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Because the service rules are strict and the courts rarely forgive breaches. The recurring failures are serving by email without the required confirmation, serving a solicitor who has not been authorised in writing to accept service, using the wrong address, and leaving service so late that nothing can be corrected. Each has ended otherwise sound claims.
In Barton v Wright Hassall [2018] UKSC 12, the Supreme Court held that service of a claim form by email without the recipient’s confirmation that they accept electronic service was invalid, and refused to validate it retrospectively, even for a litigant in person. In Woodward v Phoenix Healthcare [2019] EWCA Civ 985, service on the defendant’s solicitors failed because they had not been authorised in writing to accept service under CPR 6.7, and the defendant was under no duty to warn the claimant of the error. Add wrong or stale addresses, and service on the last day with no room to correct, and you have the anatomy of most service failures.
CPR 6.15 and 6.16 allow the court to validate defective service or dispense with it, but only for good reason or in exceptional circumstances, and failing to read or comply with the rules does not qualify. The courts have emphasised that a bright line rule about how proceedings are commenced protects defendants and limitation certainty, so sympathy plays little part.
The defensive playbook is unglamorous: confirm the correct address before issue, or trace it where there is doubt; use personal service or another rule compliant method; never rely on email or a solicitor without written confirmation in the file; serve early; and capture evidence at the moment of service. A professional process server exists to execute exactly that playbook and to give your file the certificate of service or affidavit that ends the argument.
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This page provides general information about the law and practice in England and Wales and is not legal advice. Rules change and individual circumstances vary; always take advice from a solicitor on your specific situation. Prices shown are indicative, exclusive of VAT and confirmed in writing before any work begins.