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Withdrawing appeal over phone?
One of my clients wanted to withdraw a TC appeal. He could not find his acknowledgment letter with the appeal reference number, so I phoned HMCTS with him to obtain the number so he could put in his withdrawl letter.
The clerk said that he could do this over the phone and she proceeded to take the request from him.
I did not know this was possible, I thought rule 17 of the FtT Rules prescribed that this had to be in writing?
Has anyone else withdrawn an appeal over the phone?
Yes, several. I assumed it had be in writing but helpline seemed happy to cancel
The procedure rules leave zero doubt - withdrawal must be in writing unless it takes place at a hearing.
However the SSCS1A guidance says that withdrawal over the phone will be accepted and, as you say, that’s in line with practice. There’s also the point that nobody is realistically going to make an issue out of it.
Where does that leave us? I dunno; I would still be sending withdrawals in by post myself.
The risks is unrepresented Appellants making a hasty decision to withdraw, especially if promoted by whoever they speak to on the phone.
you could do a letter confirming the conversation and that the appeal is withdrawn, thus covering all bases.. good practice anyway
Thanks for all the responses. I feel uneasy about this phone procedure and will encourage my clients to withdraw appeals in writing, or at least follow Claire’s suggestion.
In the past, I had my clients write their own letters (or drafted a letter for them in their name, for the client to sign), just to make it clear that it was their decision and not the CAB’s decision. I would not want any problems with a CAB initiated phone call if the client later changes their mind.
I hope that HMCTS does not offer withdrawl as an option when appellants ring them up for something else.
Further to my last, after digging around in the archives for something else, I found an old post from 2013 from Martin Williams who pointed out a practice statement from 2010 which specifically delegated a power to any tribunal employee to waive the requirement for notice to be in writing.
That practice statement has been withdrawn, but a new one was issued in 2014 which has the same effect (link: https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/practice-statement-sec-011014.pdf)
I had overlooked this when I responded but it does seem to mean that notice over the phone will be effective as long as the telephonist thinks it is appropriate to waive the requirement for it to be in writing.
Doesn’t change my view - it still seems sensible to put it in writing.
Doesn’t change my view - it still seems sensible to put it in writing.
Why? Surely any need to confirm an appeal’s withdrawn is covered by the withdrawal notice sent out by HMCTS.