The Small Claims Court

The resolution of minor monetary disputes

The Small Claims Court is a relatively quick, economical and simple way of resolving disputes – generally, you don't need a solicitor and the hearings are less formal than at regular courts.

Instances where consumers can take a dispute to the Small Claims Court include:

• when someone owes you money
• bad workmanship
• damage to your property
• road traffic accidents
• personal injury
• goods not supplied
• faulty goods

To be eligible for Small Claims, your claim must be worth less than £5,000, unless it concerns personal injury, in which case your claim must be for no more than £1,000.

Before you can take the Small Claims track you must have attempted to resolve your dispute with the defendant directly. Most companies will have a complaints procedure in place for you to follow, and an ombudsman for you to refer the case to if the dispute goes unresolved. If you have gone through this whole process without reaching a satisfactory resolution then you can escalate your claim and follow the small claims procedure.

You may need to present to the judge evidence of your prior attempts to resolve the matter, so ensure that you have copies of all correspondence sent to and from the relevant company including letters, telephone notes and any other documentation that you feel would support your case.

How the Small Claims Court works

In a nutshell the procedure is to complete a Claim Form; ask the Court to issue the proceedings and they then serve the Claim on the defendant. The defendant must then respond within a certain time and if he fails to do so, you can apply for judgment in your favour.

If the defendant does answer, the case will have a preliminary hearing where the District Judge will tell both sides what else they need to do before the date that he sets for the case to be heard. If it gets to a hearing then you will need to prepare your argument carefully and have answers ready for any argument that the other side has to counter your claim.

You will need to produce your evidence of your contract with the defendant and in what way they have breached the contract. Just work through things slowly and logically and try not to get too nervous or agitated, no matter what the other side may say.

Usually the District Judge will make his decision at the end of the hearing, and if it is in your favour then you will have a judgment against the other party, which hopefully they will pay up without any problem. If they do not then there are various ways that you can enforce the judgment.

You will need to be organised and determined to take a case to the Small Claims Court and win, but don’t be afraid to enforce your consumer rights.

Small Claims Court fees

To file a claim at the Small Claims Court you need to pay a court fee, the amount depends on how much you are claiming for. The costs at the time of this guide are shown below.

Amount claimed	Fee payable
£1 - £300	£20
£301 - £500	£50
£501 - £1000	£80
£1001 - £5000	£110

Where to start with Small Claims

Claimants can start a claim by filling in a claim form. These are available from local courts and the HM Courts Service website.

Certain claims, usually ones for a fixed amount of money can also be filed online through www.moneyclaim.co.uk .

If your claim is particularly complex, or you just need general advice on how to start a small claim, your local Citizens’ Advice Bureau can give you free guidance.

Claims of over £5000

If your claim is too large for the Small Claims Court to handle, then you may wish to consult a solicitor for advice on how to proceed. To find an expert consumer law in your area, use our free Find a Solicitor service.