If you wish to make a civil claim for £15,000 or less, it must be started in the county court. If the case is a simple one, the county court will decide to use the small claims procedure and will allocate the case to the'small claims track'. In most cases people start a small claims action without the help of a solicitor, as solicitors' costs are usually not granted to the successful party by the court.

 

The most common types of claim in the small claims track are:-

• compensation for faulty services provided, for example, by builders, dry cleaners, garages and so on
  
• compensation for faulty goods, for example, televisions or washing machines which go wrong
  
• disputes between landlords and tenants, for example, rent arrears or compensation for not doing repairs
  
• wages owed or money in lieu of notice.

If the value of a case is £5,000 (£2,000 in Northern Ireland) or less, it will generally be allocated to the small claims track. However, if it is a personal injury claim, it will be allocated to the small claims track only if the value of the claim for the personal injuries themselves is not more than £1,000.

 

If the claimant is a tenant in England or Wales, and is claiming against their landlord because they want their landlord to carry out repairs or other work to the premises and the cost of the repairs or work is £1,000 or less, the case will be allocated to the small claims track.

 

In Northern Ireland claims involving personal injury are dealt with by the County Court.

 

In some cases, even if the value of the case is more than £5,000 (£2,000 in Northern Ireland) and both parties agree, the court could allocate the case to the small claims track. If this happens the usual rule about costs does not apply and if the claimant loses the case, they may have to pay the defendant's solicitor's costs. However, if the claimant wins the case, the defendant could be ordered to pay the claimant's costs.

 

 

You must try and settle a claim before taking court action. If you do not try to settle first, the court may penalise you. So, for example, if a DVD player does not work, there is no point in applying to the court immediately for compensation - you must contact the retailer which sold it first to try to solve the problem, and only use the court if you cannot get the problem solved by negotiation.

 

The court will expect you to make your claim in writing, giving the other person a reasonable time to reply - a month is usual. You should also warn them that you will take court action if they fail to reply within the given time.

 

As a claimant you start a claim by filling in a claim form. Claim forms are available from local courts, legal stationers, and, in England and Wales from the internet (www.courtservice.gov.uk ). In England and Wales, claims for a fixed amount of money can be issued online (www.courtservice.gov.uk/mcol ). Usually claims will be issued, printed and sent to the defendant on the day the claim is submitted. In England and Wales, court fees for online claims must be paid by credit or debit card.

 

The form asks for details of the claimant and the defendant and how much is being claimed. The claim form includes space for the particulars of claim which should be used to set out the details of the claim, but if there is not enough room, they can be set out on a separate piece of paper. In some circumstances, as a claimant you might need extra time to complete the particulars of claim. You have the right to send the particulars of claim to the defendant separately, but no later than 14 days after the claim form.

 

As the claimant, you may be able to claim interest on your claim. If so, you must give details of the interest claimed in the particulars of claim. Also, in the 'amount claimed' box on the front of the claim form, you must add after the sum of the claim 'plus interest at 8%'. In a personal injury claim, the particulars of claim must include the your date of birth and brief details of the injuries and you must attach a list of any past expenses and losses that you want to claim for, and any expenses and losses that you expect to have in the future. In Northern Ireland, the small claims procedure does not deal with personal injury.

 

If the details of the case are too complicated to fit the space on the form, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, a solicitor or a Citizens Advice Bureau.

 

As the claimant you should send or take two copies (three copies in Northern Ireland), of the claim form to the court where you want to start court action.

 

You should keep an extra copy for your own records.  You must also take or send the court fee.  The fee depends on the amount of money claimed.  In some circumstances the fee will be waived, for example, if you are receiving income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance or Pension Credit.

 

Some people who are in receipt of working tax credit may also be entitled to have the fee waived.  If you do not receive any of these benefits, but would be in financial hardship if you had to pay the fee, the fee may also be waived.  The court will stamp the claim form and in most cases serve it on the defendant.  It will give you a notice of issue, a document with the case number on it.

 

Usually the court will serve the claim form by sending it to the defendant by first class post. The defendant will be deemed to receive it on the second day after posting. As the claimant, if you want to serve it yourself, you can ask the court to give it back to you once it has been stamped so that you can serve it. There are a number of forms that must be sent with the claim form.

 

As the defendant, if you are not defending the case, you may accept that you owe the money claimed. If so, and you can pay the money immediately, you should send it to the claimant directly.

 

As the defendant, if you accept that you owe the money, but you need time to pay, you can propose an arrangement, for example, that you pay the money in instalments or all the money in one lump sum at a specified future date. If the claimant accepts this offer, they will have to return a form to court requesting 'judgment on admission'. As the defendant, if you do not keep to the arrangement, the claimant can take enforcement action.

 

As the claimant, if you do not accept the offer, you must give your reasons and a court official will decide what a reasonable arrangement should be. The court will send both parties an order for payment ('judgment for claimant after determination').

 

As the claimant, if you are not happy with the order, you should write to the court giving your reasons and you must send a copy of the letter to the defendant. A judge will then decide what is reasonable for the defendant to pay. In Northern Ireland, the Registrar will examine the case and decide what a reasonable offer should be. If the defendant does not keep to the arrangement, the claimant can take enforcement action.

 

As the defendant, if you are defending the case, you have to respond to the claim form and the particulars of claim within 14 days of the date of service (this is the second day after posting). If the particulars of claim were served after the claim form, you must respond within 14 days of the date of service of the particulars of claim. You must respond by filling in the defence form which was sent to you with the claim form.

 

As the defendant, if you do not send a defence in to the court, the claimant can ask for an order to be made against you. If this happens, the parties involved should consult a solicitor or other competent adviser i.e. Citzens Advice Bureau.

 

As the defendant, you can send your defence to the court. However, if you need more time to prepare a defence, you can send back an acknowledgement of service and then the defence within 14 days (the acknowledgement of service would be sent to the defendant initially with the claim form).

 

When the defence is returned to the court, the court will send an allocation questionnaire to both the claimant and defendant. This must be returned no later than the date specified on it. In England and Wales, as the claimant, when you return the allocation questionnaire, you have to pay a fee although this may be waived on financial grounds. The court will use the information given on the allocation questionnaire to decide which track the case will be allocated to.

 

In England and Wales, when the court has decided to allocate the case to the small claims track, the parties will be sent a notice of allocation. This form will tell the parties what they have to do to prepare for the final hearing. These instructions are called 'directions'. For example, the parties may be told to send copies of all the documents they intend to use to the court and to the other party at least 14 days before the hearing is due to take place.

 

 

There are standard directions for a number of common cases, for example, if the claim is to do with a holiday, there are standard directions about the documents that have to be sent to the other party. If the claimant wants to show a video as evidence in a holiday claim, they have to contact the court to make the arrangements for the video to be shown at the hearing.

 

The notice of allocation or notice of hearing in Northern Ireland, will usually specify the time, date and place where the hearing will take place and how much time has been allowed for it.

 

As the claimant, if you want to attend the hearing, but cannot, you can write to the court and apply for a later date to be set. A fee is payable for this application and the court will agree only if there are good reasons.

 

As the claimant, you may not wish to attend the court hearing, for example, if the travel costs of getting to the hearing are higher than your claim merits. In this case, you can write to the court to ask it to deal with the claim in your absence. The letter must arrive at court no later than seven days before the hearing date, and a copy must be sent to the defendant. In Northern Ireland, a defendant must attend the court hearing as their absence may be held against them. The letter will ensure that the judge take into account any written evidence that you have sent to the court and the defendant.

 

Sometimes the court will not set a final hearing date at the allocation stage. In England and Wales, it could instead:-

• propose that the claim is dealt with without a hearing. If the parties do not object, the case will be decided on the papers only. If the parties do not reply by the date given, the judge may treat the lack of reply as consent
  
• hold a preliminary hearing. This could happen if the claim requires special directions which the judge wants to explain to the parties personally, or where the judge feels that the claimant (or the defendant) has no real prospect of succeeding and wants to sort out the claim as soon as possible to save everyone time and expense, or if the papers do not show any reasonable grounds for bringing the claim. A preliminary hearing, therefore, could become a final hearing where the matter is decided once and for all.

In Northern Ireland, a hearing is convened and a summary judgement made.

 

It is important to prepare the case carefully - the court has to be convinced. The following points are a general guide to what preparation should be made. But if you are not confident about how to present your case, you should consider taking someone else along to help, and/or getting specialist advice first. The main points are:-

• if you have a low income you can use the legal help scheme (Green form scheme in Northern Ireland), to cover the cost of legal advice (but not representation) from a solicitor. This advice can include getting expert reports, for example, on faulty goods (but a report may be used in court only with the permission of the court)
  
• notes about the case should be set out in date order. It is very useful to note down what your case is, for example, the points to make, the documents which are relevant, and what they prove. A list of all documents, and other evidence is useful to make sure nothing is forgotten
  
• damaged or faulty goods should be taken as evidence, if possible, for instance, clothes ruined by a washing machine, shoes etc. If this is not possible, photographs could be used instead
• evidence of expenses should be prepared and any receipts taken along
  
• all letters (and any other relevant documents including photographs) about the case should be ready for the hearing
  
• in most cases the claimant and the defendant may be the only witnesses. If the court has agreed that other witnesses can attend, they must attend. If a witness has difficulty getting time off work, it may be helpful to serve a witness summons. The court can explain how to do this.

The final hearing is usually held in public but it could be held in private if the parties agree, or if the court believes it necessary in the interests of justice.

 

Hearings in the small claims track are informal and strict rules of evidence do not apply. The judge can adopt any method of dealing with the hearing that they consider to be fair, and they may ask questions of the witnesses before allowing anyone else to do so. The judge may limit the time that parties or witnesses have to give evidence.

 

A lay representative has the right to speak on behalf of a party at the final hearing, but only if that party attends the hearing.

 

If you do not speak English as your first language, you might find it helpful to have an interpreter help you to put your case. The court will not be able to assist in finding an interpreter. If you need help with finding an interpreter, you should consult an experienced adviser for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.

 

At the end of the hearing, the judge will give the judgment. The judge has to give reasons for their judgment. The reasons must be given as simply and briefly as possible, and usually will be given orally to the parties present at the hearing. However, the judge may give them later either in writing or at a later hearing.

 

If you are the claimant and you win your case, you will get the court fees back as well as the claim, and you can ask for certain expenses also. If you lose, you will not get the court fees back. But it is unlikely that you will have to pay any other costs.

 

You may appeal against a judgement in the small claims track only if the court made a mistake in law or there was a serious irregularity in the proceedings. If you want to appeal, you must file a notice of appeal within 14 days. A fee is payable although this could be waived in cases of financial hardship.

 

If you want to appeal against a decision in the small claims track, you should consult a solicitor.

As the defendant, if you lose the case and you do not pay, the claimant will have to go back to the same court to apply for an order to get the money. This is called enforcing the judgment. As the claimant, you will have to pay a fee to start enforcement proceedings.