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Hardly a surprise though, eh?

Just wait to see how many litigants in person there are when Solicitors firms tell them they can't possibly represent them because they have 'small claims' ( £10,000 - or more than half the average working wage).

Those of us at the sharp end have been saying this for years, and I'm afraid it's only going to get worse. With the ridiculous hike in court fees, utterly mind boggling astronomical rise in court fees, and the greedy MOJ obviously wanting to cream a profit out of the civil courts, those who could have afforded to pay for legal services will join the ranks of those having to search dodgy wikipedia articles and making a right hash of things along the way, taking yet more court time, force more adjournments, and generally take massively more time to deal with only the simplest of matters.

I had the unenviable pleasure of dealing with a litigant in person who lost ten straight applications, appealed them. appealed again, issued more proceedings, lost them, appealed again, lost...again... you get the drift. I think I counted 37 court appearances in what should have been two very straight forward county court actions., including adjournments galore and ridiculous appeals. The costs have absolutely gone through the roof - and it's all because a litigant in person is out of his depth. This is going to be replicated all over the place, and I am afraid the government have themselves to blame. If Solicitors had been instructed, the matter would likely have been settled, discontinued, or proceeded to a swift trial.

It's all too easy to say lawyers complicate things - no they don't, it's the ham fisted left alone litigant in person who is forced to try to engage in a game with no resource and no clue. It simply isn't fair to anyone, and it's going to get much, much worse.