Defending Yourself in the Small Claims Court

Originally written by Dave Howell, updated by the editorial team on 8th July 2026

When a small claims form arrives

If someone has started a small claims case against you, the first you may know about it is when a claim form is delivered to you. This can come as a surprise, particularly if you were unaware of any dispute or thought the matter had been resolved.

The claim form is a formal legal document issued through the county court. It sets out what the claimant says you owe them and why. Ignoring it can have serious consequences. If you fail to respond, the court can make a judgment against you without hearing your side. This is called a default judgment, and it can affect your credit rating and lead to enforcement action.

Acting promptly gives you the best chance of defending the claim effectively. Even if you believe the claim is unfair or inaccurate, you need to engage with the process.

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Reading and understanding the claim

Start by reading the entire form carefully. The key section is the particulars of claim, which should explain what the claimant is alleging and how much they are seeking. Sometimes this section contains only brief details, or it may state that full particulars will follow separately. If the details are incomplete, wait until you receive the full particulars before preparing your response.

Pay attention to the amount being claimed. Small claims track cases in England and Wales usually involve disputes worth up to £10,000. For personal injury claims, the limit is £1,000. The exact thresholds and court fees can change, so check GOV.UK for current figures.

If any part of the claim is unclear, you may want to seek advice before responding. Citizens Advice can help you understand the paperwork and your options. You might also consider speaking to a solicitor, though many people handle small claims cases themselves without legal representation.

Make a note of the deadline for responding. You have 14 days from the date of service to acknowledge the claim. If you want to file a defence, you have 28 days from the date of service, provided you acknowledge the claim within the initial 14 day period. Missing these deadlines can result in a judgment being entered against you automatically.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

How to respond to the claim

When you receive a claim form, you will also be sent a response pack. This contains several forms that allow you to take different courses of action depending on your situation.

If you accept you owe the money, you can use the admission form. This allows you to admit the full amount or part of it. You can also propose how you will pay, such as in instalments if you cannot afford a lump sum. The court will then decide whether your offer is reasonable.

If you dispute the claim, you need to complete the defence form. This is your opportunity to explain why you believe the claim is wrong. Be clear and specific about which parts of the claim you disagree with and set out your version of events. It is advisable to focus on the facts and present your argument without emotional language. The court will want to see evidence supporting your position, though you do not need to submit all your evidence at this stage.

You may also have a counterclaim against the person suing you. If you believe they actually owe you money, or that their actions caused you loss, you can set this out in your response. There is an additional court fee for making a counterclaim, with the amount depending on the value of your counterclaim.

Before proceeding to a hearing, consider whether the dispute could be resolved through mediation or direct negotiation. Courts often encourage parties to attempt settlement, and reaching an agreement can save time and costs for everyone involved. If you reject reasonable offers to settle or act unreasonably during the process, the court may take this into account when deciding who pays costs.

Send your completed forms back to the court before the deadline. Keep copies of everything you submit.

Preparing for the hearing

Once both sides have submitted their paperwork, the court will allocate the case to the small claims track if it meets the criteria. You will receive a notice setting out the date, time and location of the hearing. Some hearings now take place by telephone or video call rather than in person.

Before the hearing, gather all the evidence you want to rely on. Evidence means documents or materials that support your version of events. This might include contracts, receipts, photographs, emails, text messages or witness statements. When presenting evidence, make sure each document is relevant to a specific point you are making. Organise your documents clearly so you can refer to them easily. The court will usually ask you to send copies of your evidence to the other side and to the court in advance of the hearing date.

Think about what you want to say and how you will explain your position. Small claims hearings are designed to be informal compared to other court proceedings. The district judge will usually ask questions and guide the discussion. You do not need to follow strict courtroom procedures, but you should be polite and answer questions directly.

If you have witnesses who can support your case, ask them to attend or provide a written statement. Make sure any written statements are signed and dated.

Arriving early on the day of your hearing is important, as it gives you time to compose yourself and locate the right room. Bring all your documents. Listen carefully to what the claimant says and wait for your turn to respond. If the judge asks you something you do not understand, it is fine to ask for clarification.

After hearing both sides, the judge will usually make a decision on the same day. If the claim is dismissed, that normally concludes the matter, although in limited circumstances a party may seek to appeal. If the judgment goes against you, you will be told how much to pay and by when.

The Next Step

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223 questions

Ask Courtroom Advice a Question

Clare 27/07/2026 at 7:11 am

If I post on here will your reply be available for everyone to see?

CourtroomAdvice Editor 27/07/2026 at 8:00 am

@Martin Anyone can allege anything, but without evidence (police report, medical, witnesses) her assault claim is just noise, and it doesn't legally offset what she owes you. As a lodger your deposit isn't protected under the tenancy schemes, so recovery is via the small claims track. Keep every text, the letter before claim and proof of rent paid, then issue on Money Claim Online if she still refuses. If she counterclaims for assault, she has to prove it, which she won't be able to.

Martin 27/07/2026 at 7:04 am

I had a lodger agreement. my landlady was unbearable to live with- shouting and wating all my food and throwing my stuff out of the flat. She shouted at me to leave. i was scared and did so. however, i had paid rent until the end of the mnth and she has my deposit. She text me saying i could not come back and get my stuff because I had assualted her ( I had not). We asked Police advice and they said I could get my stuff back. I did manage that with the help of my parents. We sent her a letter ( letter before claim) asking for the money owed ( excess rent and deposit). She has replied saying she will not pay because I assaulted her. Can she really make anything up ? I am not sure what to do

Damore 17/08/2022 at 7:58 pm

I have a petitioner that claim an invalid lease due to her real estate agent not going through the homeowner’s associação but coming after me as the owner and requiring all fees paid in advance to be returned in full as the the person that was supposedly to be moving in on august 1st 2022 had an elevator company postponing an elevator repairs and she no longer needs my place but paid in advance for deposits, half of august and push me by text and emails to ask my current tenant to move out to fulfill her needs to move in July 11th

And now my tenant move out, requesting her refund and the supposedly new tenant is claiming an invalid lease, even though all signed for by passing the HOA tenants approval and demoing full refund. She also offer by email and text $500 bonus for me to keep pushing my tenant out.
Only gave me 4 days notice prior to the move in.

I hired an attorney and he was unable to have a meet of the minds.

What are my options?

Thank you

Maura Dmoare

Tadpole 11/09/2021 at 3:27 pm

I am in the process of taking an ex partner from 8 years ago to a small claims court due to unpaid maintance of over 6k I've now recieved a counter claim from him trying to claim back 28 thousand pound in child related court matters over this past 8 years when potentiality nothing was ever stopping him of self representation and equality I have also have had this expense over the years , he has been under investigation with the CMS for the past few years from fraud and deception .

shakil Bhuiyan 20/05/2021 at 12:51 am

I have taken to court by the university not to pay tuition fees of £12000. I enrolled for 3 years PHD course in May 2018. Paid full one-year tuition fees £12000 before enrolment. I find the quality of the service and teaching was very bad. I had no progress or achievement until September 2019. I had no choice then withdrawn from my course.

Every year academic enrolment is in September and I have withdrawn my course before enrolling in year 2 September 2019. Now the university is claiming full year 2 tuition fees. What should i do?

In theory, I have wasted my hardworking £ 12000 for nothing, should put a counterclaim to get my one-year fees back or should I just defend about the current case.

Tilly1985 17/05/2021 at 10:08 pm

We bought a home and renovated it. Our neighbours objected the whole way though, even implying we didn’t build correctly. Al of which was passed and signed off
They have built a lean to from their property onto the party wall. My husband replaced their guttering as it was badly damaged and thought we were doing lots of work and just a nice gesture as we could clearly see the damp over the years it had caused
We’ve been in our home now 9 months, we apparently cracked 3 panes of her glass, so we agreed to replace, it was delay in getting the glass due to covid and it was being fitted in January, we paid for this.
She decided to get the whole structure replaced and not to replace the glass as it would be a waste
She’s now saying we caused all the damage for it to be duller replaced and wants nearly 6k
We again offered to replace the glass but her decision to replace a whole structure is solely hers.
I have a feeling this will end up in court

Mimi 03/12/2020 at 10:36 am

I am being sued for a accident I had reversing out of a car space in a small car park 9 years ago the lady is claiming for daughter i have no documents from accodent and insurance company has no records dont know what to do asked for longer as a lot of decrepancies in claim

deb 01/09/2020 at 6:38 pm

Is it worth pursuing a non payment of a small claim I made and won

CoCo 23/04/2020 at 7:57 am

I still had a joint account with my sons father - although this account stayed dormant for years it was never closed, even though we had separated. Since the separation,in the past I have taken money out of this account. My Ex had not paid any child maintenance since 2011 - and this could not be claimed by the child maintenance agency as he was claiming he was not in employment (but he was). Unexpectedly money was paid into this account by my ex and I withdrew some. I received a Money Claim from an unknow person connected to my ex stating that this money is hers and my ex was collecting payment from one of her tenants (she is a landlord). I am disputing the claim for two reasons - she should not be using my account for any of her transactions, also due to missed maintenance payments I have taken the money out of my joint account. Any arrangment made with my ex should be addressed with him. I feel this has been done for tax purposes as this account had not been used by myself or my ex and he had thought I had forgotten about it.

Blot 03/03/2020 at 9:23 pm

My partner has received notification of a claim from his ex in laws who paid an Iva in full on behalf of their daughter. This a joint IVA However they have hounded him for Payment of this loan even though nothing was signed and it was not agreed he would repay the whole amount back as this was done to prevent their daughter from going bankrupt. Where does he stand?

Poddy 20/02/2020 at 12:27 pm

My ex wife is claiming against me for money she paid for me to move out of our home, there was no agreement signed for paying this back. Where do I stand with this?

Iffer 27/11/2019 at 5:59 pm

Hi all. My husband is a claimant in a small claims court case. I will be a witness for him. We need to submit our separate witness statements to the defendant and the judge. Can we cite the same evidence/exhibits or must I reproduce shared evidence under my own, unique exhibit number, reprint them and submit them in a different folder? Thanks for your reply.

RPJ 26/10/2019 at 12:27 pm

We have a bed and breakfast and have taken exception to a rating we have received. No adverse comments, just a low score! Out of principle (we know we can just shrug our shoulders and move on but sometimes you have to make a stand) we wish to take some sort of action. We just don't know what! Any ideas anyone? Thanks

Dave 13/09/2019 at 5:31 pm

My son has been threatened with small claims court, but we dont actually know why. He did a decorating job for a client who wanted it done in a week, a price was agreed and the client said they only wanted 1 coat of paint, knowing that painting a pink wall with just 1 coat of paint was not going to do the job, he had to paint it with 3 coats as he did not want to do a poor job. He and a colleague spent 6 days decorating the inside of the house (which was a mess with phots to prove it before work started). The job was completed and the bill was paid. The client has now quibbled about the price, accused my son of doing a shoddy job, threatened him by leaving a bad review on his website, and been very rude. My son has on 3 occasions offered to go and look to see what she is complaining about and each time she has been too busy! The woman has demanded that he sends her receipts for the materials but has not once said she wants any monies returned! We are at a loss as to what she wants, we have text messages from her which are not very nice saying "He needs to grow a pair" as well as other things. My son has conducted himself politely and not been rude and only stated facts. If she does go to the small claims court is she likely to bring forward a claim?

nickyf 17/08/2019 at 2:57 am

Hi could someone advise me on a cc that has been filed against me? well my mom as I sold a battery and charger via a buying and selling app on the Internet, the item was working and fully charged when I sent the item threw parcel force delivery. The buyer wanted to pay me via direct bank transfer but I don't have a bank account so I told him I would give him my mom's bank details and he could pay into that, he was more than happy to do so. One week later I received a text message saying the charger didn't work and wanted my address to send it back to me, I explained that it was fully working when I posted it and I gave him my address, I also said I wasn't willing to pay the money back as it was not faulty before I sent it and I said I would contact parcel force to see if it insured while in transit, due to unforeseen circumstances I totally forgot about it. Now 90 days later I've received a email saying he's applying for a ccj against my mom as the payment was to her account, can he do this?

Bunny 12/06/2019 at 9:12 am

Sister taking me to small claims court over 1000 pounds which was gift now says was loan wants it back again. Nothing wrote down no payment or interest plan in place. Gave money in cash just her and I present . How do I stand defending this claim?

Tarquin 10/06/2019 at 4:08 pm

My business is defending a claim in the small claims court which is proceeding to a hearing. Our choice of court is the Central London County Court, local to us, but the claimant's is their local court outside London, which is where the hearing has been transferred to. I'm told that the defendant's choice only takes preference if they are a private individual, and as we are a limited company this doesn't apply. But surely the principle is the same, which is that the claimant is the one who has brought the case, and shouldn't be able to "drag" the defendant to a court of their choosing against the defendat's will. In any case, why is the claimant's choice always the one that's decided on? Please advise.

kaz 09/06/2019 at 9:30 am

we are about to have a trial soon, however after a surveyor was appointed/approved via the courts it has turned out that the defendant has caused damage to our roof/back bedroom and the party wall act in the roof space due to poor workmanship, which the surveyor who is a court witness expert has said the damage is coming to £50000.00 plus to add al my expenses of the court case and postage and the payment for the surveyor,ut still the defendant who lives next door refuses to talk to us I cannot say why as it will be classed a racisim,he did not even reply to my 14 day notice letter in 2017 because it was worthless, it has now not turned out not to be worthless and still refuses to talk and looks like they are not bothered if this goes to trial at all, the judge at court case back in February said this is the next step, Can you tell me , am I right that I do not have to do anything,

Jade 01/06/2019 at 12:08 am

Hello, I need some help. I stayed in a caravan and had to pay a deposit of £75 and if things weren’t left the way they were found and so on I wouldn’t get the money back. Now the owner has contacted me saying I’m not having the deposit back and if I don’t pay for the caravan to be cleaned he’s taking me to court. Can anyone help?

Luke 31/05/2019 at 11:35 am

Hi, I am defending a case from a company who sold me a wing mirror, they promised delivery within 3 working days, it arrived after 7, and once opened the part was wrong, after poor customer service a manager finally agreed to send me the correct part id paid for with the agreement I would send the wrong part back the next day. Because of work commitments I couldn't send it back to them until a couple of weeks later, despite them emailing me saying I had 48 hours to send it them or they would take legal action. Because of their poor customer service and original errors I felt they had no right to set strict deadlines and take legal action, they received their part back within 3 weeks. Now they are asking for £165 for the cost of retrieving the item, I have no idea how they are justifying this amount and I don't believe I owe them a penny. Please could I get your view on this as I have refused mediation as I don't feel I should compromise and pay them anything.

Max 10/05/2019 at 3:04 pm

I've excepted a small claim again me for a car with mechanical issue and offered to refund the cost of the vehicle from two years ago, however I've arrived with a tow truck to collect the vehicle and there is a huge amount of body damage to the vehicle that wasn't on the vehicle when sold or mentioned in the small claims hearing by the claimant.
Have I a course of action to take

Matthew Houston
Whitstable motor company

J 01/05/2019 at 10:59 pm

I have a disgruntled customer whom wants to take me to court for some flooring she deemed not fit for purpose and was seeking a full refund after saying she was happy with the install I offered a partial refund which she refused I went and rectified the said mistakes once again she said she was happy and the job was completed now two weeks after final visit she is threatening legal action after over a month after job was complete. Also I paid for a plumber to move a sink as the pedestal didn’t not fit back under the sink after the flooring was installed as it was an unforeseen problem. And still getting threatened with small claims court.

Bill 20/03/2019 at 11:29 pm

Hi, I'm wondering if you can help. I took on a large building job for a customer and then the job went wrong and now the customer is taking me to small claims court to claim back approximately £7000. I am planning on disputing the case and it's variables but what I'm interested to know is... When I initially took on the job I hadn't registered my company with companies house, however on all my correspondence, invoicing, quoting etc I used my company name. Once the job had started I then registered my company with companies house. Would that mean the customer is suing me directly or suing my company? Where do I stand? She has mentioned she wants to sue myself and my company, is that possible? As a limited company I'd rather she sued my company but is that how it works? Can someone help me please?

BridgeBabe 10/03/2019 at 10:32 am

Some advice please - my son was taken to court over some parking charge notices. The case was struck out. Will this affect my son's credit rating? Thank you.

Barders 08/01/2019 at 8:46 pm

Hi, I am being chased by a debt recovery company for a payday loan from 2011 that I couldn't (and still can't) repay. The company tried to get a CCJ which I defended by claiming the debt was statute-barred by being over 6 years old and I had receive no communications from the loan company from 2011 to 2017. The court application was stayed, but now the stay has been lifted and the debt company has now requested it be allocated to the Small Claims Track, and I have been sent a Small Claims Directions Questionnaire to complete, offering the option of Small Claims Mediation Service.

What action would you recommend I take? Should I agree to mediation but stick to my guns re the statute bar status?

Markyboy 18/09/2018 at 2:38 pm

Hi .. complicated situation.. my name was on the rent . My wife had me removed from the property whilst having a mental breakdown . We split up and in that time I was living elsewhere, I gave notice on the house but my wife and children where still living there . My wife could not leave there at the time but offerd the company social welfare money to pay the rent , they refused . So that became one months rent they say I owed but wasn’t living there . She finally left 2 days into the next month and now they are wanting two months rent .. they’ve put a claim in to the small courts . Where do I stand ? Also at the time I wasn’t allowed back at the property.. the company totally were out of order with the way they spoke to me and my wife st the time I’ve got emails to prove it too

CourtroomAdvice Editor 06/07/2018 at 9:23 am

The earlier your husband informs the court he cannot attend the better. He can either agree with the claimant to move the date (the court is more likely to move the date if both sides agree), or he can contact the court directly and he will be asked to fill in a form. If he doesn't turn up, the court will go ahead with the hearing in his absence. But that's never a good idea.

Sam 05/07/2018 at 6:19 am

Hello, my husband who is a builder has been taken to the small claims court by a disgruntled customer who is seeking £1000.
We filled the forms in and agreed to immediation. We were told to expect a phone call if the defendant agreed.
We received no call but was given a court date by post .
My husband cannot make the date and I’m worried that a not showing up would look like we don’t take the situation seriously , which we do.
It doesn’t help that she has legal support from her te friends who are top solicitors and they have given her a witness statement . My husband did work for these witnesses who were more than happy with their finished work .

Shaza 72 13/03/2018 at 3:16 pm

My mum is taking me to small claims court for money she paid me in an ISA account if I loose this case will this go down on police record I work in care and on sssc registration worried I’m going loose my job which would also mean my home etc im really worried here not been sleeping well what will happen here

Sam4715 15/02/2018 at 11:43 pm

I filed a SCC claim for unpaid fees for work provided and defendant entered defence saying they had already paid me. This is not true, I have not received any payments. Just checked bank account details given and they are correct so what can I do now?

Angry friend 09/01/2018 at 9:57 pm

A friend has just received a bill from the court as she did not dispute the claim form, however she did not receive the form. She has been waiting for this as was expecting her ex to contact the court but has already had a solicitor gobtact him telling him she would countersue. She has now been told to pay- is the anything she do as she was planning to take him to court and countersue. How are the claims forms sent out as she has not signed for any or received any. Surely she should have these firms sent to her recorded?

CDell94 27/12/2017 at 9:07 pm

Hi there,
Any advice on this would be much appreciated! Over the past few years my father (who I neither get on with or see a lot of) took several fraudulent accounts out in my name. I was away at university in the UK and overseas at the time and only found out once he did a runner and he was evicted, leading my Mum (separated from him) to go and empty the house. It was reported to the police and he was eventually caught and arrested, he subsequently admitted the fraud and was cautioned. Most of the creditors took the crime number and their evidence (letters, rent receipts showing I was away) and left me alone quickly. However one company proceeded to conduct a fraud investigation without asking for more evidence and are now taking me to County Court. I have since supplied them with a tenancy agreement, the crime reference number, arresting officer and other evidence and the claim is going to mediation. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. It’s stressing me out big time.

DavidH Editor 07/12/2017 at 10:42 am

@Roadrunner - I would get in touch with the court where it was heard and ask for advice.

Roadrunner 06/12/2017 at 1:58 pm

Hi,
I sent payment for a small claim (by cheque) to the claimant's stated address, by special delivery, and delivery was rejected by resident of that address (address was of a relative of claimant). Therefore the letter was returned to me, and claimant has not received my payment. Either claimant has moved, or is away. What should I do, now that it's now approaching month since claim was started?

konga 06/11/2017 at 9:42 am

I am working in a hospital and someone mislead me asking me to direct her on where to get some items and I lead her through d gate and showed her the way whereas I didn't know she is still owing and she flee... am now asked to defend my self or I pay her bills please help

Hillo 04/10/2017 at 1:33 pm

I have defend myself in a small claims court and have to write it within days and post to all parties i dont know where to start, it is against a parking company plz help

andy 17/08/2017 at 5:20 pm

hi my daughter recently booked a holiday with her friend my daughter is lead passenger. a few weeks later another girl was booked on. these two other girls have now turned nasty and made the situation impossible for my daughter to go so she is going to cancel and lose out but now a lot of abuse has started and as lead passenger she has the option of cancelling the whole holiday unless they compensate her(if I'm losing out so are you!) the travel agent has offered a solution if they either pay my daughter she will release the tickets to them or get someone to take her place and give her the money. they have refused and told her if she cancels and they lose there money as well they will take her to the small claims court to compensate them. would she lose if this was the case? also one of the girls went into the travel agents pretending to be my daughter and was given the tickets she is only 17!

KennyB 24/05/2017 at 2:34 pm

I have ceased trading and have closed my Limited company, I am in the process of emptying the leased building. All of the assets have been sold off and put the money has been put into the bank account (which is in a minus). All of the creditors have been paid as have all the bills. A customer has issued a Small Claims Track for £10,400 I am disputing that I am liable. My question is: Can I still be liable even though my Limited company has closed, I am 75 years old and retiring

Jo90 24/05/2017 at 12:41 pm

Hi. I moved out of my old property due to repairs etc not being done. My landlord decided to start them when I handed my notice in to try and stop me from moving out but I wanted to go. The repairs that happened to the living room window created alot of dirt on the carpet I tried numerous of times to clean it, there was also damp all over the walls causing the walls to smell and fall apart which made the room smell. Well since moving out he's claiming the carpet was drenched it cat urine bearing in mind I do not have a cat but I told the letting agents about all the damp it was on the carpet etc and I had tried to clean it but on the day I moved I washed it too so I'm not sure if damp will of grown etc. So he's claiming I owe him over £700 and threatening with a small claims I have proof repairs never got done and when they did get done but how can I prove the stains and the smell was not my problem?

Tom 24/03/2017 at 2:23 pm

I sold a refurbished washing machine to a customer with a 1 year warranty, 7 months ago. About a month ago she said it was marking her clothes, so I replaced the machine, ( but found no fault with the original. She then said the new machine was even worse, so I apologised and refunded her money in full. I have since found no fault with the second machine. She now says she is taking me to court for the value of the marked clothes.
Both the original manufacturers and my warranty specifically exclude consequential damage to clothes.
Am I liable if there is no fault with the machines?
Thanks

KAMAL 15/03/2017 at 1:38 pm

how long in scotland case a case be sisted for it a civil ordinary cause and the pursures have asked the sheriff to sist the case which it was done on the 17th February 2017

Pephilmor 13/03/2017 at 1:54 pm

Hi I had a small claim of £4500 made against me in the small claims court. I defended the claim and produced a defense. During the process the courts asked me to try and enter into mediation with the claimant. I did this but the claimant refused the mediation. Later a district judge sent me a letter stating that this claim was worth entering into mediation to try and resolve and save costs. I filled in the necessary info and sent a return letter stating that I was happy to enter into mediation. The claimant once again refused mediation and the claim went to court in January. I waited in court and was called in before the judge only to find that the claimant had not turned up or presented any evidence. The judge struck off the claim.

Two months down the road the claimant has issued a new claim with a new claim number for the exact same thing. Can they do this legally and what should i do.

Kaapie 03/01/2017 at 10:15 pm

A claim has been made against me by an ex-landlord. They claim I owe rent for the months notice I did not provide when moving out.
I have defended the claim as I had the permission of the landlord at the time via text. I asked if he would let me move out earlier than the months notice period. He text that if I moved by end of month (5days time)he would accept it as notice served. I moved all my possessions out in the 5 days returned the keys, attended an end of tenancy walk around the flat and thought that was it.
He is now saying I didn't provide the written notice so still owe him rent.
Do you think he can win this claim?

Liz59 28/12/2016 at 11:19 am

My husband was dismissed on gross misconduct on 17th June this year verbally after a 2 day suspension. On the 24th June he rang said company about non payment of outstanding salary, holiday pay and expenses and was told it was used towards a penalty in connection with company car and that he still owed them money. At no time has he had any formal notification in writing about dismissal or non payment of salary. No official wage slip or P45 was received. The Company are saying it's a 6 month penalty as the car was taken back on his dismissal and it was within a two year period. We are now being threatened with small claims court for apparent outstanding penalty of £234. We have emailed to ask questions, about official payslip and P45. What the actual penalty is for, especially as although the company leased the car, and in the company name, did they have to return the car to said company and pay these costs or was the car given to another employee, thereby they have lost nothing (we suspect this to be the case). Also, we are led to believe that in fact it was illegal to withhold salary and not tell the employee, nor send official payslip and P45. They should have paid him and then invoiced the amount. Every time we ask questions they are ignored. We ourselves just want answers to our questions and a swift resolution to this. We have never refused to pay, just want official documentation proving tax and NI was paid on the salary they withheld and proof of the costs incurred by them in connection with car. Any advice would be greatly received.

d 22/12/2016 at 11:42 am

Hi,

I had a friend who had asked if as a favor I could accommodate an ex-colleague who was moving cities for a new job, this individual had not arranged anywhere to stay and was desperate. I allowed him to see a the spare room I had, bear in mind I am not a landlord but have good relations with my own. There was some work that needed to be done, but he was quite happy to move in and agreed to pay me a sum of money, he didn't wish to flat share in London which was his only option due to budget etc. He has since caused various issues, albeit the room wasn't perfect he was aware from the outset and was aware a lot of work was being done to the property at the time, most of which I was overlooking. The relationship became turmoil as I had no time to be social with him, which is what he wanted and would moan about things and say it was a joke after. Eventually I realized this was too much hassle than it was worth and asked him to find alternative accommodation which he refused to acknowledge, he then attempted to claim squatters rights and posed to withhold the monthly payment, eventually he found somewhere else and left a month later. I have held back some of the deposit money as a number of white goods were thrown out by himself and his brother who helped him move in, these were in working order. I have since paid him part of the deposit, retaining £400. He has put a small claim in since for the full deposit. This was tracked for mediation which he on the day of mediation has responded by e-mail to say he is abroad. This is time-consuming and I have attempted to negotiate to end this saga, what are my quickest options to end this?

Sif 10/11/2016 at 10:19 am

I was issued a Money claim from the county court for a fee from a client which I dispute, we moved offices and have just found out that we missed the hearing at the county court and an order has been made to which I am still waiting. Is there still a chance to appeal or fight the ccj

H 25/10/2016 at 2:05 pm

We' defended a claim oon time but the courts lost our paperwork & automatically judged against us for non response. We have proof , which has been accepted, that we sent the required defence on time but the courts are saying the ruling stands & we have to submit again, is this correct?

bu 24/10/2016 at 11:23 am

we took our previous landlord to small claim court due to none repair issue for 6 months and it was 3 months ago and he did not respond first then he respond now he is seeking a money from us as we stressed him , Its says on the his respond but we do have a all the evidences etc. How come he can ask to us to pay money him if we took him to court ? court said now they are waiting to him if he pays to court
its looks like our claim is dissappered

Pinkanne 21/10/2016 at 8:36 pm

Hi
I am defending a claim but have a question. Can anyone help.
1. If I don't win do I automatically get a ccj on my credit file or if I don't win and pay within a time limit will it this stop a ccj?

There is so much conflicting info on this online.
Thanak

GDL 20/10/2016 at 6:00 pm

I was taken to a small claims court and it was awarded against me to pay my ex client £800 to which I have never diagreed with and she also has said in a letter that I have never not refused to pay her the £800. At the time in court I informed the judge that I cannot pay the full amount in one payment and that I can only pay in installments of £80.00 per month. The judge said that I would need to inform the county court and write in completing an N245 which was completed and sent into the county court. i was informed that I would hear within 28 days. The day in the small claims court was in July 2016, I have just been informed now being 20th October 2016 4 months later that I need to attend court for a 10 minute hearing in December 2016 6 months later. My question is why has it taken this long (more than 28 days) can I do anything about this. If my ex client accepted the fixed monthly ammount £80.00 in July 2016 she would have been paid by December £480.00.
Please can you advise me if there is anything I can do.

CourtroomAdvice Editor 18/10/2016 at 12:26 pm

As a rule, if you take out the loan in your name then this is done on 'your' understanding that you are personally responsible for them, as stated in the terms of the loan. However, you may have recourse through the courts if you can prove your ex has been paying the loan back and the loan did not benefit you. Due to the nature of his previous charges, legal advice is advisable here.

Littleme 17/10/2016 at 7:38 pm

Hi I found out a month ago that my now ex has committed fraud against me and other people. He has taken any money I had including a large amount from the sale of my house. He has pleaded guilty to the charges and is in prison awaiting sentencing. While we were together I took out some loans and finance agreements in my name that he said he would pay through his business. He was paying for a while (even though the business was not actually real) but then stopped and I am now left with all the debts. My question is am I totally responsible fir these debts as I took them out on the understanding he would be paying them. I feel he has also defrauded the loan companies through me.

J.P. 15/10/2016 at 2:33 am

Hi i am being brought to small claims court for minimal damages to my old roommates vehicle. My other roommates and i moved a street sign out of the middle of the road and we stood it next to his car. The other movers backed away leaving the sign, but I, realizing it could potentially fall on his car, tried to move it. This resulted in it tipping over and scratching his car. The damages are 740$. He is bringing me and one of the persons who helped initially move the sign to court. Should he have brought all three people who initially moved it, or just me? Also, am i going to be liable to pay 740$ for tiny scratches on his car? Lastly, his father is also on the claim, suing me, as he owns the vehicle. Neither or the plaintiffs were present when the accident happened but witnesses confirmed, i was the one responsible for the tipping of the sign. Advice? Opinions?

CS Retail 12/10/2016 at 4:49 pm

I have a small shop of ladies clothes for since 99, the customer notice policy stating the terms and conditions for a returns or exchange is visible on the till, that i do not refund if you simple change your mind , i only do refund in accordance with your legal rights..
I a small business and have one to one sales, for this reason my customers take average minimum 40 minutes or more trying and choosing the merchandise they have intention to buy.
Since i opened i never have any problem with customers until now. one of customer bought a jacket after her time in the shop more than 1 hour. she decided to buy the jacket. however she come back next day demanding a refund stating she wasn't happy with, after I refused the refund, she said the jacket have a fault zipper and for this i was obliged to give a refund, I have inspected the item and no fault at all , however i still offer as a good will, if she wants exchange or a credit note. but she said NO.
Now she make a claim on small claim court, presenting many different issues with the item, witch i am 100% sure wasn't there before. sometimes people should have respect for the other people work and don't be nasty damage item in purpose just to get the refund.

I have no idea how to represent myself in this situation.

CourtroomAdvice Editor 05/10/2016 at 1:39 pm

Yes, if you can prove your daughter's ex boyfriend intended to pay the money back to you then you have a case to answer. Your daughter's and his financial concerns are completely separate from what he owes you.

jimmy 05/10/2016 at 1:03 pm

what is the statue barred on a debt in scotland if they are saying i owe them from september 2010 but i only received court papers on august 2016

CourtroomAdvice Editor 05/10/2016 at 11:09 am

Unless authorised by your tenant, you should have paid it directly to the person who took out the tenancy and paid the deposit. As a landlord, if you rent your home on an assured shorthold tenancy, it was registered compulsary after April 2007 to put the deposit in a government-backed tenancy deposit scheme (TDP). Your were effectively breaking the law if you didn't in inform your tenant of the TDP scheme you were using within 30 days of taking their money. Therefore, I suggest you seek some legal advice regarding your situation here.

Northern lass 04/10/2016 at 9:56 pm

I lent money on 2 occasions over the past year to my daughters boyfriend on the agreement that he would repay the money over 3 years. He was repaying a regular amount until their separation in August, when he informed me that he was going to obtain a loan from the bank and repay all the money he owed me. 6 weeks have gone by and he is now refusing to pay back the total amount he owes me because he is having to repay a tax credit overpayment from the joint claim with my daughter (she is paying 1/2) and he feels that it is my responsibility to repay his share as he 'isn't going pay out over a grand for your daughter'. They lived together in my home, completely independently of me, and have a son together.
Am I in a position to begin proceedings now through a small claim on the basis of his text message to say he would repay all the money?

Linzi 04/10/2016 at 10:24 am

I took a deposit from my old tenant for the rental of my house, I paid this money back to her partner (who was her carer and the only one I had email address for etc ) he sent me an email asking for me to pay to a different account which I did and now she is taking me to the small claims court as she doesn't have the money back. She has included as proof in the paperwork the actual email from him to me asking me to pay it to this account.

I never paid it into a deposit scheme as I was not 100% sure this was mandatory.

The judge will see I have paid it albeit to his account along with the letter asking it to be paid to this account - what will happen?

Kam 03/10/2016 at 9:57 pm

I am being accused of forging singnatue on my dad's business cheque which he knew about but my main point is this was in September 7th 2010 what is the statue barred time for this type of case last year in September 15 2015 there lawyers sent a demand letter and this year 23d August sent court papers

CourtroomAdvice Editor 29/09/2016 at 12:47 pm

It depends what was agreed between you and your landlord and the terms of your agreement. You'll need to read the small print to see whether you may have any recourse.

Pat 28/09/2016 at 4:11 pm

Hi I had signed a 12 months tenancy agreement. But surrendered in 2 months time with enough notice period. The landlord has accepted the keys and found the new tenants. Now he is refusing to pay me deposit back. Do I have any chances with small claim court? Cheers

CKS 27/09/2016 at 2:48 pm

We recently open a new shop, had builders in to refit, quoted 6weeks completion (but allow 7-8weeks). quoted a said amount of £££, but we negotiated £5k off the original quote as it was too much money.
The builders actually took over 13weeks before we could open the doors and start trading, they never finished the job, we paid £12k more over the agreed sum to keep them working so we could ope the business (caught in catch 22). Now they say we still owe them £4.5k
Firstly the job is left unfinished, secondly some of the work is not to an acceptable standard, and thirdly after thoughougly going through the invoices and now discovered we've been overcharged (or charged for things never used/provided) but now they are sueing us for what they claim is balance remaining plus interest.
We want to counterclaim, please advise any useful information and how we should proceed?
Many thanks...

Dan 26/09/2016 at 10:20 pm

Hi am trying to claim money back from an auction house went through small claims court made one mistake did not comply with other side case got struck out ? Can I make a new claim to start all over again with the same claim please need advice

Dan 26/09/2016 at 4:19 pm

Hi i am trying to claim money back from a auction house that sold me goods not as described & the case got stuck out for not complying on time so now can I start a new claim for the same one that got stuck out

CourtroomAdvice Editor 21/09/2016 at 1:57 pm

Regardless of what you did for your ex whilst in your relationship, if you borrowed money from your ex with the promise to pay it back and your ex can prove that you had been paying it back, then the money can be proved to be a loan. Therefore, you may be deemed at fault for defaulting on that loan. Evidence is needed only for the money you 'borrowed' (any other non-relevant evidence will be ignored i.e money you gave each other, or spent on each other while in a relationship, as this will not be seen as a loan). If you cannot provide statements (your bank can issue you with retrospective bank statements), then you cannot prove how much you have repaid. No one should ever pay a loan back in cash, as there is no record of it ever having been returned to the lender. I suggest you seek professional legal advice regarding your options, as if you lose the case you will be also subjected to court costs.

Lopp 20/09/2016 at 9:03 pm

The claimant has not paid the hearing fee, I have phoned the court they said they send out an obligation to pay letter. This has now been sent. How long will they have to pay and if not will that mean the case is automatically dropped?

Poppy 20/09/2016 at 4:42 pm

My ex partner is taking me to court. I borrowed a sum of money from him and on the breakdown of our relationships I paid a significant amount back - pointing out that he lived with me rent free for 8 years, used my car frequently and over the course of our relationships I was more than generous to him and his children therefore my payment was beyond fair. He has harassed and bullied me in person, via telephone and via email which culminated in him being removed from his place of work. The HR and security department requested this.
I now have a court appearance and I've been asked for statements, would these be evidence of financial transactions or would 'character witness' statements be required too?
My ex partner has copies of his building society accounts showing the transactions. I don't have an copies of statements showing the money that I've paid back to him. He's also created a spread sheet of any money that he's spent on me, something which I'm not in the habit of doing. Any advice would be most appreciated
Many thanks
Poppy

EdS67 Editor 20/09/2016 at 11:26 am

@courtroom- usually the small claims court won't cover extra costs. If your brother has given a full refund there really isn't much more the customer can do. I don't think your brother has much to worry about, he has done the right thing by giving a refund. Ed.

Road runner Editor 22/05/2015 at 10:34 pm

@ courtroom advice. Many thanks for your reply earlier today the paper trails are a year before she sold us the property she contacted the water board for advice, the water board confirmed they gave her standard advice in ways to fix the problem. I also have witnesses to say they knew the seller was aware of problems as they saw the water board come out on more than one occasion. As for the ta6 the seller ticked no to every question. I class the water board as a organisation? The answer was no contact yet in writing from the water board we have dates. I am perplexed to why the seller can even try to defend the claim. Any advice moving forward other than send the evidence to court, once we receive the defence from the defendent? Stress has been overwhelming as the problem is quite serious and expensive.. Regards

Courtroom 19/09/2016 at 12:20 pm

Hi, my brother is being threaten by a customer that they are going to take him to court. He Laid a carpet and it was the wrong one and the customer requested a full refund of £500. My brother has given the full refund and the customer is still saying she will take him to court for extra costs. As she is going with a different firm now it is costing her more money, which is not my brothers concern. He has a paper trail as all contact has been through email, she has said in the email that she has expected the refund. Can this costumer still take he to court?

CourtroomAdvice Editor 14/09/2016 at 12:27 pm

I'm afraid there is little we can advise on here, except trying to prove that your dad gave his authorisation i.e you had been signing the checks for a long time as part of the business. Your best course of action would be to seek legal advice.

Kam 13/09/2016 at 8:51 pm

My dad is taking me to court for a signature on a cheque but he knew I signed the cheques when he wasn't about (his business) now he lawyer has sent court papers but father is just mentioning one cheque but he was the one that gave me cheque book and all cheques were used for his company.
Thanks

Spence 08/09/2016 at 12:24 am

Hi, I recently made a claim against a very large decorating company for faulty wall paper, now they are defending the small claim they have elected to hear the case 160 miles away from my home. This seems unfair as they sold the product in a local outlet near my home town. Is there a way of petitioning to have the court location changed nearer to where I live.

CourtroomAdvice Editor 30/08/2016 at 12:34 pm

The public statements made when you advertised the vehicle must be accurate. Your buyer will have few rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 if he was told of any faults before he bought the motorcycle, or if the fault was obvious and it would have been reasonable to have noticed it on examination before buying it and/or if he caused the damage himself. If your buyer can prove that what you specified uin the advertisment or through written correspondence was not accurate, then he may have a case. For example, if an advertisement says 'low mileage, one previous owner', it must be correct.

Lozz 29/08/2016 at 7:41 pm

Hi i sold a bike to a bloke . I wrote a receipt out saying sold as seen and no warrenty as I am a private seller . He had the bike since Saturday night and on Monday he is messaging me saying the bike has blown up and he wants his money back . The bike was in perfect working order when I delivered it . It had had some work on done on it by my dad and he did me a receipt for it as I am disabled and dyslexic . He put on it a bike name . I told the bloke this isn't proof of the work nor warrenty this is purely for my records as I like to know what he has done to it and how much I owe him . The bloke is trying to take me to court for fraudulent claiming to have work done at a garage when I stated it hasn't. Has he got a case.

Shugz 13/08/2016 at 12:09 am

Hi, I left my X husband due to abuse by hom and his family. He has refused to give any indication my items back I left with a small suitcase with my daughters things and 2 outfits for myself. I have tried solicitors third party police but have had no luck . I have just put in a claim. What happens next and is here a high chance he will have to pay. I have been trying to gather all my receipts from online orders and bank statements but he has a lot of my receipts on his house. Can anyone give me some advice . I'm breaking down. I just want to see the end of this.

CourtroomAdvice Editor 12/08/2016 at 11:02 am

The judge will want to know whether the defendant was properly served with the court papers in order to make a decision about whether the case should be heard again.

Tom 11/08/2016 at 11:54 am

I recently won in a small claims court when defendant didn't turn up, now the defendants solicitor is claiming that they didn't get notification of date from court and is attempting to have the verdict revoked.
Is this a valid excuse?

CourtroomAdvice Editor 11/08/2016 at 10:22 am

Yes, you do have a case if you can prove the money was paid to your trainer and you have his name and address in order to commence proceedings.

Pumched 10/08/2016 at 9:03 am

Hi I pay a personal trainer £160 for four sessions of training in the gym, he was self employed in this gym and he suddenly disappear and I had received only one session of training. I had try to contact him but he doesn't answer. Now I want to claim £120 back and some thing on top as compensation for my time wasted. Do you think a have a case?
Thank you

Gill 08/08/2016 at 8:03 pm

I bought a puppy and within less than 12 hours it became ill 48 hours later it was in the vets for two days and ended up passing, at the time I contacted seller and she said she was willing to contribute to the vet bills as I couldn't afford it, after puppy passed a week ago we have still not came to an agreement for resolving this I want a full refund of puppy and half of vet bill paid do I have any leg to stand on in court. I have emails talking about sale of puppy and txts messages

DSD74 Editor 02/08/2016 at 10:38 am

@Berry - If the matter has gone to the small claims court, you are well within your rights and wise to deal solely through the courts and not deal with the customer directly, if the matetr has gone 'legal'.

Berry 01/08/2016 at 11:30 am

Hi, I have been advised that a customer will be using the small claims court to try and get a refund for a purchase last year. The customer came into the shop and purchased the item and signed to say they were happy with the condition and took it away. Now without warning or attempt to contact us sooner the customer has purchased another to replace our 'faulty' one and is demanding a refund. We have been asked to provide the form that was signed by them to be used as 'evidence'. Do we have to provide the customer with anything prior to the claim being made? The customer has become very personal and offensive when all we have done is provide them with tge facts. From our point of view we'd prefer to deal through the courts and provide all that is required on return of the forms when the claim has been made. Thank you

CourtroomAdvice Editor 29/07/2016 at 11:29 am

If you can prove (whether it is by text or email etc) that you lent your ex the money with the view of her paying it back, then you have a case to answer. What you have to prove is that the money was actually a loan and not a gift. The easier you can prove this, the easier it will be to retrieve your money. You can see more about costs etc, which

Mickey 28/07/2016 at 12:28 pm

I borrowed my partner £1000 to pay her rent with the promise her family would pay it back at the end of the week. It was a pack of lies and was the final straw in that relationship. It was paid for with my bank card. Do I have a case for a small claim and what would be costs be win or lose? Basically is it worth it?

Lou 22/07/2016 at 12:07 am

Hi needing some advice:
I sold a tank on Gumtree yesterday. tank had been up and running for 3 years nothing was wrong with it now the day after the lady who bought it has said it has cracked and flooded her living room and is taken me to small claims court the tank and equipment was sold for £100 I tried to talk to her but she isn't having any of it I no it didn't av a leak as I av no water damage or water dropping and I showed her the whole tank before she lifted it from my house so I think it has happened in transit
can she take me to small claims??

Lucy 13/07/2016 at 12:33 pm

Hi,

A have been given a bad reference from a previous employer who gave false info, how can a take this matter further, as its causing to not being able to obtain jobs, and that's causing me a bit of anxiety.

KT 17/06/2016 at 7:58 am

I am being taken to the small claims court by a vexatious litigant. I do not think that he knows my address although he could find it easily. I expect he will send the documents to the wrong address in order that I do not get it and am unable to defend myself.
How will I stand if he makes the application in such a way that I do not get it?
I appreciate any help you can give.

Lizzie 28/05/2016 at 8:08 am

During a relationship of 15 months my boyfriend gave me some money,£500 towards living expenses and £250 for a party for his 50th birthday. He was staying with me 3 or 4 nights a week. I am a single mother with three children and at the time of the gift the company I worked for went into administration. He said it was a contribution towards living. I did offer to pay it back one month later but he refused. We have broken up and he is taking me to court to get it back. I believe it was a gift.

CourtroomAdvice Editor 25/05/2016 at 12:07 pm

I would advise your friend did not agree to anything, 'if' he feels the person who has filed the claim is in fact claiming too much. If there was an issue with the bathroom then he is only required to put that issue right, unless there are other issues that the claimant is saying are wrong and a new bathroom is needed as a result. A small claims court will not let a claimant take liberties and demand what is above and beyond the cause of the damage. The person will be awarded what they legally deserve, as the general object of compensation is to put the claimant in the same position financially in which they would have been, if there was no cause for complaint. This means the purpose who makes the claim will not be allowed to make a profit on the back of it. However, I suggest your friend seeks specialist small claims legal advice here.

jan 24/05/2016 at 5:19 pm

Hello, I am making an enquiry for a friend who has been issued with small claims court papers. He installed a bathroom for a woman who claims that it is sub standard. In correspondence he has given a breakdown of his bill and agrees that minor cosmetics could have been better, reducing his bill.

However she is now claiming for a completely new bathroom, in addition to not paying his bill for the installation of the previous bathroom.

This sounds very unfair to me. I understand that she may not want to pay his bill, even though the majority works, ie the bath, basin and lavatory are all in good working order but I don't understand why she can claim not only to not pay his bill, but for the monies to install another new bathroom.

I'm not sure if she has had legal advice, I believe what she is claiming may be consequential damages but I'm not legally trained.

I'd be very grateful if you could make any comment on this. He, in desperation, is prepared to waive his bill for the complete works but she also wants a large sum to install a new bathroom. So it seems that she wants another bathroom at his cost.

Thanks for any comments. They would be much appreciated as this is a fair man with a customer who seems intent on profiting from him and this seems unfair.

Does she have a case to claim for a new bathroom?

CourtroomAdvice Editor 17/05/2016 at 2:40 pm

I'm afraid as we are a UK-based site I can't advise as we are only familiar with UK law and not South African.

eskom 16/05/2016 at 9:57 pm

He hired me to dj at the opening of his tarven so I charged him R700.so he gave me deposit of R200.& the next he just egnores it so what can I do in such a matter?

Supercool 15/05/2016 at 10:08 pm

Can any one offer advice?

My old landlord has said he's taking me to court over a Hoover. Let me explain. I rented a room from him as did another tenant. The other tenant left without paying some bills and before she left she told me I could keep her hoover that was left as she didn't want it. She moved out in December 2015. Roll round to now and I've moved out and taken the Hoover. Now 2 weeks after I've left my landlord is saying I stole the Hoover. It wasn't his, as his one is still there. It's definitely the one I was given but he's saying he took it in lieu of payment as the other tenant didn't pay all her bills. The Hoover was given to me before she even left the house. Can he sue me for this? And also he's bringing up other stuff like I need to pay to paint the bedroom wall as I put some holes in from shelves, I filled the holes but didn't paint over as I left 2 weeks before my tenancy ended but I did pay him until the end of the tenancy.

Thanks

Dictonary 13/05/2016 at 1:41 pm

RE: Just because a small claim has been bought against you

Its brought not bought

Brought is when you bring
Bought is when you buy

Totally different words get it right (Or should I say wright in your case!)

Deb 11/05/2016 at 6:10 pm

I have just been fined 2500 court costs for not sending my papers to the court in time for the court date . I had no notification that I had to do so. I had my papers on me but the judge refused to looks at them , adjourned the case and fined me the costs of the oppositions solicitors. Can they do this if the did not warn me what I needed to take

dpraise 08/05/2016 at 7:27 pm

my customer provided a wrong acct no and it was credited. lattier it turns out that the name provided differs from acct no.He claims the acct no was given to him by one of NY staff but couldn't identify the person. After being refunded, is now suing me for damages pls advise me

CourtroomAdvice Editor 05/05/2016 at 11:40 am

It is a difficult query to question as you don't say whether your husband paid half the lease from the beginning and/or whether his partner paid the lease, or they paid it between them. However, he really would have to seek legal advice in order to clarify whether he has a case, as it is impossible to guage from the information given, as an adviser would need details such as who paid what amount into the business across the four years etc.

rockster 04/05/2016 at 3:16 pm

Hi there i hope somebody can give me some advise.My husband has opened a barber shop 4 years ago with his so called best mate of many years.the lease to the shop is on the other guys name as my husband has a bad credit history and was advised not to be on there as this could prevent them on getting the shop quicker.my husband agreed as they have know each other since they were kids.his so called best mate out of the blue turned around and said to my husband that he has now to pay rent for the chair 50/50 or a percentage and if he doesn't do that he has to leave.
of course my husband said no as they both invested the same amount into the business and the chair was bought from the investment.we asked the guy for our original investment and he refuses and said that my husband had an easy ride for so many years.they had a verbal agreement and now the guy is not standing to it.
his answer to our l;letter we send him was you aint getting nothing as all is on my name and you dont have any ties to it.
we do as far as im aware as we have bank statements showing transfers been made to him before shop opened.
when asked for the money he said take me to court.he then threatened if you do i will backtrack everything and charge you rent.
he also threatens us with police if we refuse giving him keys back.we did returned keys back due to his threats.he then said that as he has the keys back that we do not have any access into the building and that everything is his.
i cant believe what kind of person can turn like this and be so mean.
do we have any chances of getting our original investmenty back as we do not care about the profit or the stuff in the shop.
but we feel like being used and abused and chucked in the bin.
please somebody help us
the guy is so unreasonable that i dont know what to do.
he is a bully and keeps threatining

Brian Sarahan 22/04/2016 at 3:56 pm

I have received small claims court papers from the farmer that owns the drive to our house. This is a Farm track, we have lived in the house since 2000. Our deeds state ' we have to contribute a fair and proportionate amount to the maintenance of the drive according to usage' This drive is accessed by the farmer who owns the drive along with 2 other businesses. One business has approximately 15 vehicles per day using the drive. The other business has HGV lorries regularly using the drive to access their warehouse. The farmer accesses all of the fields in the area via this drive. he also sub-lets the field on a crop rotation for potatoes to be grown. One year's crop of potatoes is approximately 900 tons. For 14 years he also had another agreement with a local farmer that he could use the drive for sugar beet lorries. Thousands of tons of beets over the years have been transported along the drive.
Last November the farmer decided he wanted to up grade the road, and is demanding I pay the same amount towards the cost of the drive as the 2 busnises. He claims as the landlord he does not have to contribute but will make a donation of £1000. He is demanding £1800 + vat from me. Despite on many occasions pointing out to him the wording in my deeds ' fair and proportionate according to usage' he is ignoring that fact. What do you think my chances of defending this are. By the way me and my wife live alone and we have one vehicle each therefore we use the drive very little.

Maggie 22/04/2016 at 7:22 am

Will you please advise if a judge places a judgement on my property. Does the amount continue to attract interest until I sell the property ?

Dave_Ferguson_12 06/04/2016 at 10:22 pm

Hi,

I have had threats that I am to be taken to a small claims court. Our best recommended her partner to decorate areas of our house.

We agreed the job and a daily rate, we decided to wait the months for him to come and do the job because of the friendship and the standard of work he said he would achieve.

He eventually arrived, and decided to bring a friend we had not agreed on, informing us the cost would remain the same. He worked for 3 half days, with no issues at all, it was nice to have someone of such a standard and friendship working on our home.

On third day, it was not agreed previous, but I offered to pay all the money as I was on vacation and had the chance to call the bank. This was refused, but a sum was asked for for both him and his colleague.

I was unable to call at the bank on said time, so returned home without any payment. Which I apologised, and I was prepared to either digitally transfer, or get half the requested amount from the ATM. I was informed that it was not an issue, to which I informed that I was on vacation on the Monday and would get it then if OK, which was. We continued to 'chew the fat', and talk over many issues as our friendship status enabled.

Later that night we received a SMS informing us that it was too much work, and they wont be returning. After SMS messages attempting to gain an explanation, worried we had done something to offend, we gave up requested the keys to our property, and the pass for parking nearby. Amazingly, the decision was already made and the keys were left. No word, no discussion, and no idea he was not to finish. In fact plans were made for him to call over the weekend whilst we were away.

This upset us greatly, and we have since discovered that the returning home with no payment was seen as our unhappiness with the work, something that could not be further from the truth.

We were left with filled and unprepared walls, half a painted room, and the obvious upset regarding the full incident.

Adminttingly, we dragged our heels and ignored the calls for payment after the discussion turned sour. I am however, not a thief, and he was kind enough to purchase the materials on our behalf which he left. We transferred the payment digitally, but as he chose to walk from the job, we have since had to hire someone else to finish the work, we have chosen not pay him, or the direct bill from the gentleman he chose to subcontract to.

We are now being informed he has taken pictures of what he 'done', and that is all we asked him to do (a half prepared wall, seriously). The rest was extras. And as he kept his end of the agreement he wishes to take us to a small claims court to get the payment for the work he has done.

I would happily pay him once the work is complete, but he chose not to continue, and now fabricates that he done what was agreed. He seeks to claim through the court.

We have done nothing wrong, and this is very upsetting for us.

We have had num

One Guy 22/03/2016 at 2:19 pm

hi I once worked for a company for 2 years .the company was registered and was under two employers whom at the time were stil married .they devorced and later on opened their own company each. I continued with the husband as he had more knowledge on how to run business. the old company s money was freezed due to the divorce that was taking place .he never make us sign any contracts like we did with the old company.

he said he started to pay us with his own money from September 2014 till December .
we closed and when we opened January , on the 25 which is our pay day he came with stories.... telling us that his personal account money of 3 million is finished .

February 2014 , March , April and may we didn't get salaries ,we received small amounts like R1000 for the whole month instead of a basic salary of say R3500.00 . what pisses me off was that when there is job to be done , he expect 100 % job done but when it comes to paying , he uses his divorce as an excuse .

last year he paid uif for the old company but owes me money for January 2015 until April plus 8 days full salary times 4 plus money for 8 days I was working there. he has previously been to ccma many occasions and is proud to say he doesn't owe us anything ,he says he paid us but it's not all the money .

since he always gets away with murder ,can I claim him at small claims court and what are my chances of winning the claim cos I didn't sign a contract but he admitted in front of my Father that he owes me money for January till may 2015 .
.

please advice

Kiko 19/03/2016 at 7:18 am

I'm being ordered to go to court over a loan I never took in a bank I have never been to in a state I don't live in anymore I have proof that I wasn't there at the time and bank statements where I was in the date it was opened and the date the loan was used what should I do and it's too late to file for stolen identity over 3 yrs since it occurred I didn't know about it until I got a certified letter from the court ???

darren 14/03/2016 at 11:39 pm

I was told I was being sent to do a safe gas coarse. I done coarse and passed..5 days passed and my boss presented to me a claw back clause that if I left I had to pay back the £1300.00 .. I didn't really want to do the coarse in the first place but was pressured into signing the document. .the date I done coarse was on it and the later date of signing also on it..if I had known I was going to have to paywhen I left I would have ppoint blank refused..I signed and told the witness that I was signing under protest...I was offered a job elsewhere a few months later and in my resignation letter I said id pay £100 a month until its paid . But I wasnt being paid as much as id hoped and my circumstances at home changed and I couldnt afford to pay £100 a month. I offered to pay £30 a month but the offer was refused and they said to pay £50 a month..I couldnt afford this so I offered 35 but got no response back. Then the small claims forms arrived..im not sure what to do now..I want to pay but just cant afford the amount they want and feel ive been ripped off to be honest.

CourtroomAdvice Editor 11/03/2016 at 2:20 pm

Whilst we cannot predict how a case may turn out, it seems from what you say that she doesn't have much of a case, especially if she has benefitted from it for over 12 months. Unless she can prove evidence that the money she put into the business was a loan, or there were other conditions involved, then I imagine she doesn't stand to gain very much.

Rachel 11/03/2016 at 7:47 am

Hi I rent a small salon and decided to sub rent a hairdressing chair out to a local stylist! My salon was fully fitted out with fixtures and fittings that I supplied! The hairdresser worked in the salon for over 6 months and then asked if she could update the equipment at her cost and I covered all the plumbing costs therefore both paying out equity for the update! She then continued to work in salon for another 12 months and then due to a disagreement as she was trying to bring her sister into the business it's has all gone sour! She is very bitter and has set up elsewhere with her sister that I trained up for free at my cost also! She is now taking me to small claims court for the backwash and stylising chair as she has the receipts! A obviously have recipes for plumbing and installations at my cost! Can she take them back and leave me with nothing as my salon was fully fitted before she started and that was the verbal agreement that it remaind so if she left?

ja 02/03/2016 at 4:44 pm

Hi

Quick question. Been taken to county claim court for an invoice of 240.00. Claimant never gave anyway i can repay money they wanted it in 48hrs or within seven days. However they wanting a total if 348.00 thats including 35.00 to do county claim. But they charged me extra 73.00 and not saying what that charge is. LBA had no price breakdown demanding money in 48hrs and they failed to provide me any T&C that they claiming i signed. So now i got court hearing in few month's. Claimant refused mediation twice. So i was thinking can i pay some mibey at a time in to there account just for the sum of 240.00 and wait to hear judges decision on why extra 73.00 was charged? I can still make some payment cant i? Or do dont pay anything i just wait to hear judge says?

Holly 01/03/2016 at 8:04 am

I've had a claim from a debt collection agency which I asked to provide proof of contract with them but they have proceeded with the court claim and I have been asked to go to mediation with them. If we reach an a wil it be recorded on my credit file. Can I make a composite offer

VOLUNTEER 27/02/2016 at 2:59 pm

Dear
i worked in small company for 2 months 10 hrs per day 4 days a week but not yet paid wages. suddenly dismissed from work saying no wages will be paid to me. I used a mediator to solve this and he told me the employer now saying i was working as a volunteer so that no need to pay anything towards me.
I sent a claim form through small claim court to the employer . employer did not give me any contract but only verbal. Please advise to win this case .

RHLDN 19/02/2016 at 9:18 pm

Hi,

Sold some items on eBay & 5 1/2 months after the buyer has contacted me asking for refund.
I've refused in the grounds that his had them for so long & that I can not be sure that they are there original items that I sent out. Now he has issued a small claim against me. What's my chance of success?

Many thanks

R

Jon 19/02/2016 at 5:44 pm

I'm raising a small claim against a company that are refusing to give my deposit back for an order of a shed. I wasn't show any terms or conditions of the deposit and nothing is printed on their order form. So I believe based on that I'm entitled to my money back. The company has informed me they intend to counter claim as they claim the cancellation of the order cost them more than the deposit. Opinions please.

O.D's 18/02/2016 at 9:00 pm

Our ex landlord is taking us to small claims in relation to "unpaid rent" we where stupidly paying cash in hand every week for 5 years since the start receipts are few and far between... September 2014 we got broken into all of a sudden then we owed them nearly 1000 pound, stupidly we had taken out a loan to pay them off... since then they have been telling us we owe such and amount in arrears with lack of receipts for payments being made I then said can we setup a standing order directly into their bank account, firstly they refused then after a few weeks they provided their daughters bank account details I refused to pay into this as she wasn't the landlord... shortly after this dispute bank details where provided as we began paying into this hey constantly appeared at the door demanding amounts in arrears that weren't due... Following my partner to the shop and demanding her take out a loan to pay them. After speaking in mediation they have denied all these claims. Since giving notice to move out they had filed for small claims against us but gave the courts and address that we have never lived in, by doing this we didn't get he notice to attend. 2 days before xmad 2015 we got a letter (redirection) from our old home was still setup.. telling us we have missed said court date, since then we have appealed and are now due in a few days time... I have all paper work except original copies of rent spreadsheets I had made for every payment being handed over due to our stuff still in storage and us still living with partners parents until a new house is found. All we have is the receipts that where few and far between would we need anything else and what do you think our chances are. According to us we don't owe anything rent in arrears all paid uo.

XVJ00 18/02/2016 at 5:53 pm

Hi, We broker a Services contract for a well know IT Brand and pay commissions to sales partners, 85% for self service, 50% where we help with the sale. We have a partner who as invoiced us for the full 85% even though we did all the work. We have a document that was emailed to them before we started which outlines roles and goals and commissions etc. We did the first deal on a 50:50, the second on and 85:15 and the third for 50:50, which they have invoiced us 85:15. We have asked for an invoice 50:50 (the funds come to us 1st) and said that we would pay immediately. They said pay us 50% against the 85% invoice as a sign of good will or they'd take us to court, and at worse get their 50% plus we'd pay costs. These guys are pretty unethical and retain a lawyer even though they only turn over

CourtroomAdvice Editor 18/02/2016 at 11:45 am

Did you make the payments by bank transfer or in cash. It may be a little more difficult to prove if there is no evidence of you ever handing over the money. However, if you paid regularly by cheque or bank transfer then you have a better case of proving the vehicle is yours. A text saying you are making the last payment means very little unless you can back up the fact that money actually changed hands.

CourtroomAdvice Editor 18/02/2016 at 11:40 am

I can only advise you to seek some professional legal advice as this is beyond our remit to give personal direction. However, if you have any proof that this company has broken the contract and is issuing threats, then this evidence should definitely be retained to help your case.

will 17/02/2016 at 5:36 pm

I bought a vehicle from my aunt paid on it for 4 years, I never bother to get receipts because I never thought I would be going through this, the only proof I have is witnesses, text msgs and her ex husband which his name is on the title also and he has agreed to sign he's part over but she will not , due to family issues and she's trying to hurt me every way she can, I also have other family members as witnesses that I have paid the truck in full, and I have text msgs including one that states that she lost the title and that she had no problem writing me a bill of sale ( which she won't do that now either ) and me stating that I was giving her the last payment via text. Now I'm taking her to small claims court so my question is , is that enough prove that I paid for the truck in full? If not what else do you recommend. Thank you for your help.

acetracker 17/02/2016 at 5:33 pm

Dear Team,

Need some help against a very immoral and aggressive company.

The company engaged our service based on our "roles and goals" document.

Based on that document we shared the profit 50/50. The second job we did for them the suddenly decided they wanted to us to give them 90%. Why ? Because they are lawyers and they know that they can threaten us.

The total value is 10K. They want £9K even though the work we did according to our documentation clearly states our fee would be 50% of the £10K.

so they are threatening to sue us for £4K.

They are saying that we might as well give them the money because they will win and we will be made to pay their legal costs also.

We are lost. We are a tiny company and unlike these thugs don't have any legal knowhow or ability to hire good legal representation.

any advice would be much appreciated.

Thankyou.

Corinestarz 16/02/2016 at 7:09 pm

I have bumped my neighbours car and have offered to go through my insurance to pay for the damage which she has agreed to. But she also stated that she could take me to the small claims court to get it repaired sooner even though I have said I will go through my insurance. Is this something she can do?

CourtroomAdvice Editor 16/02/2016 at 2:17 pm

Unless your ex can prove these items were not gifts to you and that you agreed to pay her back, then she will lose the case.

MKMan 16/02/2016 at 12:12 pm

Hi

My ex girlfriend has started a small claim against me for some birthday presents she purchased and 2 meals out while we were in a relationship. The value is approx. £500. I never agreed to pay her for these items in advance should our relationship not work out. What is my position?

CourtroomAdvice Editor 16/02/2016 at 10:45 am

Much depends on the terms of your contract and what it specifies. However, if you can prove your argument that the hotel did not re-advertise the room until a month before, then you may have a good argument (especially at the hotel stated it was a peak time - meaning then someone else may have snapped this peak date if it had been advertised). I can only suggest doing as much research as you can to back up your case.

PLD 15/02/2016 at 2:01 pm

Hi there I am being taken to the small claims court next week for 50% of the cost of the wedding that I cancelled prior to the date. Can anyone advise me on the best course of action to defend my case. I told the hotel 6 months in advance and only 1 month before the date they started advertising the rooms they did in no way try to mitigate their loss. They only argued that I had booked a prime date and that they were going to seek the costs as per the booking form even though they were not out any expenses. I do not feel that they tried to resell the date they only wanted to take me a 36 year old administrator to court for cancelling them. I am in bits about all of this and have no money not to mention do not want a £3,000 debt hanging over me with absolutely nothing to show for it. I dont know what to do.

Anth 11/02/2016 at 8:29 pm

Hi.
I left my child tution centre. I gave notice but told them i am financially struggling to pay my 4 weeks notice. They didn't want instalments they kept on demanding full payment. I told them to wait a couple of months and hopefully will save up and pay. They did a county claim. No notification prior or break down of cost of what they charging me. My invoice was for 240.00. They added extra 70.00 of interest when knowing i am struggling as a single parent. I am disputing the extra unknown interest charge. I never denied paying but the tuition centre made no effort in having installments. We were told to go mediation. The claimant said they not in country. it went to a judge. Judge has set court hearing but strongly advising we sort it and try not to come to court and to try mediation. I have now emailed claimant asking them if they are willing to just accept invoice payment and not the extra interest payment. I have not signed any contracts with this tution place so can they make me pay the interest charges?. I had no notification they are doing a county court claim on me. Would judge look at this?. I personally feel its a waste of court time. Claimant not shown any compassion towards ne. I have been a good person paid my invoices on time and when i have struggled towards the end the claimant dont want to know. Also i refered many parents to this tuition place but after a while they left due to poor service. I feel they blane me for this.

I am nervous. And i have tried to negotiate with claimant but they admant they want every penny in full.Any advice is helpful

Pigbag 09/02/2016 at 2:56 pm

Hi,
I've received a small claims against me, in which the particulars of claim are inaccurate in respect the dates of the actual incident incorrect, (A year out)

It could could be a typo, or it could be to alter the dates of the case, which originally occurred in 2014 to appear as if they occurred in 2015 and only 6 months old as oppose to 18 months old.

How could I rectify this in my response? If I wanted to?

CourtroomAdvice Editor 04/02/2016 at 2:27 pm

If the van was in payment for the work done and you can prove this, then you will have a case to argue. Any correspondence or emails/text messages that specify you would be given the van as payment with no agreement to pay her back will help.

paul 03/02/2016 at 9:09 pm

I did work on my wife's grans house for about 7 mths once the house was sold they brought me a work van we have now split up and as she has the proff of purchase she's saying the van is hers where do I Stand in a small claims court??

Bazz 28/01/2016 at 10:02 pm

I have just been to court and the case was struck out but the judge went ahead with the case and I lose the case bbecause of the judge

Peewee 27/01/2016 at 2:55 am

I wish to bring a claim. Aganist a. Body shop for insurance fraud , incomplete work done on my car. Use of same old parts lnstead of replacing. New parts, and braking s side pf the car that i asked. Him not to do . P leasr keep ln mind. That. this person was given. nearly. 8,000. for repairs. What can i. do. to win my claim?

Jim. 21/01/2016 at 11:20 am

I've just found out my ex issued a small claims summons against me on the 6th of January 2016. Having been contacted by her lawyers in Dec 2015 I told them that due to her violent nature I would not be giving my address out. They said they would send a summons via e mail. All our correspondence had been email. I then heard nothing back from them.
Turns out she issued the summons to my parents address, who are always out of the country this time of year. I have no key for the house.
How do I respond if I can't get a copy of the summons? How can a summons be issued to an address I haven't lived at since 1998?
Any advice appreciated ?

Cal 13/01/2016 at 7:27 pm

I have a small claims case against me and my partner was served on my behalf. The service packet was provided however the plaintiffs filled out all of my response packet and signed her name. It stated that she must provide me with the packet upon service or it is not complete. What are my rights?

omw22 13/01/2016 at 8:19 am

Previous landlord is taking my partner to small claims over an amount sum... unpaid rent but rent was paid in cash and and not all recipts where given when cash was being paid... since moving from said property initial date for court and letters where sent in early November to an address that was not hers coincidently address was for a house across the street to landlord and then 2 days before Xmas partner finally got word of small claims letter... since then court letters (copied ones previous land lord has) have been being sent to all her aunts and uncles address except for hers is this something to add into reporting court letter...is it even legal or classified as harressment

Jim 12/01/2016 at 8:34 pm

Hi folks,
I heard my ex is suing me, she doesn't know where I live, her lawyers contacted via email, asking for my address which I didn't give. They said they would issue summons by PDF via e mail. I have heard nothing back.
According to a mutual friend she issued a summons to my parents house. They are out of the country this time of year so I can't respond to claim if I've been issued one.
Where can I find out if this happening? ( my ex and I do not talk) Can I be sued with out knowing the details or dates ?
Many thanks.

Jonny 11/01/2016 at 12:04 pm

Hi. I’m being taken to small claims court by a customer who was unhappy with part of a small rendering job I did for them a while back. The problem is that the customer has put my personal name as the defendant’s name on the claim form, instead of the name of my company (limited). I’m not really interested in holding up proceedings over a technicality, but my concern is that, in the unlikely event of the customer winning, my personal credit would be affected. Do you have any advice? Thanks

CourtroomAdvice Editor 06/01/2016 at 2:10 pm

If they cannot prove they paid for the items or have evidence you took the items, then they would have little recourse. However, it is a bit difficult to answer this question in the abstract and without fuller details.

Lighy 05/01/2016 at 9:00 pm

I'm being taken to a small claims over supposedly giving away 2 items that belonged to the claimant. The claimant is unable to prove thus far that they have paid anything for said items and they value they are claiming for is made up from an approx figure. Do they have any rights in this case? As they cannot prove they paid for the items in the first place but cannot even place an exact amount on how much they were worth?

Ri 15/12/2015 at 5:16 pm

The defendence is stating that they want to put in a counter claim. I have tried to settle as much as possible out of court.
However they are rug using to give me details of the counter claim even after asking a number of times. What do I do next ?

Beebo85 12/12/2015 at 12:09 pm

What happens to your claim if you have submitted to court but the defendant has changed their story. Example your possession was disposed before your claim and you have written and verbal confirmation of this by the defendant. After you submit your Claim for damages the defendant changes their story and asks you to reclaim your possession as its available but will not pay all the incurred cost since the original decision to dispose you possession?
Can you still go ahead with the claim if defendant changes their story?

Rich 07/12/2015 at 4:24 pm

A friend of mine is being taken to small claims court over money owed for a holiday.
Their friend paid for the holiday in full with the agreement that their half be paid back in monthly installments. Once they went on the holiday my friend discovered the location of the holiday was a lie and they were actually staying in a different hotel that what was promised. It ended with them coming home early and my friend refusing to pay for the rest of the holiday. The remaining amount is about £500. Would this be an acceptable reason to not owe the money?

CourtroomAdvice Editor 23/11/2015 at 1:51 pm

You should be able to download it from the JustClaim whichI hope this helps.

gepppy 22/11/2015 at 10:07 pm

My dog chewed my claim form from Northampton county court and I need a new n9a form how can I get one bricking it here

Jane 12/11/2015 at 6:04 am

I had laminate flooring fitted and the beading came loose after one week, a door was ruined by the fitter trimming it and they failed to fit a door bar leaving a gap. At the hearing the claimant lied constantly, talked over me and was asked by the judge 4 times to let me speak. The claimant was allowed 65 minutes to state his case, I was allowed 25 and the judge ruled in his favour. This was despite me never seeing the witness statements and my name was incorrect on his paperwork. Is it worth me appealing?

Monkey100 11/11/2015 at 7:03 pm

I am being taken to small claims over a second hand towel rail I sold on eBay and the buyer claims it is not stainless steel. I have offered a refund over 4 times but it has never been accepted.
They asked for the £47.50 (cost of the towel rail) and £70 expenses plus no return of the towel rail.
I asked them to explain why they do not respond to my refund.
They have now filled a court cast for £291 of which are £47.50 for the cost of the towel rail and the rest is expenses and wages?
I am a housewife who sold a second hand towel rail at eBay auction collection only. He was happy enough when he collected it. He was blackmailing me for financial gain and now I am defending the small claim. He has refused to engage in conversation and won't give me his phone number to discuss.
Where do you think I stand?

Cas 11/11/2015 at 12:45 pm

I had a hairdressing business with one partner which has now ceased to trade. We shared all profits and debts equally. We had a lease on a shop which has now come to an end. The lease was in our joint names with joint and several liability and there is no mention of the business in it. She paid the final rent bill etc and is now threatening to take me to the Small Claims Court for half of it. I paid all the remaining bills to do with the business including gas and electricity and wanted to know whether I can counterclaim if she decides to sue me as she has told me I can't because the Lease is a separate matter from other things to do with our hairdressing business. I'd be really grateful if you could advice me.

Jay 06/11/2015 at 1:10 am

@Carly. Thank you for that. So the CCJ Is only issued if you do not comply with the judge's order on time! That's a relief. Can I ask what I'm to expect? Ie. Will I need to take anything with me? Will it be formal? Will they want proof of "landlord status" as again I am not a registered landlord. Just someone with an extra room who was told "ooh you should take in a lodger!" (Famous last words)

Carly 05/11/2015 at 5:49 pm

@Jay Tenants with ASTs are protected by tenancy deposit protection regulation. Live in landlords with lodgers however are not required to protect their deposits, though they can do so if they choose. It sounds like you have acted reasonably with your deductions and have issued a statement of why you have made these. The small claims court will listen to both sides of the situation and then make a decision. If this goes against you - you will have 14 days to pay - if your don't pay within this period then a CCJ would be on your record. My personal experience with the small claims court is that the judge uses good old common sense and if all you say is true then you should have little to worry about...

Jay 05/11/2015 at 5:28 pm

hi.

I let a little lodger stay at my home for 4weeks. No written agreement but In this time I was living there. Provided clean linen, toiletries etc. and she was an absolute slob. She dirtied the carpet of my room and I hired a carpet cleaner and charged her for the costs as a well as weekly cleaning charge for doing her dishes, and cleaning the communal areas (which we were supposed to share) which I took from her deposit. I sent her receipts and explained why the charge. Total cost I took was £100. I gave her back the rest. She is now taking me to small claims court for the £100 saying I should have protected the deposit and claiming she can sue me for 3times the amount. Surely this is not right as she was a lodger not a tenant? I was prepared to fight her in court because it's not fair I should not be out of pocket because she stayed here but now I'm hearing that I can have a CCJ against my name just for appearing in court which i cannot afford as I am buying a house in the new year. This is my first time of letting someone stay in my home and it has been awful. I just received a taunting email from her telling me that I better make sure the HMRC know about my extra income!! It all feels like she's getting some advice that i simply don't understand. Surely I am within my rights to charge somebody for cleaning costs if they weren't clean! Is it worth defending myself? How likely am I to have a CCJ??

Bluestarr 25/10/2015 at 9:35 pm

Hi there, I really hope I can get some advice. I took someone to court for writing off my vehicle in which they were driving. The long & short of it is I won the small claims case and she was ordered to pay me £1320. A couple of weeks after the judgement she has left town, with no intention of returning due to this order and I have no way of finding her to try and get my money back. Any ideas of how I try to approach this or am I fighting a lost cause. Any advice would be most appreciated, thanks.

Arabs 21/10/2015 at 3:21 am

My driver hit a private car and caused damages costing $4810.00. He simply supplied quotation from garages stating the detail list of replacement plus the total cost.

WOMBLE 15/10/2015 at 3:42 am

I have a franchise with a big name driving school ,I had been with them for about 2 months when I had a stroke I have not worked since which is about3 months idont know if I will be able to teach again,i am on a years contract with bsm can anyone help me I need to know can bsm get the years franchise off of me because I am broke and have no chance of getting money.

CourtroomAdvice Editor 01/10/2015 at 1:43 pm

Please see CAB whichwhich should answer your question.

CourtroomAdvice Editor 01/10/2015 at 11:00 am

I'm glad this worked for you and you were able to prove your case.

Sumaya 30/09/2015 at 4:42 pm

I'm in the middle of filling out a defense form. Firstly can I attach additional sheets to complete my statement? Secondly should I attach evidence now or is it required later?

Wendy Howell 30/09/2015 at 9:28 am

Best thing i ever did using the small claims in Reading following an RTA with a Travis Perkins lorry I struggled to recover the cost of my repair and found that the companies fleet insurance seemed to just delay or throw wild accusations at me about my manor of driving and took there lorry drivers word about the accident. Thankfully I had some photographic evidence and I produced all of this in court which proved my vehicle had been hit from behind. The lorry driver also stated I never left my vehicle following the incident thankfully the photographic evidence proved my case beyond a doubt and 18 months later, I finally got my costs back. Well done Reading Small Claims and thank you.

CourtroomAdvice Editor 08/09/2015 at 12:01 pm

You can use the court's small claims procedure for claims under £10,000 and it is intended to be simple enough to use without needing a solicitor. You may also be able to check your legal rights via a Shelter advice centre for free here. I hope this helps.

MrPaulie 07/09/2015 at 3:13 pm

I am in the middle of a small claims court dispute, I am suing my Landlord, somehow when things were so bad we left in a hurry, and got married in one week, due to him be an alcoholic and making our lives hell, only to find I had overpaid him 10 Months rent @ £440, , I told him of the problem, and he said he couldn't pay it back, the courts have written to him the bailiffs have been round 5 times, and he simply doesn't answer the door, I don't know what to do. He is unemployed but his rich sister pays him to stay at home drinking 2 bottles of wine everyday, and he has spent all my Money, I don't know what to do, he has been to Thailand before we left, because of his rich sister, but I feel I will never see a penny of this Money again, I am stressed as it is, and don't want it costing me anymore.

Roadrunner 06/09/2015 at 3:46 pm

Chris on 26th August. I was in court Friday and is now going to a final hearing. If you want to pm me then please do. I am suing for misrepresentation I have 3 children and it generally takes 1 hour to fill a bath. Sometimes the cold pressure stops altogether then we have to wait for it to cool. it's shocking as if this was a criminal case then the person would be jailed for fraud.

CourtroomAdvice Editor 28/08/2015 at 11:28 am

I'm afraid you would have to contact the courts directly in order to follow up your case.

CourtroomAdvice Editor 27/08/2015 at 12:54 pm

You would really need to seek professional legal advice on this question. However, if there is evidence that she has previously been aware of this matter, then you should reply to her solicitor with the evidence you have uncovered and take it from there.

LG 27/08/2015 at 11:52 am

Hello,

A while ago now I was summoned to a small claims court from the mother in law, long story short I asked for the location of the case to be moved from her location (Bournemouth) to my location, to which it was moved :)!

Since the location change I've heard very little about the case as its been over 4 months as to when I was told to submit my evidence against the claim, along with my evidence I applied for a "strike out" as my evidence suggests she is clearly in the wrong and shouldn't be taking me to a small claims court as she has no case.

My question is why is it taking so long?? the case itself is well over 1 year old and I've yet to hear about my strike out application, nor any information as to the case itself I'm just wondering if you can provide information as to why the case is taking so long is this normal or just a slow procedure?

Or has this complicated anything further due to my "strike out" request.

Thank you

Mark 26/08/2015 at 8:38 pm

Permission to appeal my case was rejected.What reason I was given I was that I was beyond 21 days to appeal. Whichever is applicable to appeal the decision - the date of the hearing and decide whether the official date of issue general forms of Judgment or order

Chris 26/08/2015 at 3:43 pm

Just like "road runner" appearing here 22 May, I purchased a property with low water pressure that I did not know about and was not flagged up. It's on a shared water supply pipe and the pressure is abysmal. I barely get two litres of water a minute. I did not realise this until I moved in three weeks ago. I contacted the water board when I moved in and it was then I established I was on a shared supply. The vendor did not disclose this on the property information forms. My solicitor then wrote to the vendor asking for clarification of the water issues. The vendors solicitor has come back to say that he vendor, a 91 year old lady, is not aware of any problems and the water pressure was ok for the 30 years she has been there and, as she's 91, she may als have memory problems. On the same day as receiving this response from their solicitor, I got a copy of the operational data from the water board confirming she had been in touch with them on many occasions over the past two years about low water pressure and had many call outs. The notes show she had also been advised by the water board that the supply pipes are old and corroded and that is the cause of the problem and their advice was to install her own supply. The notes show she has had contact with the water board also,not long ago, October 2014. So what she says is lies and I have the evidence to prove this now. It's going to cost me thousands to put in my own supply pipe. Had she declared this on the SPIFs I would have sought further advice and probably not proceeded with the purchase, or negotiated on the price. The vendor sold the property and has now moved into a care home. It appears that her son also deals with some of her affairs. I will also have to install a new boiler when I get my own water supply as the current one is designed for low pressure and will therefore not be suitable. Is this misrepresentation and can I pursue through small claims court for the cost of putting in my supply, the cost of a new boiler, and compensation for the stress this has caused me, and my time as I run my own business. Thanks.

CourtroomAdvice Editor 19/08/2015 at 10:42 am

I'm afraid, you would have to contact the court directly regarding this question.

DebP 18/08/2015 at 10:41 am

Hi... My partner bought an item online on my behalf as my internet wasn't working... It was my money that paid for it but the invoice/receipt is in my partners name...we never received the item & the company will not issue a replacement or refund... I have started court proceedings through small claims track & their only defence is that I am not a party to the contract... Can I still pursue this or do we have to start all over again with everything in my partners name (him now being the claimant)? ....please help!!!

Carp 30/07/2015 at 7:16 pm

Hi i had a small claim against me and the other party won ... she wasnt happy with fitting off carpets so had to remburse her for them and the fitting am i in my rights to to ask for the carpets back seen as she wasnt happy with the fitting off them thats why ended up in court with thanks

Yuaskin 28/07/2015 at 2:11 am

I won a small claims case but the defendant won't release check until I sign a doc can he do that

ohio 15/07/2015 at 7:38 am

pls can any one help? I had an offer to study MSc, before accepting the offer I spoke with the staff handling my application about my concern as I am working full time he told me the course is 3 days a week which was very much ok, I could work for the rest of the weeks including weekends to enable me pay my fees and support my family. the first term its 3 times a week every thing was moving on smoothly. but the next term it moved to 5 days a week I complained they moved me another group doing 4 days thereby reducing my working hours by 4 days making it very difficult for me to pay my fees. when I explained to to the school authority they told me the school reserve the right to make such changes. I could not make complete payments any more and school logged me off the system. I left school with the hope to return after one yr, unfortunately I lost my job things went too bad. I couldn't go back after one year, now they are need the remaining fees of 5,000 via county court. can I make a counter claim? before now I ahve requested for a complete refund or even part of what i paid, they said am not due for any refund, i can appeal which i did but they never responded.

Eric 23/06/2015 at 6:19 pm

Hi Mel,
Just received court order by 3 mobile network regarding a phone they claiming wasn't fully paid on their contract in my name at 2011 which I'm not aware of that particular handset and phone number in question and no claims received since then by 3 network to my post till now. However, I have been with 3 mobile network for over 7 years, have hold one telephone number for over 7 years till now on renewable handset's after each contract finished. Currently im holding 4 different contracts with them for being loyal customer over these 7 years with no monthly payments slipped by. I have discussed with 3 M network to explain dates and time this contracts took place. From all indications it is either a scam or someone might have using my personal details for this claim or 3 network making huge mistake. I asked them why should take me to court for being a loyal customer till date often struggling with getting right network receptions and paying over 150GBP every month till date. I do not hold any telephone number and handset taking to court at moment with no idea. Advice what to do please got about 10 days to react to court letter. Regards Eric

CourtroomAdvice Editor 25/06/2015 at 12:45 pm

@sue1 - I suggest you give ACAS a call regarding this issue via the link here to see if you have any recourse. I hope this helps.

sue1 23/06/2015 at 1:18 pm

after an interview was told by an employment agency i had got a job and they wanted to know when i could start...they wanted the folloiwng monday but said if i hand in my notice and i am asked to leave then i could start in a couple of days.. i handed in my notice an was asked to leave.. i kept chasing the agency for a start date, and 2 days later the agency called to the job was not available but they would find me another job (which they never). i was out of work for 6 weeks and tried to claim loss of earnings from them - but they refuse saying the lady from the agency never expressly said please go and hand in your notice....is this correct or do we have a case...the lady even called me the following morning to see how it had gone when i handed in my notice, and at no point said i shouldnt have done it....
many thanks

CourtroomAdvice Editor 05/06/2015 at 11:03 am

@Mel - if you say the 'service' was not for you, and you had no dealings with the company, then you would need to make an application to court to set aside the judgement due to the fact that you were not the correct defendant. I hope this helps.

Mel 04/06/2015 at 11:32 pm

Hi,
I have recently seen a small claim against me on my credit report. The invoice was issued 2 yrs ago, however the invoice was not address to me and was sent to an old address which I moved out of 8 years ago.
I spoke to the conpany who put forward the claim. They would not to take it off the small claim and asked me to pay as they think they have instructed by me. Despite the service wasnt for me.
Im not sure what to do. If I pay, will it mark on my report as default or paid late??

Dan Editor 27/05/2015 at 10:06 am

@AllyMc - I'm afraid I can't really give advice on what you should. If you intend to dispute the claim, after filling in the relevant paperwork, you or your representative must appear in court on the hearing date to state your position. If you wish to counterclaim you will need to issue the court with a written note of your proposal at the hearing and before the return date. You will also need to send a copy to the pursuer.

AllyMc 24/05/2015 at 9:49 am

I've recently been issued a small claims summons from a company who 'installed' a kitchen for us in 2012. We've had a long running dispute over shoddy workmanship, multiple attempts to resolve faults (including many faults which were hidden behind units/cabinets so have taken some time to notice or manifest) and extremely poor customer service (not showing for appointments etc.). We've had little or no contact with the company for the last 12 months so I assumed we were going to accept our differences in opinion and move on. I've essentially paid for the complete kitchen and approx 50% of the total installation costs. They're previously admitted that the joiner they employed to fit the kitchen had been dismissed due to lack of competency, but then issued another note saying this was incorrect and that he had been re-instated. On a minor point, the summons is addressed to my incorrect name but Idon't imagine this will materially affect the summons. On a more serious point, they've got their figures of what has been paid, what is owed etc. wrong so I would certainly be intending to make that clear. I'm seriously thinking about dusputing the claim and issuing a counter claim, but I'd appreciate some objective advice.

CourtroomAdvice Editor 22/05/2015 at 2:13 pm

@Road runner - you would really have to get some advice from your conveyancing solicitor on this. However, on the TA6 she was under obligation to tell you, the buyer about any latent defects in the title to your property. Therefore, if you have evidence or better can locate a paper trail to prove that she was aware of the problem prior to the sale, then you will have recourse to take her to court and sue for misrepresentation. I hope this helps.

Road runner 22/05/2015 at 7:17 am

I was wondering if anyone as any advice on property . We bought a property last year and when we moved in the water pressure was that low we called the water board . They did tests and said because it's a private road the responsibilty ends at the bottom of the road and the engineer said he explained this to the previous occupier the year before . As the owner was a property developer she was fully aware of the fundemental problem that faces us and our 3 children on a daily basis . She also filled out a ta6 form (property information form) and ticked no to not knowing about problems regarding the property and no to having any conversations with any organisations . We have the water boards statements to say the previous owner was given the same information as us and that was to replace the existing pipes with a new individual water connection or join with our neighbours . The cheapest option we found is coming out at 4k , this never got that far with the developer as chose to leave it. It's that bad here sometimes we can't bath the children as water just doesn't come out . Wrote to the previous owner left answer message threatening court action should not reply ,so now we have done that the defendent is defending all of the claim. Any advice would be appreciated especially any barristers / solicitos . Thanks

Bookie 19/05/2015 at 4:05 pm

i have had a court date as my tennent is taking me to small claims for not returning a bond due to damage to my property.i have tried to resolve the matter on a number of occasions but the claiment has declined and says that as I was not aware of the tennents bond protection scheme I will be find 3 times the amount I have a counter claim against the tennents . The tennents solicitor has since sent me a letter informing me of what the claiment will say in court and is asking me to forward my comments for my defence is this a legal requirement or do I wait until I go to court.

Jo 19/05/2015 at 2:20 pm

My partner is being taken to small claims. He is a heating engineer and there was a leak around a radiator the customers dad was called to fix the leak and my partner was not informed until 20 hours after the alleged leak (all very suspicious). Anyway this has now progressed to a hearing on 2nd June. Both parties were asked to file and serve documents they would rely on in court at least 14 days before the court date (which is today). We have filed and served ours but the claimant hasn't and today has rung the court up to say he will be sending some in. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as he now has sight of our defence and is preparing his case papers based on it

Anna Editor 14/05/2015 at 2:40 pm

@Winston - the judge can do what he or she likes, but if one party hasn't provided enough evidence they can just decide on the evidence given, that it why it is always important to make sure your case is prepared fully.

Winston 12/05/2015 at 10:51 pm

Can a judge in a small claims court ask the plaintiff to provide more evidence to support his claims if he doesn't have enough proof on the day to support his case?

greyh 01/05/2015 at 10:11 am

Is there guidance/legislation about how much a claimant can ask for as "costs" if the amount disputed in the small claims court is less than £2000 ?

Shasha 28/04/2015 at 2:26 pm

My partner currently valeted a client car was paid in full with no issues
10 days later the client accused my partner of cigarette burn damage to interior. She became verbally aggressive threatening the business reputation
He offered as good will gesture to repair as he would not prove neither disprove he caused damage. Client was initially happy she now wishes a dealership costing 3 times more to carry out the work my partner has refused and she is threatening legal action. My partner cannot prove the burn was previously there but the client cannot disprove it wasn't does she have a case against him.

Matt Editor 30/04/2015 at 9:43 am

@Swood75 - you may be liable for the court costs of the other party if you don't win the case. I should double check. Did you take this to a consumer ombudsman? It may have been able to help, especially if you had all the evidence to point to the company saying you could have a refund and then not receiving it.

Swood75 27/04/2015 at 9:11 am

I'm taking a company to court over not receiving a refund for goods sent back in January. They say this has been sent but nothing has gone into my bank account. I have now been told they are sending me a letter from their solicitor with his costs should they do this? I read at small claims your not liable for the other parties solicitors fees.

Rich Editor 29/04/2015 at 10:46 am

@Riss - it is a little difficult if you have no proof of this action.

Riss 26/04/2015 at 4:44 pm

I just wanted to know if I can file for dispute chargers for a chiropractor who billed me an amount to claim to the insurance then later made the bill higher after finding out I received more money for other expenses. My mistake was to not make a copy of the first bill that he gave so I have no prove. Is there any chance for me to file a case? In desperate need of help/advice.

Aid Editor 24/04/2015 at 3:01 pm

@HSouthLondon - he may not be able to take your son to court, but he may be able to find a way around to and take you to court instead, as you are his legal parent/guardian. You would have to double check.

HSouthLondon 23/04/2015 at 7:40 pm

My 17 yr old son fixes mobile phones. A customer who dropped their phone and asked him to fix the smashed screen, was told by him once he'd' examined it that it was more than a cracked screen and needed further work which either he could send it away for a specialist to do or the customer could have the phone back and return it to the maker for fixing. The customer chose the latter. When it came into and left his possession it still worked on both occasions. The customer then returned the phone to the phone provider NOT the phone manufacturer, who instantly said it was irreparable, of course they want her to buy a new handset. She is now blaming my son saying he made it irreparable and has demanded he pay half towards a new handset. He of course won't be doing that despite them threatening him with all sorts of things, tax man, small claims court etc. Now I know that he has a solid case as he's a well taught and informed expert in that service, the customer isn't however I'm pretty sure that he as a 17 yr old can't be taken to a small claims court as a defendant. Am I right?

CourtroomAdvice Editor 16/04/2015 at 11:33 am

@Jessdog123 - I'm afraid you will have to take legal advice on this query, as the owner can theoretically take you to the small claims court. It doesn't mean the owner will win, especially if your son has made amends to pay the amount originally asked from him. Much depends on the case presented. However, any advice here is purely conjecture and I would certainly seek legal advice to see what your son's best way forward will be.

Jessdog123 15/04/2015 at 11:58 am

My son is 18 yrs of age. Just before Xmas he fell against a tea room window with another and smashed the glass. He paid the owner £191 for the broken glass and so did another.bthe man therefore received 382
Now we have received a letter asking for loss of earnings totalling 500 for the one and a half day when the shop was allegedly closed - loss of earnings. It states if we do not pay within a month he will take this matter to a small claims court
The tea room is in a quiet seaside village and this was three days before Xmas it was hardly tourist season. He stated in his letter his accountant came up with this figure.
We did not question the amount paid for the window repair & we did not ask for a breakdown of costs we trusted and paid the 191 to rightly so for the damaged window.
My son is 18, unemployed without any source of income at present. He is waiting to join the army later in the year.
Can I dispute this payment. I would hate my son to end up with a judgement against his name

KPistheNuts 13/04/2015 at 9:41 pm

I recently submitted paperwork for an amount owed by a friend for £1900 plus court costs. I was sure that at the time of submitting the paperwork to court, they had only made 1 payment.
After receiving the defendants paperwork, it showed that they had made 2 payments.
I remember now after being reminded of this. However, the original paperwork to the court submitted was for £1900.
Now I'm not sure whether to continue with the claim, although the defendant has admitted she had made 2 payments, but I've wrongly accused her for a different amount, but there is still an outstanding balance of £900. What can I do? I am not on speaking terms with the 'friend'
Help...

rach 24/03/2015 at 3:08 pm

I am a seamstress and a bride has come back to me 9 and half weeks after I delivered her dress to her following alterations. When I returned her dress I asked hner to try the dress back on which she refused as she said she had no time to do so. I told her she needs to come back to me asap in the event of a query. 9 and half weeks later she is claiming the hem was not taken up properly when I know the hem was carried correctly. Her fiance took over the phone call and threatened me with his position in the Post Office and said my diary will be emptied and I had better get round to their house. I told them I would not go round as I felt threatened and unsafe to do so. the bride then apologised for the threats so I then told her I would agree to come around. She had already decided to go to another seamstress and I told her any extra costs as a result of this bearing in mind I agreed to look at the dress and any amendments would be done free of charge would be borne by herself. Whilst of course I wouldnt imagine she would have destroyed the dress on purpose, I have no proof that the dress hadnt been touched and an amateur handled it during the 9 and half weeks as my work is always of a high standard and no one in their right mind would have carried out an alteration like that. She is now threatening me with a Small Claims court. Would you offer her anything in order for the case to be dropped? If not, what would you do.

Ollie Editor 25/03/2015 at 1:40 pm

@nicola - if this is true (he might just be calling your bluff) you'll hear from the court and it will be a matter of justifying the reasons why you chose to dispose of his stuff.

nicola 22/03/2015 at 7:57 pm

My ex partner is putting all over facebook that he is taking me to the small claims court for the stuff he left behind When he moved out. The stuff has since been disposed of. What happens?

CourtroomAdvice Editor 11/03/2015 at 12:07 pm

@lyn - yes if a decree or order is made against your partner by the Small Claims Court, it is a County Court Judgment (CCJ) and I'm afraid it may affect his credit status.

lyn 09/03/2015 at 4:56 pm

My partner has been served papers to attend small claims Court for a debt that he strongly believes is statute barred. He intends to defend the claim and has agreed to mediation, however he will still defend the claim against him. If for some reason it does go to small claims Court and for some bizarre reason they find that this is not the case and he has to pay the debt. He pays the debt in full including Court costs, will this still show as a CCJ on his credit file?

CourtroomAdvice Editor 06/03/2015 at 10:00 am

@confused - I can't really advise on this you would have to contact MCOL directly.

confused 03/03/2015 at 10:01 am

I filed a defence on the grounds of debt being statute barred back in October 2014 - no other actions are showing when I log onto MCOL - do I just leave it or do I have to do something else? Have googled but not got nowhere! TIA

Ollie Editor 18/02/2015 at 1:00 pm

@dolsoft- I would pass this information directly to your insurance company in order for them to assess it. Anyone can take you to court, but it is unlikely they would win if the claim was settled in your favour.

dolsoft 16/02/2015 at 7:38 pm

I was involved in a car accident in September last year. The third party was judged to have caused the collision. Wrong side of the road and fleeing the scene... The claim was finally settled about a month ago but I've now received a small claims claim from the husband of the third party for the sum of £1500 for the repairs of the third party's vehicle. It claims the accident was caused by my negligence, travelling too fast, failing to brake in time etc... Surely if her insurance has settled the claim in my favour then how can he take me to court?

Vic Editor 18/02/2015 at 10:33 am

@Jr brklyn - if you default on the agreement then yes, she can. As it's a few thousand pounds, she may want to feel secure that she is going to get the money back and by going through the courts it means the agreement is then set in stone. By you paying only the minimum payment it means the loans may be accruing higher interest also.

Jr brklyn 16/02/2015 at 8:31 am

I borrow money from a x girl friend have been paying 325.00 a month the loan on a credit card was almost 3000 right now I owe is 2662.00 so I couldn't pay the 325.00 but the min payment is 70.00 but I've paid the min for 3months told her I couldn't make the 325.00 because of some financial issue so she decided to put in a claim for small claims court can she still take me to court even if I'm paying

Irish10 31/01/2015 at 4:48 pm

My fence blew down in storm force winds and allegedly scraped my neighbours car- i rent my house out and I was not told the fence was damaged and no one witnessed the fence hitting the car- I told her to claim on her car insurance as their is no proof that I've been negligent. I received a threatening solicitors letter asking me to pay £180 and I refused, now I've received a small claims court claim for £724 that I've disputed. I have to attend a hearing on 26th feb and have to fly home to NI for this. I'm going to summit my evidence but been told that even if I defend myself in person small claims rule 70% in favour of the claimant? I've offered settlement of £180 but no response from claimant. Is it worth me flying home to attend the hearing? Thanks

CourtroomAdvice Editor 22/12/2014 at 11:03 am

@Noswar - I think you really need to call your insurance company for an explanation. As you say it should have been settled directly through them and really had no need to go to the county court, unless you refused to pay.

Noswar 19/12/2014 at 8:48 pm

I had a car accident back in Feb 14. In which at a roundabout the driver in front set off into the roundabout then suddenly stopped. I naturally looked immediately right to see what was coming from my right but the other driver had stopped. Everything went through insurance and all sorted. Today I have received a county court notice asking me to pay total of £160.96 of this only £80 is for out of pocket expenses. They are also asking for interest, surely interest can only be paid if i had refused to pay in the 1st instance.
Can they do this? I have not received any notice about this at all. If the drivers insurance had sent me an invoice for this I would have settled it without question. Why has the insurance solicitors gone straight to county court?

CourtroomAdvice Editor 12/12/2014 at 12:37 pm

@elhanal - the best thing you can do is to make it easy for the court judge to be able to read and understand your cliam as clearly as possible. It is also very important you have everything that is relevant to your case and not miss anything out. The bundle needs in the first instance to be laid our chronologically in a date/time sequence (earliest date first, top down). Number all your pages, so that you can easily reference them yourself from your copy. You can have up to four sections, firstly preliminary which equates to relevant correspondence, with particularly relevant areas marked. You can have a section on witness statements and photographs etc. Make sure they are split into defining areas. You also need to head each section and list the corresponding page and what it contains. i.e
Section 1 - correspondence.
1. - letter from claimant to defendant dated 01.12.14
2. - letter from defendant to claimant dated 09.12.14
and so on and so forth. You need to also present it as neatly as possible, preferably binding it to make sure nothing is out of order or can fall out. I hope this helps.

CourtroomAdvice Editor 12/12/2014 at 10:37 am

@daj - we have had to remove your comment from this site as it was private and confidential material.

elhanal 11/12/2014 at 7:09 pm

Hello, ive recieved my notice of allocation for the small claims court could anyone please advise me in what sequance i send my comprehensive bundle of documents to the District judge.Do i begin with the first letter i sent to the tour operator,or do i send all tour operators letters together,then all my evidence letters together,solicitors letters together, or should i send them all in order by the dates etc.any replies would be helpful thankyou

Richard Kingston upo 25/11/2014 at 5:01 pm

Hi

My partner has a claim against him. On a Sunday in late Aug, at a party, he was messing around and a friend dropped his own phone. My partner accepted liability for the cracked screen. The claimant came to my partners work the Thursday after, asked for £150 and my partner transfered the money from his bank on line the same day. In late Sept the claimant sent a private message on FB saying the seller he had bought a screen from on eBay had not delivered it, and that eBay weren't interested in helping him (I doubt this....). He then demanded £300 from my partner as he now wanted a new handset not just a replacement screen. My partner told him no, as he had already settled the debt. The claimant ranted a bit and threatened to go to the police and to sue. He's done both, the police called my partner about criminal damage to a phone. My partner explained he had already paid for the damaged he had caused. The police officer laughed/groaned and said they should sort it out themselves. In Oct, the claimant made a small claims. He has said my partner deliberately broke hi whole phone and has refused to pay for it. He has not mentioned the damage was to the screen nor that he had been paid. My partner has defended the claim. Today he received notice it has been assigned to a court hearing in the new year, and that mediation is available.

Does anyone know any case law about settling a debt when asked that means you can't then be claimed against for the same/similar debt?

yoyo 10/11/2014 at 12:00 pm

I'm disputing a replacement part cost with a uk manufacturer.

I've already filed my defence.

If court rules in their favour and I'm forced to pay (which I'd accept and pay straight away)

Woud the ruling have any affect on my credit status moving forward?

SarahH Editor 04/11/2014 at 10:45 am

@stressed - are they a reputable borrower? It sounds strange and quite unprofessional to tell you the payments are up and then say there is an extra payment owing. I would certainly try to find out where the discrepancy lies and ask them to explain why you owe the money and to give some written confirmation and lay out exactly why they are requesting this extra payment. I'd also do some calculations yourself to see whether you are paid up or not. I would also give Citizens Advice a call, as they may be able to help.

Stressed!! 03/11/2014 at 9:10 am

I made an agreement to buy car £150 every month which I have done got email from the seller saying the car is paid in full and now 2 weeks later he saying he made a mistake and I still owe him £150 and if I don't give it to him immediately is good to take me to Small Claims Court can he do this?

OLDHAND 06/10/2014 at 1:38 pm

Abby, tell me a bit more about your case. What is it about? do you truly owe someone money?, etc. if you give some details, I might be able to give some advice. OLDHAND.

abby 25/09/2014 at 7:51 am

can i be sent to court if i havent signed a agreement,just with recordings..someone plz help really worried

Catfish 22/09/2014 at 3:14 pm

due to attend a preliminary hearing next week. I disputed a bill of 250 because it didn't reflect services provided however for health reasons didn't want stress of attending court so offered to settle full amount of 250. Defendant has refused, seeking 400 without explanation, even though their claim states that disputed invoice was only for 250 ! Have written to court to explain but not heard back. Any advice folks?

Lizzie 13/09/2014 at 3:41 pm

The defendant in my case has applied for the case to be stayed. The hearing is the day before we are due to appear in court anyway. Should I attend and what will happen?

Ade 28/06/2014 at 3:04 pm

Taking a car trader to court due to discovering after 2 days of purchase that it had the wrong engine installed in the vehicle .
Posted back witness statements and evidence to the court and copies to the defendant in the allocated time set by the court, but have not received anything from the defendant as it stated I should have in the letter from the court ,so this means that we have no idea of what he will be saying in court.
What happens next?

sue 24/02/2014 at 8:30 am

i have judgement set aside on a case,but have no idea to defend myself. i cannot afford a solicitor. i have tried numerious places for advice, but the only help you will recieve if you are on benefits.my income is not great enough for a solicitor.i understand that i need to obtain as much evidence as possible on the case but how do you start to write the case down on paper. am i able to ask quetions to the claiment in court.the case is to do with a boyfriend who at the time revamped my kitchen to make alterations.he employed his brother in law to build out a small area to the excisting build.i was to pay for the build The build turned out bad, not plumb not square,i had to take up the floor screed to replace. no damp course where needed etc. i have photos on each problem as i went along to cure these problems.

Mitch 12/10/2013 at 2:01 pm

After breaking up with my boyfriend he is now taking me to a small claims court with allegations that I owe money for 2 gifts he purchased on our holiday...is he able to do this? He is also trying to claim that I have lived in his home for 12 months and would like half the rent, utilities and shopping...although I have stayed at his premises I have my own home with a mortgage...pay my own bills and council tax. How is it possible for him to do this?

Louey 18/06/2013 at 12:20 pm

I am defending a claim. I genuinely have no knowledge of the alleged outstanding debt. I contacted the solicitor who told me "It's something from 1999". My defence is- no knowledge and statute barred.This has been allocated to small claims and we have both agreed to mediation first.My question is, what can I do now to prepare my defence? Can I request SAR or CCA? Any reccomendations are greatly appreciated.

Dhiren 05/04/2013 at 5:26 pm

I am setting the judgement aside at northampton court because i coudnt attend because i was ill. My hearing will be at Willesden county court

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