ADVICE CHANNEL
Making a Claim in the Small Claims Court
A Step By Step Guide
Why make a small claim?
If someone owes you money, if you are not happy with a service or have received faulty goods, then making a small claim could be your next available step.
Making a small claim is a designed to be quick, easy and cheap way of settling disputes without using a solicitor. You can claim up to £5,000 (£2,000 in Northern Ireland) or £1,000 if it is a personal injury claim.
Here are some examples of the types of cases people bring to a small claims court:
* Bad workmanship
* Damage to property
* Road traffic accidents
* Personal injury
* Goods not supplied
* Faulty goods
Before going to court
You should try to settle out of court before you go ahead and make your claim.
Write a letter explaining what your grievance is, explain your attempts at reaching a settlement, and say what compensation you will accept. Your letter should be firm and explain your claim fully with what you require from the defendant and a clear notice that you intend to start proceedings if you do not receive a satisfactory reply.
Add that if you do not hear from them by a certain date, you will start court proceedings. Keep a copy of the letter for your reference.
Example letter:
Ms A Nuva
Anyville
Where Town
WH8 7JP
10th March 2003
LETTER BEFORE ACTION
Dear Mr Thomas
You came to repair my washing machine on 3rd March 2003 – which seemed to be overheating on a cool wash cycle.
You spent three-and-a-half hours fixing the problem and charged me £96.50+VAT, which I paid in cash on the same day.
However, the problem is now worse than before and all cycles are overheating and shrinking my clothes. I have tried on numerous occasions for you to come round and fix the problem, but as yet you have failed.
I have now found someone else to fix the problem which cost me £194.58. This is work that should not have been carried out at all and I feel that you are liable for all costs incurred.
TAKE NOTICE
If you do not pay me the above sum by 31st March 2003, I will issue a county court claim against you.
Yours sincerely
Miss V Angry
Making a claim
If you do not hear back after issuing a letter then you can start proceedings.
To start a claim you must fill out Form N1 (claim form), which can be downloaded and printed from the court service website.
Forms are also available from the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, local courts and legal stationers.
You can make a claim online too. The court service website will take you through the steps. You can pay your court fee online, so have credit card details ready.
You can make a claim in any county court, but be aware that the courts can be transferred if the defendant lives closer to another court.
On the form you will have to explain exactly what has happened to you and how much you are claiming for. If you can back up your case with evidence, such as photos, witness statements, do so.
Read all guidance forms on how to complete it before you start filling in the form. If you have any problems with the form your local Citizens’ Advice Bureau will be able to help you.
Because it is a legal document some wording of the form can be quite complicated. Start thinking in legal terms. You are the claimant; the person you are claiming from is the defendant.
Remember to attach any extra documentation that you feel is necessary to support your case.
Once you have filled in the N1 form, photocopy it, along with the defendant’s notes for guidance.
You should have:
* One copy for yourself
* One copy for the court
* One copy for each defendant that you are claiming from
The court service has a money claim online service and a list of forms that may be useful.
Interest
If you have had to wait a long time for your case to be sorted out, you can claim interest from the defendant.
Details of how much you are allowed to claim depend on the amount you are claiming. The form EX302 will have details and is available in courts, from Citizens’ Advice or the court service website.
Fees
You will also be asked to pay a small fee when you make your claim. This amount depends on how much you are actually claiming for.
If your claim is:
Under £300 your fee will be £30
£300-£500 - £50
£500-£1,000 - £80
£1,000-£5,000 - £120
£5,000-£15,000 - £250 (under the Fast-track system)
£15,000-£50,000 - £400 (under the Multi-track system)
£50,000-£100,000 - £600
£100,000-£150,000 - £700
Above £150,000 - £800
The Fast and Multi track systems are not part of the small claim scheme. If you intend on claiming more money then you could incur more financial costs if you lose the case.
Depending on your circumstances, these fees can be waived. Check with staff at your local county court.
The response pack
Once you have sent in your form, either in writing or online, the claim form and “response pack” will be sent to the defendant by first class post.
The response pack includes:
* An admission form
* A defence form
* An acknowledgement form
If you are the defendant
The small claims system gives you, the defendant, three options.
1. You can pay the total amount, including the court and solicitor’s fees. You must respond within 14 days.
2. You can admit that you owe all or part of the claim. Leaflets N9A and N9B will explain. You can make arrangements with the court. If you cannot pay immediately, you can make agreements through the court to pay in instalments.
3. You can dispute the claim. This must be done within 14 days, if you need more time return the acknowledgment form. If the case is disputed it will then go to court.
The response pack that has been sent to you will explain what you need to do and which forms to fill in.
As the defendant, if you do not send a defence to the court, the claimant can ask for an order to be made against you. If this happens, the parties involved should consult an experienced adviser, for example someone from a Citizens’ Advice Bureau.
The hearing
The court will advise you of the hearing date by post. It is really important that you prepare thoroughly and carefully for this.
Important points you should include:
* Note any important information in date order. Have documentation ready to support your case.
* Take along damaged or faulty goods, such as clothes ruined by a faulty washing machine (if this isn’t possible take photographs).
* Any relevant correspondence
* Any witnesses you have mentioned in your evidence must attend court too.
The hearing can also be held in private chambers if both parties agree to it. If not it will be held in a normal small court.
The judge will usually want to find out both sides of the story. He will then make a decision depending on the evidence. The judge will usually give brief reasons for the judgement.
If you are the claimant and you win your case, you will get the court fees back as well as what you claimed. You can also include certain expenses as well, such as interest, travelling costs and other expenses.
If you lose, you will not get the court fees back. But it is unlikely that you will have to pay any other costs.
Appealing
If you want to appeal, you must file a notice of appeal within 14 days of your case. A fee is payable although this could be waived in cases of financial hardship.
You will probably need legal assistance if you wish to appeal against the decision. The Citizen’s Advice Bureau will be able to help you, or you can appoint a solicitor.
The courts in Scotland
In Scotland they run a similar small claim system in what is called the sheriff courts, for amounts up to £750.
The process is very similar to the one in the rest of the UK, with the most common types of claims for things like rent arrears, compensation for faulty goods or services and wages owed.
The person making the claim is known as the pursuer, and the defendant is known as the defender.
If you are applying to the sheriff court, you must apply to the nearest court where the person against whom the claim is being made lives or trades.
The procedure
You must complete a small claim summons (Form 1a) which can be found on the Scottish Courts website.
If you have any trouble filling out the forms you can get help and advice from the sheriff clerk.
Once completed, the forms are given to the sheriff clerk along with your booking fee (this amount depends on how much you are claiming, but is normally about £36). When the summons is served there is an additional charge of £24.
The court will then inform you of your hearing date and will send the necessary information to the defender.
If the defender denies the claim, it will go to a hearing. If the pursuer does not attend, the case could be dismissed, and if the defender doesn’t attend, they could lose the case.
The sheriff will make a judgement, known as the decree, after hearing both sides of the story. When the decree is granted in favour of the pursuer, they can take further legal action to force payment if the defender does not pay. If the case is not settled on the hearing date it can be continued.
If it goes to a continued hearing, you must bring all evidence and correspondence with you. Remember to prepare your case thoroughly. If any witnesses are involved this will be their opportunity to put their side forward.
