Can I ask you about exchange of evidence please? I believe this is to be done simultaneously for obvious reasons.
How did you swap evidence and how long before the hearing was it? Did you get much notice of the date you had to give evidence to the other party?
All I have read seems to say this is to be done electronically ie email.
But if so how is it guaranteed that both parties comply with the simultaneous part?
My defendant is extremely likely not to comply given various past behaviours.
They didn’t return the directions questionnaire until two weeks after the specified date and only sent me part of the form instead of the whole copy.
I had called the court about not receiving my copy of the defendant’s questionnaire and they said they hadn’t returned it to the court either.
The call handler told me that the defendant should be sanctioned for late return but that because the court system for directions questionnaires is working with a two week back log my defendant will likely face no consequences which is most unfair to me when I am meticulous in following procedure.
I have written to the court to inform them about finally receiving just the partly completed form but have heard nothing back.
Suppose I will have to gird my loins and face the nightmare which is the court phone line again. You queue for an hour, then get cut off and then the person on the end of the phone doesn’t know the answer so transfers you and cuts you off again. My blood pressure is going up just thinking about it!
My defendant is neighbour so it would make much more sense to simply exchange paper copies of evidence when the time comes so as to ensure it is done, perhaps with a third party to ensure rational behaviour is shown by all. (Yes it really is that bad!)