be affected by the method of sale is well documented. Home emergency was one of the products selected by the FCA for inclusion in its Market Study of add-on products and we have concerns that generally speaking Home emergency assistance products are not always correctly understood by consumers. Managing expectations can be difficult.

Although the proportion of complaints reported to ARAG is very much below the market average, we strive to do better. Every single expression of customer dissatisfaction we receive whether justified or not, is an opportunity to learn more about our products. 

Some of the complaints we receive about Home emergency arise from customers reporting a problem that is not actually a "Home emergency". They have a fault which may be inconvenient but it doesn't cause damage or compromise the safety or security of their home. 
We can always help by making arrangements for an approved contractor from our networks to attend the insured's home, however contractor's costs will not be covered under such circumstances.

We value the assistance we receive from our brokers and business partners to minimise misunderstandings that can lead to disappointment for customers if their policy does not perform as envisaged. We don't need to convince you that messaging at the point of sale is key to avoiding customer expectation gaps. You can down-load suggested customer demands and needs statements for all of our products from our new-look website by clicking through the "BTE Products" tab. The statement for Home emergency is longer than for most other products and probably longer than we would like it to be however it has been drafted in consultation with our Customer Relations Team with the aim of getting across the information that we consider critical to consumers. We hope you find this helpful.