The small claims court is built for people who do not have a solicitor. Here is how it works for an unpaid invoice, what it costs, and the part most people do not plan for.
When a customer simply will not pay, the small claims court is often the next thing people think of. It is a sensible thought. It is designed for claims that individuals and small businesses can bring themselves, without a solicitor, and for most unpaid invoices it is the route the court would use anyway.
It is not a separate building or a separate court. It is the small claims track of the County Court, and under the Civil Procedure Rules it is the normal track for any claim worth £10,000 or less.
Before you issue a claim, you are expected to send a letter before action. Skipping it is the most common mistake people make, and it can cost them even if they win.
If the customer is an individual or a sole trader, the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims applies. They must be given 30 days from the date at the top of the letter to respond, and the letter must enclose an information sheet, a reply form and a financial statement form. Between two businesses the protocol does not apply, and the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct expects a reasonable period instead, which it describes as 14 days in a straightforward case.
A lot of debts are paid at this stage. A letter that sets out exactly what will happen next is often the first thing that makes the debt feel real to the other side.
Claims for money can be made online through the government's money claim service. You will need the correct name and address of the person or company you are claiming against, the amount, and a short explanation of why it is owed.
Get the name right: if you are claiming against a limited company, use its registered name and check its company number. A claim against a trading name, or against the wrong company in a group, can leave you with a judgment you cannot enforce.
The court fee depends on how much you are claiming. At the time of writing, the gov.uk fee table for claims up to the small claims limit is:
Court fees change from time to time, so check the current figure on gov.uk before you claim. There are further fees if the claim goes to a hearing or if you need the court to enforce a judgment.
You can include interest in the claim. For a business to business debt, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 lets you claim interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, plus a fixed sum of £40, £70 or £100 depending on the size of the debt. For other debts, gov.uk guidance says the rate is usually 8%.
Many claims never get this far. The customer pays, or does not respond and you can ask for judgment. If they do defend it, you may be offered mediation, which gov.uk describes as potentially quicker and cheaper than a hearing. If it goes to a hearing, a claim under £10,000 can be heard in a judge's room rather than a full courtroom, and you can represent yourself.
What decides it is evidence: the agreement, the invoice, proof of what was delivered, and the record of your chasing. The work you did in the early stages is what wins it here.
This is the part people do not plan for. Winning gets you a court order. It does not move the money. If the customer still does not pay, you have to ask the court to enforce the judgment, and pay a fee to do it. The options include sending bailiffs under a warrant of control, deductions from wages, freezing money in an account, and a charge on land or property.
Whether any of those work depends on the debtor having something to collect. That is worth thinking about before you start, not after.
For a business, the real cost of a small claim is rarely the fee. It is the hours spent preparing it, chasing it and enforcing it, usually by someone whose time is better spent elsewhere. Passing the debt to a collection agency before court often gets it resolved without a claim at all, and keeps court as the step after, rather than the first resort.
Yes. You can claim money owed by a person or a business through the County Court. Under the Civil Procedure Rules, the small claims track is the normal track for claims worth £10,000 or less. Send a letter before action first, because the court expects it.
The court fee depends on the amount claimed. At the time of writing, gov.uk lists £35 for claims up to £300, rising to £455 for claims between £5,000.01 and £10,000. There is a further fee if you need the court to enforce a judgment.
No. Gov.uk guidance says you can represent yourself, and most small claims are run that way. Claims under £10,000 can be heard in a judge's room rather than a full courtroom.
You can ask the court to enforce it, for a fee. The options on gov.uk include sending bailiffs under a warrant of control, deductions from the debtor's wages, freezing money in their account, and a charge on their land or property.
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