A LEGAL expert fears that Hampshire firms could be deprived justice because of “massive increases” in fees which could deter them taking claims to court.

The Ministry of Justice has implemented new rules for those seeking damages greater than £10,000 to pursue civil claims outside of court.

The new charges are designed to be five per cent of the amount claimed for, with a cap at £10,000 for any claim greater than £200,000.

But Rick Munro, a partner at Southampton law firm Pitmans and a member of the Solent Mediation Group, believes small firms are “being denied a degree of justice”.

He said: “People might be encouraged to mediate but it takes two to mediate.

“If someone refuses to pay a bill and they refuse to mediate or if you’ve got someone who refuses to engage the claimant has to find another £8,500 on top of what they had to pay before.”

Mr Munro fears that while larger firms can absorb the cost of a £10,000 court fee, smaller firms will not be able to take cases to court.

He said: “If you take the example of a Hampshire firm that is seeking more than £200,000 in damages, they will still have to pay £10,000, the same as a multi-national.

Costly “No way should that particular Hampshire firm be charged an additional £8,000 just because you have got a claim at that amount, it becomes disproportionate.

“Why should they be paying the same £10,000?”

Claimants can generally recover their legal costs, including the court fees from the defendant, if their claims are successful, but if not, or if the defendant goes |bankrupt, then they will lose that cash.

Previously people have taken to going to court to avoid a lengthy and costly process outside of it or because time limits on |making claims are about to expire.

Mr Munro added: “These increases are bound to have a significant impact on the volume of claims coming to the court.

“It’s a denial of justice to some people who might have brought a claim to court.”

He thinks the Ministry of Justice could have found other ways to encourage more people to act through their lawyers before going to court.

“Are there other ways that the Government can encourage mediation without penalising those people who need access to the court, yet for whatever reason they’re being isolated from it in order to pay a fee?

“Can the Government not do more to promote mediation in other ways?”