The UK Court System is Broken: Why Justice Delayed is Justice Denied

Let’s be honest. The UK court system is simply not working the way it should.

For straightforward, undefended claims, it still just about functions. But once a case becomes defended, everything slows to a crawl. Files get lost, updates take months, and businesses are left waiting with no clear end in sight.

At Athena Collections, we deal with this daily, and it’s getting worse. One particular case sums it up perfectly and painfully.

Our client was owed around £80,000. It should have been a routine commercial debt recovery claim. Instead, it turned into a 26-month nightmare of delay, confusion and complete lack of accountability.

Here’s how it went.

A Timeline of Delay and Frustration

• 29 June 2023: Claim issued through Money Claim Online.
• 31 August 2023: Defence filed.
• 26 September 2023: Notice of intention to proceed submitted.
• 31 October 2023: Directions Questionnaire and Reply to Defence filed.
• January 2024: Court stays the claim of its own motion, without any explanation.
• April 2024: Both parties agree to file amended pleadings by consent.

And then… silence.

Months passed. After constant chasing, we eventually discovered the court had lost the amended defence. That single error froze everything.

Our solicitors submitted formal complaints, chased for updates, and even had to contact Companies House to stop the debtor company from being struck off — all just to keep the case alive.

By August 2025, the court finally issued a Notice of Proposed Allocation. By then, the debtor had gone into liquidation.

Two years wasted.

Two formal complaints ignored.

One good client lost.

And £80,000 gone forever.

All because the court system couldn’t do its job.

The Real Cost of Court Delays

This isn’t an isolated case, I can give you a load more examples and we are just one small court user in the grand scheme of things. Across the UK, defended claims are disappearing into backlogs that can take a year or more just to reach the next stage.

Meanwhile, businesses are still paying court fees, legal costs and taxes to fund a system that’s not delivering justice.

When that happens, it’s not just about one unpaid invoice. It affects cash flow, planning, and confidence. It undermines the basic principle that a signed contract actually means something.

Justice delayed isn’t just frustrating, it’s damaging to the entire business community.

The System Needs Total Reform

And now, with the Chancellor preparing to raise taxes again, we have to ask the obvious question: why are businesses and taxpayers expected to pay more into a system that gives them less in return?

Our clients do everything right. They provide their services, issue their invoices, and follow the correct legal process. Yet the moment the case enters the court system, progress stalls because of outdated technology, underfunded staff and lost paperwork.

It’s no longer enough to blame “backlogs.” The system is broken and needs complete reform.

We need investment in automation, digital efficiency, and above all, accountability.

If a parking fine can be issued automatically within hours, there’s no excuse for a Directions Questionnaire to sit untouched for months.

What Needs to Change

It’s not rocket science.

• Civil courts need proper funding.
• Defended cases need mandatory progress timelines.
• File handling needs to move fully digital to prevent losses.
• And when the system fails, someone should be held accountable.

Until that happens, justice will remain something you wait for, rather than something you receive.

At Athena Collections, we will always fight for our clients’ right to recover what they’re owed. But cases like this show how much reform is needed before businesses can have real confidence in the courts again.

Businesses deserve better than a two-year wait for nothing.

Have you faced similar delays or issues trying to get a defended claim heard? Share your experience, the more voices speak up, the harder this problem becomes to ignore.