Getting your money back through the small claims court

Someone owes you money and has stopped answering. It might be a builder who took a deposit, a customer who never paid an invoice, or a private seller who sent the wrong thing. In England and Wales there is no separate "small claims court": you make a claim in the county court, and lower-value cases are then dealt with on the small claims track, which is designed to be used without a lawyer.

First, write a proper letter

Before going to court you are expected to try to resolve the dispute. The court's Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct asks the claimant to write to the other side with concise details of the claim: the basis of the claim, a summary of the facts, what you want, and how any amount is calculated. The other side should reply within a reasonable time — 14 days in a straightforward case.

This letter is usually called a letter before claim. If you skip it, the court can take that into account when deciding costs or interest, even if you win. Businesses claiming a debt from an individual have a separate, more detailed protocol to follow.

Keep copies of everything: the contract or quote, invoices, bank transfers, photographs and messages.

Is it a small claim?

Under the Civil Procedure Rules, the small claims track is the normal track for claims worth not more than £10,000. There are lower limits for personal injury claims and for tenants' claims about housing repairs. The judge decides the track once the claim is defended, taking into account both the value and how complicated the case is.

On the small claims track the costs the losing side can be ordered to pay are strictly limited, mainly to court fees and a few fixed sums. That keeps the risk low if you lose, but it also means that if you pay a lawyer, you will normally not get those fees back.

Making the claim

You can claim online through Money Claim Online (the GOV.UK "make a money claim" service) or by post. You need the correct name and address of the person or business you are claiming against, and you need to know how much you are claiming. You can usually add interest.

There is a court fee to issue the claim, and further fees later, for example for a hearing. The fee depends on the amount you claim. Check the current figures on GOV.UK's court fees page rather than relying on an old figure, and look at Help with Fees if you are on a low income or receive certain benefits. If you win, the court can order the other side to repay the court fees you paid.

Mediation

If you claim £10,000 or less and the defendant disputes it, you will be told that you must attend the Small Claims Mediation Service. It is free. A mediator from HM Courts and Tribunals Service speaks to each side separately by phone, in an appointment of up to an hour, to see whether a settlement can be agreed. An agreement reached there is legally binding.

If mediation does not settle it, the case goes to a hearing before a judge, held in the judge's room or a courtroom at the county court. You can represent yourself.

Winning is not the same as being paid

A judgment tells the defendant to pay. If they still do not, you have to ask the court to enforce the judgment, which costs a further fee. The main options are:

• a warrant of control, sending enforcement agents (bailiffs) to collect the money;
• an attachment of earnings order, taking payments from the debtor's wages;
• a third-party debt order, freezing money in the debtor's bank account;
• a charging order, securing the debt against land or property.

Before suing, think about whether the other side can pay. A judgment against a company that has no money, or a person you cannot trace, may cost more than it recovers.

When a lawyer helps

Many small claims are run without a lawyer. Advice is worth it when the sum is near or above £10,000, when the other side has a counterclaim, when the contract terms are disputed, or when you are the one being sued and are unsure whether to defend.

This page is general information about how these matters usually work in England and Wales. It is not legal advice about your own case, and only a lawyer who has read your documents can give you that. A litigation lawyer near you can be found in the directory.