RTA portal plans "should be put on hold until 2014"
“Unrealistic” plans to cut recoverable costs for the RTA portal, and extend the scheme, should be put on hold until at least 2014 when the civil justice reforms will have had time to bed down, the Civil Justice Council (CJC) has warned.
Meanwhile, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and the Motor Accident Solicitors Society have jointly applied for a judicial review of the decision to cut recoverable costs. Both organisations fear their members will not be able to afford to run cases through the portal after the reforms take place.
The portal enables claimant and defendant to securely exchange information as the claim is processed through a series of stages. The proposed reforms will reduce solicitors’ recoverable costs from £1,200 to £500 for claims of less than £10,000, include employers’ and public liability cases in the scheme, and add a second band of higher value cases of up to £25,000.
This was due to happen on 1 April, but the justice secretary announced in December that he is re-considering the implementation date. A new date is yet to be set.
The CJC, an independent advisory group headed by the Master of the Rolls, noted that the abolition of referral fees in April will “not automatically” reduce a firm’s marketing spend, and in fact firms may have to spend more due the current competitive climate.
It advised that “the fixed recoverable cost regime must accurately reflect the actual amount of work that is required”, and “should reflect the varying nature of those costs, rather than the lowest possible cost.” It also expressed concern that “it may be regarded as unrealistic to expect all the necessary work and negotiations to be carried out against a fixed fee limited to £500”.
The warning echoes that of Professor Paul Fenn in July, in a report commissioned by the Ministry of Justice, who called for a full review of the portal before it is extended.
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