Small Claims Court Guide
If you are in dispute with an organisation or an individual and wish to recover specific sums of money you feel you should not have paid, then you can issue a claim at county court level against that individual or firm. If the claim is for less than £5000 (or £1,000 or less if the claim is for personal injury or housing disrepair) then the small claims system is set up for you to use cheaply, quickly and easily, without the involvement of lawyers or other legal professionals. For claims over £5000, you will be referred to the fast track or multi-track. Please note, this only applies to England and Wales.
Alternatives to court action
The procedure will require you to consider alternative dispute resolution routes such as arbitration, mediation and ombudsmen schemes (details for which can be found in the useful contacts page on this site). However, if it is clear that you will not get the desired result any other way, then you can pursue a claim issued through the county court. You can do this for any of the following scenarios:
- An unpaid debt
- Poor workmanship
- Non-performance of contractual obligations
- Damage to property
- Road traffic accidents;
- Personal injury
- Faulty goods or goods not supplied
First steps
Your application will include information on what steps you have already taken to try and recover the money. You would therefore be advised to write to them as a first step, explaining the reasons for your dissatisfaction, what you would like in return and a reasonable timeframe for doing this. You should also provide notice of your intention to take further action if they do not do as instructed. See our templates page for a model of how to structure your letter and what kind of information to include. Remember to send any correspondence recorded delivery and keep copies for inclusion in your claim.
Things to consider
You should also consider the capacity of the firm or individual to pay the sum. If they are unemployed, insolvent, on a low income or heavily in debt, this will be taken into account and you may not get anything. Therefore it is very possible that even though you will win your claim you will still not get any of the money which is owing to you.
How much will it cost?
To start proceedings, claimants must usually pay an initial court fee, and although it will not be as much as instructing a solicitor, the amount will depend on how much money you are claiming. If you are receiving benefits, pension or tax credits, or if your income is below a certain level, you will not have to pay this court fee. You can also get a partial contribution to the fees if you can prove that it would be difficult for you to pay.
Additional Expenses
If, once judgement has been made the company or individual still does not pay and continues to dispute your claim, you may have to pay additional fees, although these can often be added onto the amount they will eventually owe you if you are successful.
- If you have witnesses you will have to cover their expenses / loss of earnings
- If you need a report from a professional acting as an expert witness, you will have to pay for this
- If you require a professional to attend the hearing to give their expert opinion, you will need to pay their charges and expenses
- If you are suing for a specific sum of money, the case may well be heard in the court local to the firm or individual you are suing, therefore you will incur travel costs and suffer loss of earnings.
However, you may be able to claim some or all of these costs back if your claim is successful.
Representing yourself
For claims less than £5000 the system is set up for you to represent yourself. You would be advised to seek advice from a solicitor at the outset to get an understanding of legal aspects such as providing evidence, as well as court processes and putting realistic figure on how much to claim. However, they don’t need to be involved in the process itself, which will save you money. If you will have difficulty representing yourself you will also be allowed to take a friend, family member or colleague with you as a ‘lay representative’.
There are firms which can offer a claims management service on a ‘no win no fee’ basis for things like personal injury, accident claims, housing disrepair or recovery of bank charges. You must check these firms are authorised before you instruct them, as they will be acting unlawfully if they are not.
Filling online
For claims which are less than £10,000 and against not more than two people, you will be able to file a claim online. Go to: www.moneyclaim.gov.uk
For more information and forms to download, go to: www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk
Related posts:
Can I amend a claim for unpaid goods when the buyer issues a counter claim 90 days after the payment date and with no complaints as to the product and services?
It is lodged in the small claims court but the defendant waited to receive our limited companies statement before making up thair own.I suspect dishonest practice by defendant, witnesses and his solicitor.
My house was let out through a letting agent and when my last tenant left the property the agent failed to carry out an adequate inspection of the property, returning the deposit to the tenant. Subsequently I have incurred loss and expense in order to bring the property up to a lettable standard. I have submitted a claim for loss and expense to the agent who verbally offered a settlement of £750 (without prejudice). My original claim was in excess of £5000 but subject to negotiation a realistic and acceptable settlement would be between £2500 and £3000. I have referred to their negligence in correspondence which the have never refuted.
Could you please advise me of the best route to take? Can I persue it through the Small Claims Court or would I have to go to the County Court? If the action were to be found in my favour would O be able to recover my legal costs if I incur any?
I look forward to receiving your advice.
Regards,
Steve Jones
An RTA between my car and a Horse box from the Republic of Ireland occurred in the UK. I lost the excess on my Insurance policy and would like to know whether or not it is possible to issue a writ in the UK for service in Eire?
dear sir madam i took out a loan with my wife £5.000 with the interest it rounded off to £11.000 6 months after we took out the loan she decides to leave leaving me to pay the debt also a £600 catologue bill .I am a minimum wage worker with two children the day me and my kids left she sold there beds and everything that was in there room t.v etc… I would like to know if there is anything i can do about this and nreed some advice yours thankfully R.White
I was suspended from work without pay, although company policy is to suspend with pay. I was accused of not providing Right To Work documentation, specificaly passport. I had copy of Boarder Agency letter stating documents for permanent residence application was submitted, also stating my right to working in the UK during the process. Company representative was only interested in my passport. I was subsequently suspended without pay, and without an official hearing.
About 7 years ago we had a conservatory installed. This carried a 10 year guarantee.
Last month we noticed two of the roof panels had bowed downwards and separated from the rest of the roof causing 2 holes to appear.
I contacted the conservatory who immediate reaction was that this was not covered by the guarantee without seeing the fault.The guarantee clearly states it covers materials and installation. We paid them £60 for an inspection only to hear that other conservatories had the same fault. Tape was put on the roof to prevent water ingress.
A few weeks later we phoned again for an update to be told that the roof company had gone out of business and the conservatory company were now trying to negotiate how best to proceed. A further 3 weeks has passed and we made yet another phone call only the be told the same thing and that if I was not happy they would refund my £60 and I could get lost. They obviously do not want to take responsibility for the repair and are washing their hands of the matter.This is totally unacceptable and I want to take legal actions for the cost of the repair or a new roof, which could cost up to £2000. How do I proceed ?
was hassled by local althority for an invalid parking ticket
whenpush came to shove and 3 letters later they claim that they was unable to contend the appeal as they had a softwear problem and cancled the ticket stating that the case was closed.
i advised them in another letter that the c ase was not closed as far as i was concerned.
as i had spent my time and money deraling wath theis and i wanted compensation for my efforts and sent them a bill for £302 pounds.
once again they have ignored my letter.
can i take them to a small claim court?
regards Gordon
We have been to Small Claims Court in Scotland. Recall of Decree was given by Sheriff and she said “written defence” to be provided within 7 days. What format does written defence take ? Is it the same as Productions ?
Is it allowed for a professional to appear as lay representative AND expert witness in a fast-track hearing? Thank you.
My husband did Building works for a client 5 years ago and now has been notified by him that the boiler that was put in( By another person)has leaked, resulting in damage to his kitchen. My husband put the kitchen in but did not install the boiler or deal with it on a sub-contracting basis.
Can you tell me what our position is in this situation.
i am owed the outstanding sum of £143 from someone i bought an item for. although she was previously making payments she has now told me that i’ll get the money when she’s got it but that i’m not allowed to go to her house. the police offered to escort me to retrieve the goods but said that if she refused to open her door then there was nothing i could do. is it worth going through the courts to claim this amount
what is the maximum claim you can take through the smalls claims court
Hi,
In your page advising about Small Claims Court you say,
“See our templates page for a model of how to structure your letter and what kind of information to include.”
Please, where might your templates page be?
John
Did you find out how to access the template page?
I entered into a business agreement with another company for them to supply a company set up package and training for a particluar business area. The whole set up was so unorganised and unprofessional it took much longer than it should have and was not fit for purpose. Part of the agreement was after initial set up to pay a monthly fee or 6 months. However during the set up period, and before everything was finalised and I was happy with my package, the company started billing for the start of the additional months. I refused to start paying this as set up was not complete and the company pulled all the tools for the business and website away. Thus leaving me with nothing. I wish to take them to the small claims court. Do I have a case?
i have brought a car from ebay that was described as perfect condition, it now needs new piston rings and is going to cost me around £800 to get it sorted i have had the car two days and tried contacting the seller to no avail, have i got a case??? thanks
Hi call the trading standards office and they can help. You will need to send him a letter recorded delivery to state your intentions. The seller if he is a trader has to offer you either to fix the car or a refund.
Hi Amy
of course you do although if you ‘stepped outside’ the ebay site
you may find that ebay are less than helpful;by stepped outside
I mean used direct email rather than ebaymail…
if you stuck to their rules then of course you have a case
for mis-representation.via small claims
If you paid by paypal then you buyer protection..just contact the resolve page and report the seller as non-com
you need to write/contact seller to tell them of you intent and give a reasonable time to respond
kind regards
Rob
can some 1 send me small claims court for owing £ 60 thanks
Plse send me an example of letter of how to make a small claim for smisold services (wrong train nr).
thks
Rgds
Bernadette
Request template
i have bought a car from copart salvage auction as unrecorded but after i sent the logbook to dvla they said thes car is recorded now the company said they are not responsible and they told me i need to contact the seller now i have contacted the seller but seller not respond anythings now dvla says the car is right off,please help
thanks
I have had cafe with accomadation above, which was on a 3 year lease, however after just 15 months, they are £3,000 pound behind in payments, they closed shop back in Oct 10, I had redouced the rent, and that wasn’t paid either. Now after 6 months they have mived out, leaving the place very dirty and with some fixtures u/s.
the bond they had paid had been put towards the rent. Can I claim for the rest of the lease by the small claims, or just the cleaning fee and replacement cost of equipment?
I was dismissed from work in September of this year, I appealed and won. I want to know if I can claim for solicitor costs and loss of wages due to having had to go on sick leave with stress due to the companies action against me. Solicitors costs were approx. £2000 and loss of wages about the same. My solicitor told me I couldn’t claim back through the normal channels, so I wandered if I could through small claims court.
i had to cancel a motorbibe insurance cost £230 pounds cancel cost £30.so i expected a refund of £200 on phoning MCE isurance in SEPTEMBER they said my refunde would be in my account on 28 of December 2010
it is now 2011 3 days ago 1 tried to phone & was left on hold so i sent a emai i still have had no reply is my next step small cliams court ?
Regards MrL Wesborn
what should i do next to get my money back ?
A friend booked a flight using my credit card in May 2009 and prmoised to repay within a few weeks, unfortaunately in November 2009 her husband committed suicide, she was off work for a while and I loaned her £480 in cash to help her along at that time.
I waitied a few months and began asking her for repayment especially as the flight money was accruing interest. I have been given numerous reasons why payment has not been yet made all linked to sorting out her late husbands estate which his ex-wife and young children were laying claim on regarding his pension etc.
I have sent emails and texts askign for this money back, (we have not physically seen each other since the loan of the £480), in December she was proposing a repayment of approximately £200 per month, then I hear nothing and sent her begging texts in January this year, she contacted me by text saying she would pay money by bank transfer withing few days, she did..£100 with no assurance of when I can receive the rest.
I have her email address and mobile number but no address, this money is almost 18 months unpaid now. If I go to the small claims court would I get the money back from her in full? How would I obtain her home address?
thanks
I ordered a product from the internet and this was due to be delivered by parcel force. They said they left it in my front garden bin but no card was left. The internet site are not answering my emails and parcel force, after investigation have said that the internet have now made a claim, please advice ??
A national company fitted a new kitchen with a gas cooker,the cooker was fitted not to Gas Safe standard,and we had a smellable gas leak,the company sent 4 different fitters over a 3 month period,and we have since found out that 3 of the 4 were not Gas Safe registered,the leak was solved.The company although they broke the law and left us exposed to the potential risk of an explosion do not want to know.What is my best course of action,I want them to have a large penalty[fine] so they will not do this again.
Hi, I had doors fitted 4 months ago. They are leaking really badly, but the workman is saying it’s our fault and that they aren’t sealed well enough. We have sealed them, but the water is pooring through (not only the glass panels, but through the bottom and middle of the door. Is there anything I can do? They are apparently guarenteed for 1 year!
i took out a loan from no worrie loans but they are not a loan company they are a brokers i stupidly paid £69.95 i have written to them twice and even a registered letter to them saying they are breaking the law they can keep £5 admin fee but have to refund you the balance i checked them on internet there is a lot of angry people who have had the same problem the guy that runs no worrie loans and yes loans which is the same company has been suspended from running a buisness as a director my question is how much would it cost to take out a small claims against this scam company
See our templates page for a model of how to structure your letter please tel me ware thay?
One third of the way down this page (Consumer Information), the subheading ‘Filling online’ has too many l’s in it.
Hi
If I let a house through a letting agency and then decided to do the contract between myself and the landlord so the agency has nothing to do with the property but they are not giving me my bond back and ignoring me emails and calls can I take this to small claims court?
How much is it in Court Fee’s for a claim of £4,772.00, please?
Hi I left a private landlord before my 6 months short assured tenancy ended. The landlady agreed to this because there was “Mushrooms” growing from the living room and bathroom walls.
I gave her notice to quit on the 1st JUne 2011, But left the property 4th May as the bathroom got worse.
I never paid May’s rent and she said she would have kept the deposit to cover this but then in an email shesaid this will not now be the case.
she will return my deposit when she is satisfied that all utility bills were paid.
these have been paid and receipts were sent to her now she refused to give me back my deposit.
I ws looking to take her to a small claims court as I have been taking Anti-Depressants and cannot get off them due to the stress of this. I have taken on another private flat and have now been left short with all my other bills because i am £475.00 out of pocket this month.
hope someone can advice me here.
Thank you
Karen, Glasgow
I am the sole director of a limited company. Unfortunately, I am being sued through the small claims court in Scotland. After arriving at the court for the hearing, the case was pushed back for 2 weeks as the judge said I needed legal eprepresentation. I had been informed otherwise and do not want to spend any more money on this case, especially costly solicitor fees. Is it possible for me to use a layperson as a representative instead?
my girlfreind now my ex girlfreind booked a holiday in november 2010 abroad ,she asked me if i wanted to go in may 2011 i booked the holiday as she added me on as she was the leading bookee the cost of the holiday was £599 and we were leaving on the 3rdjune 2011 5 days prior we finished i spoke to thomsons and abta and they said they could not do anything because she was the leading name is it possible to claim my money back thro this system
many thanks gary clasper
hello, i loaned a family member 4800 pound almost 3 years ago, we never signed a contract as i trusted this persons(stupid i know) i was to recieve the money back 1 month after from a job he was completing but he failed to, and continued to promise and lie for the next year, he then paid back 1000 pound, then another year and he has paid back a total of 100 pound since, every person in my family knows about the loan(i dont knwo if witnesses are of use?) and he has continued to lie through texts and calls and is now ignoring, would it be possible to take him to a small claims, and any advice on a likely outcome? any help would be great as this is really getting to me, he has also booked a holiday abroad for his wedding so obviously not short on money. thank you
We had a letter telling us that electrical checks were being carried out “free of charge” in our area. We made an appointment for the person to come on the 27th November 2011. He checked some parts of the house and said we needed a few things done and it would cost around £800+. We asked if we could think about it for a day or two, but he said since he was in the area it would be easier to sign on the day, so we ageed(which was stupid) for him to come on 1 November.We gave a deposit of £227.60. In the meantime our general repair man came and said it was far too much and we shoud cancel the order. Unfortunately it was a weekend so we rang first thing on the Monday 1st November 2011, before the 7 day cooling off period. He said he would have to deduct something for the products that had been bought.
In spite of sending two Recorded and Special Delivery letters we have not received any payment. I have been advised that we are entitled to the full amount. How long should we wait before we go to the Small Claims procedure and how do we go about it. We are both Pensioners (87-77).
Many thanks for your help.
Be careful and take good advice when making a claim through the small claims court. The defendant may engage a solicitor, and even a barrister, to fight your claim. You could lose your case, or it could even be thrown out, and you could then be ordered to pay the other side’s costs, which could be significant.
Please can you advise I have had bifold doors fitted and they open inwards not outward as stipulated by the architects plans the builder is owed money for other works but we are refusing to pay him until the doors are corrected
I loaned my mother £600 to decorate her house with money I had received from my backdated tax credits, we agreed that the money would be paid back by way of reducing my dig money by £50.00 a month for ten months (£150 instead of £200), my mother used all the money and decorated her house, I paid one months digs which took the debt to £550 then a week later she kicked me out leaving me homeless and is now refusing to pay any of the money back, I have the evidence that it was an agreed loan via text along with the statement of the money coming out from my account and her bank have the pay-in slip signed by me to show the money going into her account signed by me on the exact same day within minutes of each other. My mother is on the sick as she is Bipolar but is Technically still employed by the DWP as well as living with her husband who also claims benefit whilst working cash in hand with my brother at times, is there any way I could get help to even get some of it but hopefully all of it?
I took out a contract with O2 and had to pay a £150 deposit because of my bad credit rating. I cancelled said contract a day later and was told I would receive my £150 deposit back within 14 working days. However, after not receiving anything after 15 working days I contacted O2 again. this time I was told it would take 5 to 10 working days for my deposit to be repaid into my bank account. This period of time has since passed and I have still to receive the £150 deposit from O2. If the show were on the other foot I would be enduring debt collectors chasing me for the money. How do I get this money owed to me back?
I do not work, am living off benefits as I am disabled. How much would it cost me to take O2 to the small claims court to get my £150 deposit back?
Hi we order a black bed from a furniture store a week ago yesterday the deliver it when they were going to set it up I saw it was brown I told the delivery people that I don’t want it I ask for a black also on the contract it says black I show it to the guy he said that he cannot take back the bed that I have to call the store and they will come and get it. When I call the store they told me that what i order and that they can’t do anything. How can i get my money back if that wasen’t what I ask for also the boxes is in my living room and I have a 1 year old baby in the house
I am a practicing physiotherapist and am owed approximately £100 from a client who is seemingly extremely wealthy. I have made many attemtps to recover this amount. He’s always apologetic, promising to pay and then doesn’t. He’s lately been ignoring my communications. Is it worth pursuing this?
Hi,
i apply for indian visa myself and it refused with note that will give me reason of it in clearance, My engagement was fix on 20th jan2012 in india that-why i was in hurry to re-apply for india visa,and start searching online and went global-visas company for reapplication i pay £150 consultation fee and £650 for re-application.After two week time i got visa in clearance and i let them(global visa company)know in good time that i got visa and i don’t need to start new application after that i ask them for refund my money but they stop answering my phone calls i went they office consulter told me that he speak to owner and he said we will not refund money and start suggesting me to apply for different country visa or ask your friend or relative for use it, i was quite worried and suggest my sis to apply for her visa from them and sent her details to them, but they do not speck nicely and been very rood if i call from deferent phone otherwise they do not answer my phone.just email me that they will contact me but they don’t i don’t want to carry on any application with them and want to claim for my money back£650
please suggest me is there anyway i could get help to get my full money back and how much it will be cost for claim?
Hi I have paid a company called simple HGV for a driving course and test but they have not contacted myself about my times and dates of when this should take place even though they knew from the start I wanted to do this in the first 2 weeks of April 2012 and had booked holiday from work to do this then I have been unable to contact them by phone and sent letters to them with no response can I take them to the small claims court to get my money back
Can you please clarify if there is a time limit on making a Small Claims case???
Scenario – two people are going out & 1 lends them money during this time. They break up. Are you able to claim these monies back & if so is there a time limit in making this claim???