Welcome to the DAD.Info forum: Important Information – open to read:
Our forum aims to provide support and guidance where it can, however we may not always have the answer. The forum is not moderated 24 hours a day, so If you – or someone you know – are being harmed or in immediate danger of being harmed, call the police on 999.
Alternatively, if you are in crisis, please call Samaritans on 116 123.
If you are worried about you or someone you know is at risk of harm, please click here: How we can help
So I went to court and applied for a no notice urgent hearing to get my son living with me last Thursday before the bank holiday. Long story short, I was there from 9am, paid my fee, and sat in the waiting area until 2.30pm to be told the judge had put the case on notice and that I’d get the next available hearing after the bank holiday.
Fast forward to today. I leave for work at 7am, I get home at 4pm to find a letter from the court - telling me I should be at court on todays date two hours ago. I was calling them constantly from then until the line said they’re now closed until Monday, no one picked up the phone.
I’m now terrified this is going to go against me and I’m now on tenterhooks until I can speak to someone on Monday. What normally happens in this sort of situation?
Thanks in advance for reading.
it doesn't normally help t-if you miss a court appointment, but I think (or would hope) that the court would understand that it wasn't you error, but normal postal delays that caused this problem. Give them a call on Monday, as you plan, and explain it to them. I would ask if they can ring you if there is going to be another hearing at short notice.
Thanks for that mate. Fingers crossed I suppose.
That's unfortunate, I would get an email to them over the weekend so that it s there waiting for them when they reopen. If you've been calling and calling, the same might happen again on Monday. Include your case number and a telephone number as actd has suggested. If you have the name of the judge on the letter you can make the email for the attention of the specific judge.
Hopefully they will accept that it was out of your control and reschedule.
All the best
Thanks Mojo. I did email as well in between all the phone calls and got an automated reply.
It’s infuriating that so much of this whole process is out of my hands. I’m quite relieved that no one picked up in a way, I was pretty worked up to say the least, particularly having spent the best part of a day there already only to not be seen.
Did you make it for the attention of the actual judge?
There wasn’t a judges name specified, no date on the letter and no date stamped on the envelope. It’s almost as if someone forgot to post it so knocked something up in a hurry and just drove round and threw it in the letterbox.
Retain the envelope, incase you're questioned about how it was delivered. Good luck.
Welcome to the DAD.info forum.
We don’t like to set ‘rules’, but to make sure that you and the other dads are kept safe, we have some requests. When engaging with the forum, please be aware of the following:
- The forum is not moderated 24 hours per day.
- Many of the moderators do so on a voluntary basis. Whilst they may be able to provide some guidance, advice or support, they may not be able to deal with specifics.
- We are not an emergency crisis service so if you or someone else is in immediate danger, please call emergency services.
- If you are concerned about the safety of a child, please click here to find the support you can get for them (link to new page)
- If you are in crisis, please call Samaritans on 116 123. They are open 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.
We hope you find this forum a supportive environment and thank you for joining us.