Steps to follow

• Do you feel you are owed money by someone and all attempts to resolve the dispute without resorting to court action have failed?
• If you decide to take the matter to court in England and Wales and the amount you’re owed is less than £5000 (£3000 in Scotland; £2000 in Northern Ireland), you can usually pursue the matter in the small claims court.
• The small claims court is a faster, easier and less formal method of resolving a dispute than other parts of the courts system – and you don’t need a solicitor to bring your case (you may want to take legal advice before you bring your claim, however. This could be free from a solicitor if you are eligible for legal aid or if you consult Citizens Advice).
• If your claim is complicated the judge may decide a case cannot be heard as a small claim, even if it is within the limit. If so, you’d need to pursue your case in the full county court. This path is more costly and time-consuming and you’ll probably need a solicitor to prepare your case.
• When preparing your case, pull together as much evidence as you can including any relevant paperwork; letters; receipts; photographs; notes of phone conversations plus evidence of any steps you’ve taken to try and resolve the problem.
• It costs up to £435 to bring a case in England and Wales (£100 in Northern Ireland; £44 in Scotland), but this can be claimed back from the other side if you win.
• You’ll need to fill in a claim form which can be picked up from your local county court or done online (see money claim site) in England and Wales. You need the full name and address of the defendant or the address of a registered office if it’s a company. Summarise your dispute, provide all your evidence and submit it to the court which will log it and assign it a number.
• You then need to serve the claim on the defendant within four months, via post, fax, or in person. Or you can leave it with the court to serve.
• The defendant must respond within 14 days of the date by which they should have received your claim. This will either be their defence or an acknowledgement of service (the latter gives them 14 more days to respond).
• If the defendant doesn’t file a defence, fill in form N227 and ask the court to enter judgment for you.
• If a defence is filed, the court will assign a date and you’ll need to fill in an allocation questionnaire which is used to assess the complexity of a case.
• At the hearing, both sides outline their side of the story to the judge who will give his/ her decision and, if you win, state how long the defendant has to settle the claim and who needs to pay what in costs.
• If the defendant still doesn’t pay up, you might have to take enforcement proceedings which means further court action to force them to pay.

What to watch out for

Only bring a case to court as a last resort – the judge may frown on your case if you haven’t explored other options such as complaining to the other party/ ombudsman/ relevant regulatory body. It’s a good idea anyway to write to the other party telling them that court action will be launched unless you can sort the matter out by a set deadline. Often the threat of legal action will prompt a debtor to settle.

Solicitor’s top tip

To support your case, you may need to get an opinion about it from an expert witness. This will cost you extra but if you win the case you should be able to reclaim the fees you’ve paid out from the defendant.

Useful links

Free advice

About Small Claims
HM Courts Service
Court Room Advice
Collecting Debts
Enforcement Proceedings

Online services

Money Claim Online
Money Claim Manager

Useful articles

Recovering debts from other people or companies
Can I represent myself
Managing debtors
Choices if you cannot afford a lawyer