HAMLYN - College of Social Sciences and International Studies ...

Civil Justice
However, 95 per cent did make some attempt to deal with the
problem. Mostly this consisted of trying to take it up with the
person directly responsible such as the landlord, the employer
or the retailer. Sometimes this produced a result, sometimes it
did not. The success rate varied from one problem area to
another. 14
Overall, just over one third (34 per cent) of all the respondents
resolved the problem by agreement. 15 (A little under half of
them had had some form of advice. 16 )
In 14 per cent of cases the matter was resolved by adjudication
of some kind whether by a court, a tribunal or an
ombudsman. Whilst there were far more people in the sample
who initiated the case than had a case brought against them,
amongst those who had some form of adjudication it was the
other way round. 17
So, in just over half the cases no result was achieved. Apart
from the few who, as has been seen, did nothing, some
abandoned the matter without taking advice, some abandoned it
after taking advice and a few abandoned it after taking legal
proceedings. 18 In about half those cases the matter seemed to
have reached some form of closure, at least in the sense that it
was no longer current. In the rest it was still current but usually
the respondent said he did not intend to pursue it further,
typically because there seemed nothing else to do, or it would
cost too much or the respondent was fed up with the problem
or had had enough of trying to sort it out. 19
14 ibid., Fig. 6.7, p. 197.
15 ibid., Fig. 5.1, p. 147.
16 ibid., Fig. 5.1, pp. 147, 148. (14 per cent resolved the matter by agreement
without advice; 17 per cent resolved it by agreement after advice but without
legal proceedings; and 3 per cent resolved it by agreement after having advice
and starting legal proceedings but there was no hearing.)
17 There were 962 in the sample who had taken the initiative as compared with
160 who had action taken against them (ibid., Fig. 5.4, p. 153). Among
respondents who said they had action taken against them, 69 per cent were
involved in legal proceedings; among those who were initiating the matter,
only 13 per cent were involved in legal proceedings. There was an actual
hearing in 56 per cent of the former category and 9 per cent of the latter
category [ibid., p. 151).
18 ibid., p. 148. 5 per cent did nothing; 16 per cent abandoned the matter without
having had advice; 30 per cent abandoned it after having had advice and
without starting legal proceedings; and 3 per cent abandoned it after starting
legal proceedings. For discussion of the reasons for not taking advice about
pursuing the matter, see pp. 75-76.
19 ibid., pp. 148-19.
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