Small claims court

[johnnyBv8]

A promised refund of £800 was not processed and the company has now changed their story. I have all the correspondence, receipts etc to back this up and had a legal review to confirm a strong case. However, the plan was to progress this through small claims, and my solicitor couldnt advise on this.

Has anyone done this? Is it a real pain in the hole? One thing i wasnt clear on, having read some of the info, is the bit about being liable for the defendant's costs if the claim is unsuccessful. Whilst I don't think this is likely, I'd like to know the risk - anyone know how much this could be, and if it's capped?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

[Pupp]

Use the online service, the issue fee is less. If it stays within the small claims track, no liability for defendants costs

[Mrs Trackside]

I can't remember where all the information is, but my company went after a non-paying customer using https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco2/index.jsp.

The customer didn't pay, so we took them to court and I had to do all the paperwork. Yes, it is a pain in the bum, but make sure you do your homework and lay your paperwork in an easy to read format with as much evidence of your claim as you can provide.

The costs are not that much; our customer originally owed us 1500 quid and ended up paying over 2000 because he kept ttting about and appealed (without back up to his claim that because he didn't owe us any money because we didn't have the right company name!!!) twice.

[Mobile Chicane]

By all means pursue... However don't presume that a judgement in your favour means you'll get any money off the defendant. :-|

[Pupp]

Mobile Chicane said:

By all means pursue... However don't presume that a judgement in your favour means you'll get any money off the defendant. :-

Or even a judgment

[JustinP1]

johnnyBv8 said:

A promised refund of £800 was not processed and the company has now changed their story. I have all the correspondence, receipts etc to back this up and had a legal review to confirm a strong case. However, the plan was to progress this through small claims, and my solicitor couldnt advise on this.

Has anyone done this? Is it a real pain in the hole? One thing i wasnt clear on, having read some of the info, is the bit about being liable for the defendant's costs if the claim is unsuccessful. Whilst I don't think this is likely, I'd like to know the risk - anyone know how much this could be, and if it's capped?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

In small claims no solicitors costs are awarded to either side unless a party is totally unreasonable and that's rare.

My advice is avoid Money Claim Online. The site is like a dinosaur from the 90's. It is unchanged at least from 2001ish when I used it first. All that happens is it gets processed at Northampton and whether it is defended or not you just have to wait for the case to be moved to your or their home court.

Much better to fill in the N1 pdf, print it off and file it by hand at your local court.

Before you do that you need to give a clear warning in writing stating how much you are owed, exactly why and give them 14 days to pay or you will take immediate legal action.

[Mark34bn]

I recently used the HMCS money claim site to recoup £1150 from a wholesaler who didn't supply the items I'd paid for.
Worked well for me, it took a few months but in the end he settled rather than get a CCJ.

[johnnyBv8]

JustinP1 said:

Before you do that you need to give a clear warning in writing stating how much you are owed, exactly why and give them 14 days to pay or you will take immediate legal action.

Thanks - is this a stated requirement of the small claims process, or just good practice?

[t11ner]

I think it's one of the things that stops him from saying that he didn't realise he was going to get sued and so shouldn't have to pay any costs - yours or his.

[voicey]

A tactic I use a lot is to fill out a Claim Form together with the Particulars of Claim but not to file them with the court. I then send them to the other party saying that I'll file these papers unless they pay up. It shows them that you are serious but gives them the opportunity to pay before costs start being added. You only lose a few days notice as they would receive the papers as soon as you file them anyway.

If they don't pay then the papers are ready to file...

[Jasandjules]

Pupp said:

Use the online service, the issue fee is less. If it stays within the small claims track, no liability for defendants costs

Not strictly true. There is a liability for costs but it is exceedingly rare and I think limited to about £150 in the small claims court. It is rare though.

To the OP, as noted above, produce the claim form, and send a photocopy to the other side granting them 7 days to pay up or the documents are filed at court (send this recorded delivery). That way you have a strong costs argument etc. and you show the court that you did everything you could to avoid litigation, which helps you win........

[Wings]

johnnyBv8 said:

JustinP1 said:

Before you do that you need to give a clear warning in writing stating how much you are owed, exactly why and give them 14 days to pay or you will take immediate legal action.

Thanks - is this a stated requirement of the small claims process, or just good practice?

You must be seen to be acting reasonable, and thereby giving notice of your intentions if the claim is not settled.

Please also remember that what you write “may well be used in evidence against you” will be seen by the Court. Having taken a number of cases to the small claims Court, costs are at the discretion of the Court, thereby not by right.

[TomJS]

Jasandjules said:

Pupp said:

Use the online service, the issue fee is less. If it stays within the small claims track, no liability for defendants costs

Not strictly true. There is a liability for costs but it is exceedingly rare and I think limited to about £150 in the small claims court. It is rare though.

To the OP, as noted above, produce the claim form, and send a photocopy to the other side granting them 7 days to pay up or the documents are filed at court (send this recorded delivery). That way you have a strong costs argument etc. and you show the court that you did everything you could to avoid litigation, which helps you win........

Liability for costs is always at the discretion of the court, albeit they usually follow the event i.e. loser pays.

People should be careful to realise many claims are not allocated to track prior to being heard; accordingly even in low value claims, costs are not limited to small claims track levels.

Also on many occasions I've successfully argued that the other party was acting unreasonably, and once again full costs can be recovered in the event such submissions are accepted by the court.

[JustinP1]

johnnyBv8 said:

JustinP1 said:

Before you do that you need to give a clear warning in writing stating how much you are owed, exactly why and give them 14 days to pay or you will take immediate legal action.

Thanks - is this a stated requirement of the small claims process, or just good practice?

If you don't, the Defendant can say that he should not be liable for the court costs - and you might have to pay them as it is the understood correct practice to give a fair warning.

The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) do outline a process of letters before action which puts the full claim in writing to the other party and allows them to seek legal advice, deny your claim or respond before you involve the court.

Remember, only about 3% of cases ever get to a hearing.

It comes down to 'Game Theory' or in essence a poker game where you have to reveal your hand at each stage and each party will guess what their chances of winning are.

A lot of the time either party is bluffing or simply doesn't have a legal clue what they are talking about though and end up losing out.

Make sure that is not you by making sure you have a good claim from the start, and putting it in writing to the other party.

Edited by JustinP1 on Tuesday 2nd February 13:54