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Small Claims Court
Support.co.uk |
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YOUR CLAIM PROCESSED IN THE UK
SMALL CLAIMS COURT |
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The court process has evolved over
many years and is still evolving. In recent years the process has become much
more user-friendly than in the past and the Small Claims Track is particularly
indicative of this.
Although the process is much less intimidating than
in the past the courts still have the same power and because the process is
more transparent it does not mean that the courts have less influence.
The process for the Small Claims Track can be divided into four separate
sections which are:
The process relies on
complete documentation. The documents which mostly apply to Small Claims are
detailed on Court Documents page. The process
starts with the N1 form and this triggers
the next set of paperwork. At each stage there are strict time limits and
documents must be returned to the court within those limits.
It is
essential for Claimants to be aware that there is no substitute for written
evidence and this is detailed on our page: What Evidence
Do I Need?
Most documents are forwarded to the court by post and
postal service of documents on Defendants is accepted by the court. However,
there is a strong case for complex documents to be forwarded by Recorded
Delivery - a minor additional expense for the proof of delivery.
Claim
Link will ensure that you comply with the court requirements to return properly
completed documents promptly with correct attachments as appropriate.
With the establishment of
the Small Claims Track a lot of complex legal matters have been eliminated. In
particular strict rules of evidence do not apply and Civil Procedure Rules
(CPR) are not appropriate. However, a number of basic legal rules do apply and
these are usually prompted on the court documentation. In particular Claimants
should be aware of:
Generally, it is not necessary for
Claimant's to use the services of a solicitor. The Small Claims Track restricts
the level of solicitors' fees which can be recovered to a very low level.
As far as the Defendant is concerned the one thing that they want to avoid
is a County Court Judgment (CCJ). This is guaranteed to give them an adverse
credit rating which can be very inconvenient - particularly if applying for a
loan or mortgage. The CCJ can be avoided if the court are paid within 30 days
of the service of the judgment.
The whole reason for going
to court is to obtain a judgment. District judges are very experienced lawyers
who are well skilled in providing good and accurate judgments. As soon as the
judges have made their decision the next stage of the process is triggered. The
judgment is typed on to the form N24 and
copies are forwarded to both sides. The N24 provides details of what the
Defendant should pay and how to pay it.
However, the Court Service also
use this document to provide directions to both sides and ensure that if
further action is required the correct documents etc are in place.
Judgments are the prerogative of the District Judges and quite often the judge
will be named.
For money claims using the
Small Claims Track the whole object of the process is to recover the cash. The
Court Service have addressed this issue and provide options for
enforcing judgment. The options are
designed to cover as many possible methods of recovering funds as possible.
Within the process the court service will collect the Claimant's money and
forward it to the Claimant when the funds clear and it is determined that there
is no prior claim on those funds.
For most of the options the Claimant
will need to provide the court with enough information for the court to
commence recovery. In particular, the Claimant will need to be aware of the
current address of the Defendant, especially if they have moved from their
previously known address.
At each stage of recovery the court will keep
the Claimant fully informed of progress and advise of cash recovery. If the
court do have problems they will advise the Claimant accordingly, giving the
Claimant an opportunity to provide additional information or agree a settlement
if one is offered.
Generally the judgment on the
day of the hearing must stand. The judges decision is final. However, in
exceptional circumstances an order for set-aside can be applied for if there is
good reason for this. This is fully explained on our definitions page at
set-aside.
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