What the Small Claims Court Is For
The small claims track is the part of the county court that handles lower value disputes. It offers a simpler, less formal way to resolve disagreements without the expense of a full court hearing.
Most small claims involve amounts up to £10,000. Personal injury claims have a lower limit of £1,000 for damages relating to pain, suffering and loss of amenity. Housing disrepair claims are subject to a £1,000 limit for repair costs and a separate £1,000 limit for other damages such as inconvenience. The process is designed to be accessible for individuals handling their own case, without the need for a solicitor, though you can still use one if you prefer.
Common types of small claims include unpaid debts, faulty goods or services, minor contract disputes, and some disputes between neighbours. Before starting a claim, you should check whether your situation fits within the small claims track. GOV.UK provides current information on financial limits and the types of cases the small claims court will accept.
Find the right court form for your situation. Family, civil, criminal and tribunal forms.
Try our Court Form Finder free, here on this site →Before You Issue Your Claim
Starting a court claim should usually be a last resort. Courts expect you to have made genuine efforts to resolve the matter directly with the other party first. For certain types of cases, formal pre-action protocols set out in the Civil Procedure Rules require specific steps, including sending a compliant Letter before Claim. Failing to follow an applicable protocol could harm your case or affect any costs orders the court makes.
You should also consider alternative dispute resolution before proceeding to court. This includes mediation, negotiation, or using an ombudsman service where one exists for your type of dispute. Courts take a dim view of parties who refuse reasonable offers to mediate.
Write to the person or business you have a dispute with. Set out clearly what the problem is, what you want them to do about it, and give them a reasonable deadline to respond. Keep copies of all correspondence. If they refuse to engage or you cannot reach an agreement, you can then consider court action.
Think carefully about whether going to court makes practical sense. Do you have evidence to support your claim? Can you identify the correct person or company to sue? If you win, is the other party likely to be able to pay? Are you within the time limit for bringing your type of claim?
There are time limits for different types of claim. Contract disputes generally have a six year limit, while personal injury claims must usually be brought within three years. These limits can be strict, so check your position early if you think time may be running short.
You will need to pay a court fee when you issue your claim. The amount depends on how much money you are claiming. Fee information is available on GOV.UK. You may qualify for help with fees if you are on a low income or receiving certain benefits, but eligibility depends on specific criteria and you should check these before assuming you will qualify.
Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.
How to Start Your Claim
Beginning the court process is called issuing a claim. For most people, the simplest way to do this for money claims is through Money Claim Online (MCOL) on GOV.UK. This service lets you complete and submit your claim form electronically, pay the fee online, and track progress through your account. If you have difficulty using online services, technical support is available.
You can also obtain paper forms from any county court if you prefer not to use the online system, or if your claim involves something other than a straightforward money dispute.
When filling in your claim, you will need to provide details of the defendant, which is the person or organisation you are claiming against. You will also need to explain what happened, why you believe they owe you money or another remedy, and how much you are claiming. Be clear and factual. Stick to the main points and avoid emotional language.
Most small claims are dealt with in the county court. The High Court handles larger and more complex cases, or those involving significant public interest. You would only use the High Court if your claim exceeds certain financial thresholds, which currently start at £100,000 for most money claims. Personal injury claims and some other case types have different rules. GOV.UK has details on which court is appropriate for different claim values.
What Happens After You Issue
Once your claim is issued, the court will send the claim form to the defendant. They then have 14 days to respond after receiving it. If they acknowledge receipt of the claim form, they can extend this period to 28 days. They might admit the claim, dispute it, file a counterclaim against you, or request summary judgment if they believe your claim has no real prospect of success.
If the defendant disputes your claim, the court will send you both a directions questionnaire. This form asks about the case and helps the court decide how to manage it. For small claims, the process is kept as straightforward as possible.
Many small claims are decided at a short hearing, often lasting an hour or less. Some can be dealt with on paper without a hearing if both sides agree. The judge will look at the evidence, hear from both parties, and make a decision.
Hearings are relatively informal compared to other court proceedings. You will not usually need to follow strict courtroom procedures, and the judge will often ask questions directly rather than relying on formal examination of witnesses.
If you win, the court will make an order requiring the defendant to pay you. Winning does not guarantee you will recover all your costs or that the defendant will pay voluntarily. If they do not pay, you may need to take enforcement action. Options include obtaining a warrant of control to seize goods, an attachment of earnings order to take money from their wages, or a third party debt order to freeze money in their bank account. Enforcement is a separate process with its own fees.
Keep all your documents organised throughout. Courts expect you to bring relevant evidence to any hearing, and good preparation will help you present your case clearly.
Many thanks
Also follow the correct pocedure. Citizens advice has excellent free advice and template letters.
Rights lelegislation. In May 2019 I sent him a pre-court letter with confirmed delivery.
He sent this back marked 'this is a residential address not a business address' .
A month later I sent him an e mail asking for his business address 'for court
purposes'. I did not receive a reply. I have his actual residential address, is this good enough for the Small Claims Court ? Rick
Long story short a school/ head teacher reported me to social services saying I had shakey hands and smelt of alcohol, I'm tee- total and shaky hands is a medical condition they also said my wife looked ( OUT OF IT ) my wife has M.S and was having a bad day . I would really appreciate any advice as tried to go through school complaints procedure but they refusing me to go before the board of governors. Please help!
The garage at first appear to have forgotten about my truck, then kept asking for money to rectify faults that were not present when I first left the truck with them.
They informed me that the complete front brakes assembly needed to be replaced as it it did not work and when I informed them that the vehicle has had the rear brakes replaced and a roller brake test and a road test 36 hours before being left with them, I was told that a seized front brake would not be noticeable on a brake test or under normal use (so how did they discover it?)
They also told me that my batteries needed replacing as they were no good, this due to me fitting cheap batteries, the batteries were fitted new en-route to their garage and were I believe £160.00 plus each, cheap batteries are around £90.00 each, when this was pointed out, they said that they would put them on charge.
Over 100 litres of fuel has disappeared from the fuel tank whilst it has been in their keeping, they have lost all the paperwork for the vehicle, have reported numerous faults that were not present when it was dropped off to them and rectified all faults at the cost of hundreds of pounds at their own cost as a “Goodwill gesture”
They prepared themselves and put the vehicle through a test in December and it failed!!!
Then another in January which although it passed, it should not have as the Tachograph calibration was invalid and had failed the previous test.
This has cost me all the work that I had booked in for 2018, my savings, my health and my business, I can prove what I have said, they cannot!
I have been called a liar, conman, have been sworn at, insulted and laughter at and it appears that in the U.K. if you are treated like this by a garage, there is no recompense unless you have thousands in the bank and I don’t.
I can no longer work, I am now on benefits for the first time in 30 years.
I cannot even afford to visit my dying brother in Kent due to this scum.
Where is the justice in this country??
Citizens Advice are useless.
Trading Standards, appear to be funded by these businesses.
Pro Bono Solicitor, where?
I was asked if I owned property so that they could put a charge on in for their fees!!
I don't think it's my responsibility to let him know the court date. I will have to send him the documents upon which my claim is based which I intend to do by email prior to the court date or at least send to the address I have on record, but surely I don't have to let him know when it is do I?
Plus is it okay for me to send the information I have to the address I have for him - as it would be his responsibility to inform me of his new address I suspect and he is clearly choosing not to do that! I haven't responded to him thus far.
Please advise
Thanks
Her intention is to contest it to the end!
Any comments/views would be much appreciated.
Thank you.
Thank you in advance for any help / advice offered, it will be gratefully received!
If the court have made a mistake then how do I get it corrected? Does it need to go to a judge?
I would be grateful for your help. Thanks
The engine mounts needed replaicing and two bolts drilled out of the engine block to refit engine leg to the engine.The engineer at the time said he could not get to the second bolt as the bulk head was only six inches from bolt thus no access, as he could not get the bolt out and believed the repair would possibly fail at any point, but on his report he said he did get both bolts out .
Two of the front bolts in the engine block sheered again (and i believe he only done 1 as he verbally told me) and both engine mounts failed leaving in the same position and the quoted me £925 to take the engine out and remove the bolt as it was impossible to do while connected.
Yet his first report he said he done both bolts removed by lifting the engine but his second report sais he cant do it?
I paid an engineer to do the job and once the bolts were removed easily with a right handed attachment and new ones fitted the engine mounts were impossible to fit as mounts did not align with the boat frame. New adjustable ones were ordered and job done.
Thus
A : one bolt was removed and the leg left loose to accomodate the mount as it was 1/4inch out.
B: the mount was cut to make it look fitted as enginner 2 sugested
C: both
Overall it was impossible to fit engine mounts to the boat as they were misaligned due to incorrect mounts, a 1/2 inch bolt cant go in a 1/4 inch hole hole. The fuel lines were damaged and leaking and the second engineer fixed everything by replacing costing me £462.
My car was recently driven into (whilst parked) by a third party who admitted liability at the scene and offered to pay for the damages.
I advised my insurer who informed of the options.
Since then, the third party changed their mind and contacted their insurance provider to deal with it and I have not heard from them since in person.
My insurer is now dealing with the vehicle through a 'no fault service' whereby they attempt to repair the vehicle if possible and they recover the costs from the third party.
However, I do not have legal cover and the costs I am already incurring for things such as hours of phone calls, lost time, fuel to take the vehicle to garages to be looked at initially, costs for hire vehicle, not to mention the hassle and stress. (I was unable to access my sons pushchair in the boot of the vehicle for 4 days as the boot would not open) and my insurer has advised me that my premium will be increased next year as I am now a higher risk driver.
My insurer may repair the vehicle although it is already looking likely that it will be written off, and I have no doubt that I will not get the true value for it thus leaving me without a vehicle, and not enough money to replace with a like for like vehicle. My insurer will also charge me for administration on changing the vehicle on the policy and I also may incur a higher premium for the remainder.
I am trying to find out if I can take the third party to small claims court for these losses?
According to the .gov site I am required to write to the third party first and ask them to cover the costs before doing so.
Many thanks in advance.
Is it possible to put in a claim against her parents? ( as she is under 18)
Thank in advance
I have 2 witnesses who said they saw my car before and after the revellers appeared stating the damage was done by them.
All I want is my property repaired , its about 400 for the work to be done, but ,due to the car being off road I have incurred extra bills for not being able to use it. What course do you suggest please .
Many thanks.
Ask Courtroom Advice a question
Ask our editorial team a question and we will reply with our advice. Tell us as much about your situation as you can: the more detail you give, the more useful our answer can be.
You do not need to use your real name. Please do not include your full address, phone number, email address, or the names of other people. We may edit or remove identifying details for privacy and legal reasons.
Comments are moderated before publication.