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Small Claims

The small claims track exists so that ordinary people can enforce ordinary debts without lawyers. Claims of £10,000 or less go there, fees start at £35, and costs exposure is deliberately kept low so being wrong is survivable. One thing has changed that catches people out: for defended claims at or below £10,000, mediation is now compulsory before a judge hears anything. Call 07476 557650 free, any hour — and a one-hour consultation with a UK solicitor (£145, a fixed fee) can be booked right on the call.

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Small Claims at a glance

£10,000 limit

Claims of £10,000 or less are allocated to the small claims track

Mediation is compulsory

For defended claims of £10,000 or less you will be told you must attend a free HMCTS mediation

Sanctions for not attending

A judge can strike out your case or order costs against you even if you win

Fees scale with value

£35 up to £300, £70 up to £1,000, £205 up to £5,000, £455 up to £10,000

Six years, usually

Most contract and negligence claims must be brought within six years

Before you claim

Send a letter before claim: what you are owed, why, what you want, and a deadline. It settles a real share of disputes outright and, if it does not, it reads as reasonableness to a judge later. Check your limitation period, which is six years for most contract and negligence claims. Then name the defendant exactly — a sole trader and a limited company are different legal persons, and a judgment against the wrong one is worth nothing. A company search costs very little. Finally, be honest with yourself about enforcement: winning against someone with no money and no assets produces a judgment, not a payment. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

The mediation appointment

For defended claims of £10,000 or less you will be required to attend a free mediation run by HMCTS. A mediator speaks to each side separately by phone, usually for up to an hour, and shuttles between you exploring settlement. It is quick, it costs nothing, and it settles a large proportion of cases. Take it seriously: a judge can sanction a party who does not attend or does not make a genuine effort, and those sanctions include striking out the claim or ordering a winning party to pay the costs anyway. Come with a realistic figure and the authority to agree it. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

The hearing, if it gets there

Small claims hearings are informal. The judge has read the papers, will ask most of the questions, and expects a straightforward account rather than advocacy. Bring a one-page chronology and a tabbed bundle of documents, with copies for the judge and the other side. Witnesses who actually saw things matter; character evidence does not. Decisions usually come on the day with short reasons. Costs are limited by design — court fees and modest expenses rather than the other side's legal bill — which is precisely what makes the track usable for people without lawyers. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

Making a small claim, step by step

Send a letter before claim with a deadlineDated, specific, and reasonable. Many disputes end here.

Check the limitation date and the exact defendantSix years for most claims, and the right legal person to sue.

Attend the mediation properly, then prepare a tight bundleChronology, documents, copies for everyone. Call 07476 557650 free, any hour — and a one-hour consultation with a UK solicitor (£145, a fixed fee) can be booked right on the call.

Small Claims — your questions answered

Do I need a solicitor for a small claim?

No — the track is designed for people without one, and you generally cannot recover a solicitor's fees even if you win, which is why most people self-represent. Where an hour of advice pays for itself is on four questions: whether you are in time, who exactly to sue, how to frame the claim, and what a settlement at mediation is really worth.

What if I ignore the mediation appointment?

Do not. For claims of £10,000 or less mediation is compulsory, and a judge can sanction a party who does not attend or does not genuinely engage — including striking out the case entirely, or ordering you to pay all the court costs even where you win. It is an hour on the telephone, it is free, and it frequently ends the dispute on better terms than a hearing would.

I won but they will not pay. What now?

A judgment is permission to enforce, not payment. The options include instructing bailiffs or High Court enforcement officers, an attachment of earnings order against wages, a third party debt order against a bank account, or a charging order against property. Each has a fee and each suits different circumstances — an attachment of earnings is useless against the self-employed, a charging order is slow but powerful against a homeowner. Choose based on what you know about their finances.