Are lay litigants not allowed to take a Summary Summons to Central Office

Red Hare

Citizens Information states " After the summons has been prepared by your barrister, your solicitor takes it to the Central Office to be issued - this involves paying the stamp duty. After the stamp duty has been paid, the summons is stamped and it is ready to be served on the defendant.”

So I cannot get an appointment with Central office - they haven't not replied to my email. Do I have to be a solicitor to get an appointment?

Also, as I cannot get an appointment, can I just pay the stamp and register post it to the defendants? I need to get this issued/served by the end of this month to be within the 6 years limitation rules.

( please do not tell me to go to a solicitor, I did go and I paid 250 euro upfront - no reply also, just like the Central Office )

Claw Hammer

Red Hare wrote: »

Citizens Information states " After the summons has been prepared by your barrister, your solicitor takes it to the Central Office to be issued - this involves paying the stamp duty. After the stamp duty has been paid, the summons is stamped and it is ready to be served on the defendant.”

So I cannot get an appointment with Central office - they haven't not replied to my email. Do I have to be a solicitor to get an appointment?

Also, as I cannot get an appointment, can I just pay the stamp and register post it to the defendants? I need to get this issued/served by the end of this month to be within the 6 years limitation rules.

( please do not tell me to go to a solicitor, I did go and I paid 250 euro upfront - no reply also, just like the Central Office )

The summons needs to be stamped and issued before service. Why did you leave it nearly 6 years?

Red Hare

5 .5 years later, after reading a case on the courts.ie website - I realised that I could seek the money owed by way of a summary summons.

I sought legal assistance with this, but they have taken months , a solicitor left and now I am running out out time.

Why can I not get an appointment with central office? I emailed dublincivillaw@courts.ie yesterday at 3pm and again earlier today - no reply.

HannahR31

Red Hare wrote: »

5 .5 years later, after reading a case on the courts.ie website - I realised that I could seek the money owed by way of a summary summons.

I sought legal assistance with this, but they have taken months , a solicitor left and now I am running out out time.

Why can I not get an appointment with central office? I emailed dublincivillaw@courts.ie yesterday at 3pm and again earlier today - no reply.

I know nothing about this process but assuming the office closes at say 5 and opens at say 9, you only emailed them approx. 5 working hours ago - I don't think it's soon enough to think they haven't replied full stop. Many places have a policy to reply to queries within 3 - 5 days or so.

Red Hare

They normally reply within 20 minutes - it is the central office

Peregrinus

Do you need to make an appointment at the Central Office? Is this a Covid thing? In my day you just went in during opening hours and did your business across the counter. No appointment needed.

Red Hare

Its is a covid thing. They normally reply quickly and give an exact appointment time. But in this instance there is no reply since yesterday early afternoon. As the citizens advise has stated that "your solicitor takes it ti the central office" I am wondering if it is because I am a lay litigant that I cannot get an appointment?

Robbo

Peregrinus wrote: »

Do you need to make an appointment at the Central Office? Is this a Covid thing? In my day you just went in during opening hours and did your business across the counter. No appointment needed.

Since Covid, it's been an appointment based system. Their preference is for most of the nuts-and-bolts work to be done by post/DX and appointments are held back for urgent or complex issues.

The benefit to all of this is that it's freed up a staff in the Central Office from a lot of the nonsense that goes on at the counter (the lonely hearts club, town agents gaming the system, flustered trainees, assorted cranks etc). The downside is that if you genuinely need an appointment, you get the third degree while they consider your request.

Red Hare

Well I went down to the central office and they did not get my emails. So the sorted me out, the summons has been issued and all’s well that ends well !

Claw Hammer

Snip. Good luck!

Lenar3556

There is guy in mayo - Stephen Manning. He might be worth talking to regarding your situation.

Claw Hammer

Lenar3556 wrote: »

There is guy in mayo - Stephen Manning. He might be worth talking to regarding your situation.

I would think the o/p is in enough trouble!

Red Hare

Thanks everyone! if I don't try I can't succeed. If it works, I be very rich and I'll get everyone in boards.ie a pint!

Robbo

Robbo wrote: »

Since Covid, it's been an appointment based system. Their preference is for most of the nuts-and-bolts work to be done by post/DX and appointments are held back for urgent or complex issues.

The benefit to all of this is that it's freed up a staff in the Central Office from a lot of the nonsense that goes on at the counter (the lonely hearts club, town agents gaming the system, flustered trainees, assorted cranks etc). The downside is that if you genuinely need an appointment, you get the third degree while they consider your request.

Some of my worst and best memories of being a trainee was trying to make sense of that place. I despair if today's trainees are being denied the opportunity to feel as utterly lost and inept as I did, I'd like to say it was character forming but even now I'm not sure....