Yahoo Finance 'Why has it taken 33 weeks to get the £5,000 compensation we're due for a botched holiday?'
My problem concerns funds held on my behalf by the Court Funds Office.
In 2004 I was awarded £5,000 compensation following a family holiday that resulted in sickness for my parents, my brother and myself.
The case was brought because the travel company had failed to advise us in advance that there was sickness at the resort, although it was aware of it.
The repercussions for me were particularly serious as I was under the care of a paediatrician at the time. My settlement has been with the Court Funds Office since then.
Shortly before my 18th birthday six months ago, I was invited to send my bank details so the funds could be transferred to me.
This I did, so they had the details just before my birthday. I heard nothing until I received notification to appear before a judge on a date that clashed with an exam.
We wrote explaining this, and asked for another date. This was acknowledged but I was still classed as a “no show”. I had to wait 28 days for another date and eventually was invited to attend.
My mother took the day off work. We spent less than five minutes with the judge.
CS, Warwick
The letter explaining you would not be available for the first hearing had not apparently reached the court file.
This meant the next hearing was not rescheduled until later than it would otherwise have been. When a hearing did take place, the judge completed a form and added a note requesting that the amount, which was more than £9,000, be transferred as soon as possible.
The payment schedule that was sent to the Court Funds Office was returned to the court as there were security holdings on the account that required another section on the payment schedule to be completed.
All this was taking time and by now you were needing the money to fund your gap year in Australia. You were setting off two weeks after you wrote to me and the matter had become decidedly urgent.
I contacted the Court Funds Office, part of the Ministry of Justice. It now wrote to you elaborating that the court had not provided directions regarding the securities that form part of your fund.
It said the court must instruct the Court Funds Office on the reverse of the CFO 200 form regarding the payment, transfer or other relating to them.
It stressed that it couldn’t pay out the funds without clear and concise instructions regarding the security holding. In the meantime your mother was using her own money to fund your trip.
You observe that your older brother had also received funds from the court. This was in 2015 and there were no such delays in him getting his money. My involvement led to your money being paid out in two tranches, some 33 weeks after it had been due.
Normally applications to close a Court Fund account attract a fee of £50, which in this instance the court did not request.
The HM Courts and Tribunals Service said that the court has written to the individuals concerned and offered their apologies for the delay experienced. It has also paid you £150.
