By Sammie Jones-
The Ministry of Justice has admitted overcharging for a string of different court fees and will suffer relative losses as the correct prices are implemented to contain the injustice done to several applicants. Hundreds, possibly thousands of applicants were overcharged by more than £100 for starting proceedings in the High Court and County Court since 2016.
Subsequently, an overview of the court fees structure has unravelled several more additional mistakes, and examples where litigants have paid too much in fees above the correct figure. The overcharging relates to fees charged for certain proceedings in the Court of Protection; a small number of civil proceedings in the magistrates’ courts; fees for general applications in insolvency proceedings; and the fees charged for High Court judges sitting as arbitrators.
The ministry of justice was aware of the mistakes June , but were not aware of the full scale of the overcharging that has taken place. The overcharging was first revealed by the Law Society Gazette. Officials say there are more than 300 separate fees charged for civil and family proceedings in the courts of England and Wales. A freedom of Information Request by the Association Of Personal Injury lawyers was turned down on the grounds the information would cost too much to obtain.
The excuse provided is unconvincing, a more likely explanation is that it would cost more money and time than it is worth to find out the disappointingly high numbers of claimants who have been overcharged by the court system.
Justice minister Lucy Frazer QC today outline the mistakes in a written statement to parliament. Frazer said legislation reducing court fees for certain proceedings will be made in parliament, alongside a refund scheme established for those overcharged.
Frazer said: ‘The reduction to these fees follows a thorough and detailed review undertaken by officials in the Ministry of Justice into the cost of these proceedings. Our review has identified a number of cases where the fees charged were above full cost recovery levels. We are therefore taking action to reduce those fees.’
Frazer also hinted the MoJ is considering its fee-charging structure in the light of the court modernisation programme, which is likely to reduce the time and expense of handling claims.
‘We will continue our review of court fees, including the methodology for setting those fees, to minimise the risk of this issue recurring,’ she added.