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Uk Small Claims Court Fees – If you’re considering using small claims court to get your money back from a business, follow this step-by-step guide
You can use the small claims process for most consumer contractual issues, from unfairly issued parking tickets to retailers refusing to take responsibility for their defective goods.
Uk Small Claims Court Fees
The maximum you can claim in England and Wales is £10,000. In Scotland and Northern Ireland it is £5,000.
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There are a few exceptions to this – lower limits of £1,000 apply for home impairment and personal injury.
Even if your claim is within the limit, a judge may decide that the case cannot be processed as a small claim if it is deemed too complex.
Pursuing claims outside the small claims process can be more complicated, more expensive, and take longer. In addition, you usually need a lawyer to prepare your case.
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Using the small claims process should cost you relatively little in fees. This is due, among other things, to the fact that you present the case yourself, so that you do not have to pay for a lawyer.
The total amount you have to pay depends on how much you claim and where. Use these links to find out the latest charges for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In England or Wales, you can visit HM Courts & Tribunals Service (Her Majesty’s Court Service) online or go to your local court to get a claim form and other documents explaining the process.
Make sure you have followed all the steps set out in the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct before starting legal proceedings.
How To Use The Small Claims Court
If you have taken all necessary steps to avoid litigation but have not been able to resolve the situation, you must complete the necessary claim forms.
In Scotland the small claims process is called the Simple Procedure. A claim is made in the sheriff court by a claimant and does not require a lawyer.
In Northern Ireland, you can get an application form from the Courts Office, the Trading Standards Office, the Citizens Advice Bureau, the local advice center or the Northern Ireland Courts website to start your claim. The claim can be filed at any court office or mailed to the Civil Procedure Center along with the appropriate fee.
You must have the defendant’s full name and address. If the defendant is a company, provide the address of its registered office.
Small Claims Court
You can use the gov.uk website to get information about a business for free, including its registered address.
You must fully state the reason for your claim and the amount you are claiming from the defendant.
You must give the defendant a chance to send a defense – a brief explanation of why they dispute your claim.
The person or company that owes you money must respond to your claim. You will be sent a letter or email telling you the date by which they will respond – usually within 14 days.
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If they file an acknowledgment of service within 14 days, they have another 14 days to file a defense.
Upon receipt of a defense, a court official will issue a notice of proposed award along with a guidance questionnaire.
Only in cases where a party is personally a party to the proceedings (eg acting for themselves) will the court issue the relevant guidance questionnaire.
The term “directions” refers to the things that the Court orders or directs the parties to do before the final hearing takes place.
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All parties will be required to serve a copy of the completed questionnaire and any other documents required by the notice on all other parties.
If the other side doesn’t file a defense, you can ask the court to order the defendant to pay if they don’t respond to your claim.
The court can grant your claim in full or set a date for a hearing to decide how much you should receive.
If the other side files a defense, you will have to wait until the court assigns a date.
Small Claims Court Alternative
You will be asked if you want to use the court’s small claims mediation service to reach an agreement with the defendant.
Mediation is not mandatory, but it can be an effective way to resolve your dispute before going to court.
You will be asked if you want to be referred to a mediation service after you start a small claims court in England and Wales.
If you unreasonably refuse to attempt mediation, it can be held against you in court. This is at the judge’s discretion.
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For the mediation itself, the mediator will ensure that both parties are aware that the process is not a judicial hearing, and the mediator will assume a neutral role.
The outcome of the mediation may be something other than money – possibly an apology or an agreement that a trader must return and carry out the faulty work again.
Not all mediations result in settlement of the dispute. But if you sign a settlement agreement at the end of the mediation, it is binding.
In the small claims court system, it is standard practice for both parties to exchange evidence 14 days before the hearing, at which point it may be easier to settle the claim out of court.
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One thing to remember though is that rules introduced in 2017 mean you can only cancel a hearing and get a full refund of your fees up to 28 days before your scheduled hearing date.
You may also need to pay for an expert to provide evidence to support your case – for example, a mechanic to say that a problem with your car should not occur in a car of that age.
If you win, in most cases the defendant will have to pay these fees on top of the amount you claim.
The upper limit of the amount recoverable for expert fees in a case brought to the Small Claims Court is £750.
What Happens If You Don’t Pay A Small Claims Judgement?
You should agree with the other party that they are happy with the expert you plan to use, and you should keep the expert’s fees proportionate to your claim.
If you win your small claims case, the judge will tell you how long the defendant has to pay the amount you’ve been awarded – this is often a month. Failure to pay according to the specified terms means that the claim remains registered for up to six years.
This amount can include expenses such as your court fees, reasonable travel expenses, the cost of overnight accommodation if applicable and up to £90 for loss of earnings if you had to take unpaid time off work to attend the hearing.
You can ask for the same for any witnesses you have called, as long as it was necessary for them to attend the hearing.
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If you lose your small claims lawsuit, you may have to pay the other party’s costs, but only if the other side asks the court to pay them and the judge agrees. You will also have to comply with the terms of any court orders the judge makes against you.
You have the right to appeal the decision and try the case again in a higher court. Before taking this step, it is important that you seek professional legal advice.
If you win a court decision, but the other side still won’t pay, you can start enforcement proceedings. But this can be a hard and time-consuming process.
This is the most familiar way of enforcing a court order and usually involves an instruction to the court to send in bailiffs or bailiffs to seize goods from the debtor. You must pay a fee of £110 to the court for this service and complete an N323 form to request enforcement.
Free Small Claims Demand Letter
With this option, you must provide the bailiffs with an address for the defendant. If when they go to seize goods at the address and find nothing there, you may have to re-issue a warrant and pay a fee of £121. In this case, you must also complete an N445 form as a formal reissue of a warrant.
If the defendant is in the process of offering or making a payment, they can ask the court to have the warrant suspended. If you do not agree that this should be the case, you and the defendant will be asked back to court.
If you are dealing with an employee of a business and they owe you more than £50, you can ask the court to send an earnings garnishment order to their employer.
The order will order the defendant’s employer to continually deduct a certain amount from the employee’s salary until the debt is paid. This money will then be forwarded to you.
