Deputyship and HM Courts and Tribunals Service Complaints

[kathsbell]

Hi, I'm hoping this is an unusual case and not a mistake that happens often with people applying for deputyship. Unfortunately my nan passed away very unexpectedly in May while we were in the process of applying for deputyship, she hadn't been diagnosed with Alzheimers for long . We informed the court of protection within a few days of this happening and were informed that as long as we sent them a copy of the death certificate, the application would go no further. We did so to both them and probate but somewhere something went wrong. They sent the copy of the death certificate to my nans empty house, addressed to my grandfather who died over twenty years ago saying they had no record of a case - on the death certificate it even stated that she was widowed to my grandfather so how they thought he was alive. Probate also informed us when we rang them that they had no record of my nans case and asked if we could resend the paperwork along with our payment reference number which we did. Today, we were informed that probate had found the paperwork the day after we rang filed under a different persons name, as well as receiving a letter informing us that a judge had made a decision on the deputyship application, the hearing was dated two months after her death and even though we've told them repeatedly on the phone and sent copies of the death certificate, the court acted as though she was alive. This has brought a lot of stress onto my family especially while we are grieving.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Or have any experience dealing with the complaints procedure for Probate or the Court of Protection and can offer any advice? I hope this is an isolated case but the amount of miscommunication that must have happened is really worrying.

 

[nellbelles]

Hello @kathsbell and welcome to DTP

I have no answers for you but may I suggest you talk to the helpline
https://www.google.com/search?q=alzheimer's society helpline

I hope this helps

 

[McBeagle]

Sorry to hear that- not what you need at this point.

A key issue is the dramatic lack of funding for the UK legal justice system. Unfortunately the plight of legal aid, the prison system and the sort of issues you outline don't make headlines in the same way that cuts to the NHS would. Therefore they have been going on for years and you only realise when you try to rely on the system.

That said, you could certainly write to the complaints department at the Court of Protection so they are aware and can hopefully correct whatever issues caused the errors.

Generally when I have dealt with the Court of Protection I get the impression that they are trying to do their best with what they've got.

The Probate Registries are currently experiencing massive and unusual backlogs. The time for a grant of probate to issue has gone up from 2 weeks or less to 12 weeks or more. These issues are getting better but still ongoing. See: https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money...face-massive-probate-delays-months-chaos.html

With the probate registry I would probably give it a bit longer at this stage and see what happens.

 

[cleoandpetra]

Hi, I'm hoping this is an unusual case and not a mistake that happens often with people applying for deputyship. Unfortunately my nan passed away very unexpectedly in May while we were in the process of applying for deputyship, she hadn't been diagnosed with Alzheimers for long . We informed the court of protection within a few days of this happening and were informed that as long as we sent them a copy of the death certificate, the application would go no further. We did so to both them and probate but somewhere something went wrong. They sent the copy of the death certificate to my nans empty house, addressed to my grandfather who died over twenty years ago saying they had no record of a case - on the death certificate it even stated that she was widowed to my grandfather so how they thought he was alive. Probate also informed us when we rang them that they had no record of my nans case and asked if we could resend the paperwork along with our payment reference number which we did. Today, we were informed that probate had found the paperwork the day after we rang filed under a different persons name, as well as receiving a letter informing us that a judge had made a decision on the deputyship application, the hearing was dated two months after her death and even though we've told them repeatedly on the phone and sent copies of the death certificate, the court acted as though she was alive. This has brought a lot of stress onto my family especially while we are grieving.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Or have any experience dealing with the complaints procedure for Probate or the Court of Protection and can offer any advice? I hope this is an isolated case but the amount of miscommunication that must have happened is really worrying.

Hi I have only just joined this forum and I see that your message was posted last year but in case you are wanting more information I can give you the following. I applied for deputyship for my former sister in law in May 2018 - it was not finalised until March 2020 - because of this lengthy delay with the Court of Protection. I encountered demands of money from unpaid bills, care home fees and bailiffs. In fact in made me quite ill and because I could not pay these bill because of the "COP". I therefore made a formal complaint through the proper channels. {Note I did have a solicitor aswell} I wrote online to the Court of Protection and nothing was done, then through RESOLVER the an online complaints process in November 2019 referred to me by the Dementia Society. Nothing was done, it was then escalated through to the HMCTS through RESOLVER and nothing was done. Except two automated message telling me how to apply for deputyship. I received one/two calls from the "COP" and I initiated the call/s in fact during trying to contact the "COP" by phone 6 times the phone rang out and was picked up and put down (one called I made and waited 40 minutes) and the process was still ongoing for a few more months thereafter. I wrote to my local MP in February 2020 and that letter was sent to the Secretary of State for Justice and I got a response from the under Secretary of State for Justice. That letter from him was of NO USE WHATSOEVER and did not address my complaint. So I wrote again to my MP who has escalated it back to the under secretary of State for Justice. I am seething added to which these officials of the Secretary of State for Justice said that their research showed I had cancelled my complaint. I DID NOT. This is what has happened to me but I have had so much support from the Dementia Society I have now sent an email to a department that investigates the procedures/process of the way my case was handled by the "COP" looking hopefully towards changing the way in which the "COP" deals with deputyship applications. I will also write my story, as | want this Government body who is supposed to be there to assist and help those who have loved ones with this terrible desease (Dementia) as there are probably hundreds and thousands of people like me who are trying to do the best we can to keep mind body and soul together. thank you for reading this.

 

[sarby]

| want this Government body who is supposed to be there to assist and help those who have loved ones with this terrible desease (Dementia) as there are probably hundreds and thousands of people like me who are trying to do the best we can to keep mind body and soul together. thank you for reading this.

If it's any help, I complained about HMCTS a couple of years ago. After complaining direct to HMCTS and getting the usual "Computer says No" response, I wrote to my MP. When he didn't reply, I complained to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. Their investigation was quick and efficient. Although its conclusion wasn't in my favour, it did manage to winkle a lot of information out of HMCTS that it had been reluctant to divulge.