The County Court and Small Claims

What the The County Court and Small Claims does

The County Court hears claims for money and for the return of goods, consumer disputes, landlord possession claims, and a wide range of other civil business. Money claims can be started online. Fees are charged on a sliding scale — £35 for claims up to £300, £70 up to £1,000, £205 up to £5,000, £455 up to £10,000, and 5 per cent of the claim between £10,000 and £200,000. Defended claims are allocated to a track: small claims to £10,000, fast track and intermediate track above that, with multi-track for the largest and most complex. Judgment can be enforced by warrant, attachment of earnings or a charging order.

What it hears

• Unpaid debts, invoices and loans — the workhorse caseload
• Faulty goods, poor workmanship and consumer contract disputes
• Deposit and property damage disputes between individuals and businesses
• Landlord possession claims and rent arrears
• Enforcement of judgments — warrants, attachment of earnings, charging orders

Before your first court date

Send a proper letter before claim first — a dated letter stating the amount, the basis and a deadline settles a real share of disputes and reads as reasonableness later. Check your limitation period, which for most contract and negligence claims is six years. Name the defendant exactly — sole trader, partnership or limited company are different legal persons, and a company search costs very little compared with suing the wrong one. File with your documents attached, and if you are the defendant, respond within the deadline on the papers: silence produces judgment in default, which affects your credit file.

What happens at your first appearance

For a defended small claim the first step is now the free mediation appointment — a mediator speaks to each side separately by phone, usually for up to an hour. It is compulsory for claims of £10,000 or less, and a judge can sanction a party who does not attend or does not genuinely try, including striking out the case or ordering costs against a party who wins. If mediation does not settle it, the hearing is informal: the judge has read the papers, asks the questions that matter, and usually gives a decision on the day with short reasons.

What to prepare

• The contract, invoices, receipts and every relevant message, organised and copied
• A one-page chronology of what happened, with dates
• Photographs or video of defects or damage, dated where possible
• Independent evidence of value or cost — quotes, reports, comparable prices
• Your letter before claim and the other side's replies — the reasonableness record

When to get legal advice

This page is general legal information, not legal advice. Small claims are designed for self-representation and most people do it successfully. An hour of advice punches hardest on four questions — the limitation date, the right defendant, how the claim should be framed, and what a settlement is genuinely worth. Legal Hotline's free line explains the process any hour on 0800 007 4103, and a one-hour consultation with a UK solicitor (£145, a fixed fee) can be booked right on the call.

Where it is

Official sources