Thursday, June 10, 2010

Rapid Claims MOJ Portal Update

Allow me to continue venting my spleen regarding the shambles that is the MOJ RTA claims portal.

Now that we are finally using the damn thing we have identified the following (additional) flaws:

- The system looks like a 1980's intranet for a crap university

- There are no filters whatsoever on the data columns

- No clickable / sortable fields

- No reporting mechanisms (in other words to extract data for management information)

- Bizarre referencing with half the screen taken up with meaningless process id numbers

- No user instruction manuals (we really dont have these)

- The insurers when you speak to the claims handlers, have very little idea of what they are doing

- Insurer backlogs are increasing as a result

As if all this wasnt enough, word has it that certain insurers are going hell for eather trying to settle claims inside the first window minimising costs to £400 + vat.

More misery updates to follow no doubt

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Polish migrants in the UK

We have an interest in Polish legal matters and it would seem there is a complete lack of information for Poles who come to live and work in the UK.

I have come across a new blog which highlights the issues facing Polish migrants in the uk and also this Polish information blog it is good to see the advice gap being filled for the (unofficial total) 750,000 ex pats working in this country.

You have to work in the industry with Polish nationals to realise just how badly treated they are in this country. Whilst you can understand some of the obvious problems that would arise when being domiciled in a foreign land, in the majority of cases we find that clients are abused at work by unscrupulous bosses and then at home by dodgy landlords.

Thats 21st century Britain for you. Aint it just great...!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

MOJ RTA Process Shambles ... Part II

Charged with setting up the user account on the new RTA Portal for our firm, I was hugely excited to see a long awaited email pop up in my inbox from the IT administrators for the MOJ new scheme, Polaris UK Ltd.

My excitement was soon tempered by the fact that the email suggested I had to call them to receive my new password. I knew what this would entail - a wild goose chase and many minutes on hold waiting for a pleb to tell me they are inundated and too busy to help at this stage.

I was right.

I spent 50 minutes on hold waiting for these tossers to pull their finger out, only to then be cut off.

As if to rub my nose in it they have also decided to call the portal website http://www.rapidclaimsettlement.org.uk/

RAPID claims settlement...? I mean come on, a sense of humour is one thing but this is just taking the piss.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

HIP packs are ditched by Dave & Nick

Our wonderful new government have decided to suspend the use of Home Information Packs (HIPs) with effect from 21st May 2010.

Whilst this will please most property lawyers and conveyancers, the reality is that a mini industry has sprung up over the last 4 years employing between 5-10,000 people in the production of the much criticised packs.

The concept was smart enough, it was just the delivery and in the end a pretty poor final product that did for the HIP.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

MOJ RTA roll out Shambles

Our friends at the MOJ have completely messed up the roll out of the new RTA claims process.

11 days into the much heralded new scheme -as things currently stand - around 70% of law firms do not have a live portal user account / password. This means that 70% of firms cannot process their new cases through the MOJ database which is a fundamental part of the overall process.

Instead we are having to revert to the standard method of sending paperwork and a letter of claim to the insurers.

I could tell you the whole alleged truth about why this has happened and explain that the IT company who somehow won the tender for the project had insufficient staff, skills or budgets to ensure delivery. I could tell you that one IT technician allegedly left under a cloud and this affected the whole IT roll out (one person - imaging that, the whole project resting on the shoulders of one person). I could also say that 11 days in we have made more than a dozen phone calls - all but one ignored. The one call that was not ignored involved a member of a different but related company returning to us stalling for more time, there was no explanation about why the main IT firm were not themselves making the call.

This is truly, gobsmackingly inept.


Lawyers led by donkeys

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Election fever hits the legal world

The 2010 General Election has taken over. Its all lawyers are talking about following Cleggs demolition last week of Davo and Gordy.

Whats interesting is that a hung parliament may completely stall any anticipated legal reforms as the policy makers argue the toss and fight for every inch of turf.

Keep up to date with a the scribblings of an old pal of mine - check out the Leeds UK General Election blog. The writers are from deepest West Yorkshire and are dead hard Im telling you.