jfollows
you saved the day for my appeal submission = big thank you for sending me the way around copying and pasting into IAS text boxes.
I took your technical info to a neighbour who sorted it out so that I could copy and paste my response to IAS. I did submit it in the end but not as Arbitration, I sent it as a response to the operator. There are reasons why = because of very unclear process. That just means there is another 8 days to wait and if the UKCPS does not reply it will automatically go to adjudication.
I was able to have a second chance to submit after an unsuccessful attempt because my message to IAS Enquiries about not having submitted my response, resulted in them re-setting my portal to allow me to submit. They even added on the day I lost and extended my deadline by a day. They did this because I was still in the deadline timescale and had a day left.
That is a good tip for appellants: aim to reply 2 days earlier than the given deadline in case you encounter technical issues and unclear submission information. If you have issue go to Enquiries and ask there.
I have not had an easy time in getting the second attempt response in. In fact, it has been awful and taken far too much time.
I ended up writing a complaint to the IAS about their unclear instructions on their online portal at the point of seeking arbitration. Whether I was partly wrong or not, it was my experience and I have certainly highlighted some inaccuracies and unclear messages from them. To ensure my complaint reached the IAS, I uploaded it as an evidence document because I could not copy and paste my complaint in to their Enquiries text bod (my neighbour had already changed back my settings and their portal did not allow copy and paste again). By default, this also means that my complaint has been sent to the UKCPS because it is an evidence document. My complaint to the IAS below:
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COMPLAINT for the IAS:
the IAS online process for Appeals is not user-friendly and creates barriers for the Appellant at the point of seeking Arbitration.
1. It does not allow the user to copy and paste text in response box without changing their technical set up.
2. The comment box states 'Response to operator'. Underneath are 2 options of where to send comment: 1/ "Submit response"; 2/ "Refer the case straight to Arbitration".
I wish to give a comment for Arbitration, not to the operator. There is NO text box with a title 'Response for Arbitration'. Logically the appellant would press 'Refer the case straight to Arbitration' to insert their comment.
3. If the appellant clicks 'Refer the case straight to Arbitration' then a warning box pops up. The instructions refer to using the comment box and evidence upload on the previous screen (a box titled: 'Response to operator') without being clear enough for those seeking Arbitration. This is confusing for those seeking to give a response for Arbitration.
4. There are words missing in the warning box "...you must GO BACK and submit your these within your response". This does not make sense.
5. The appellant has no idea if putting their comment in the 'Response to operator' box will successfully send their comment for Arbitration. For this reason, to cover my back, I have uploaded a copy of my Appeal for Arbitration as an Evidence document.
6. If the Appellant continues past the warning pop-up message, still expecting to find a comment box for Arbitration, then they discover that there is none. Instead, their request to seek Arbitration is logged without the appellant submitting their response. There is no way to rememdy this from the appellants live case. This happened to me and I contacted IAS through their Enquiries stating I had misunderstood their instructions and had not submitted my response for Arbitration, I provided my response for Arbitration. They replied to say they were unable to accept my response in Enquiries and they re-instated some time for me to reply through the portal because I was still within the deadline. This would have been helpful if the process was clear thereafter, it has not been.
7. On trying to submit my response for Arbitration AGAIN, I have encountered the above issues and have had to resort to uploading my Appeal as an evidence document due to unclear process.
8. If I click 'Submit response' (instead of Refer straight to Arbitration), because I have no choice but to use the 'Response to operator' box, then it does not work and gives me a screen error [2314130.220997]. I tried again and it did work. I changed my strategy of seeking Arbitration and clicked Submit response (to operator) given the unclear process. This means that the only option I have is to insert my comment in the 'Response to operator box'; upload my response for Arbitration as an evidence document as a back-up; click 'Refer the case straight to Arbitration'; ignore the warning box and click Submit.
Please respond to my complaint. I have also sent this complaint to IAS Enquiries.
Also uploaded: screenshot of Warning pop-up box when 'Refer the case straight to arbitration' is clicked. It has missing words and does not make sense.
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***MY ERROR IN ABOVE COMPLAINT***
In the end I clicked RESPONSE TO OPERATOR & UPLOADED my complaint to IAS via the Evidence route.
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Now I have 8 days to wait for a response from the UKCPS. If they do not, it will go straight to arbitration.
At least I got there in the end. All words for my appeal were kindly provided from InterCity 125 and advice from jfollows and others.
