You’ve tried every method you can think of and they haven’t worked, it may be time to start small claim proceedings.

Filling out the Paperwork

The first thing you need to do is get contact your nearest county court to get the N1 form and relative leaflets, alternatively you could download them from the internet.

The form is simple. All you need do is give your address and the address of the defendant, so make sure you get this right. If the business you are making the claim against is large with many branches, instead of writing down the head office address, write down the local branch. That way, if they are granted a request to have the claim heard in their local court it will probably be less distance and cost for you to travel.

You also need to give a little detail about the claim itself and the value. These details should include the likes of invoices and information on how you have tried to recover this money without resorting to the law. Also add solicitor’s costs and any court fees (which will be detailed in the leaflets). These are generally £30 for a claim up to £300, £80 for a claim up to £1000, and £120 for a claim up to £5000.

Finally, add the amount you wish to claim and make a cheque out for the total amount to H M Paymaster General, sending three copies of the form in. You will then be given a claim number as the court begins proceedings.

The Next Steps

Your client initially has 14 days to respond to this. After which they can do one of several thing, like asking for a further 28 days to in order to prepare a defence. Another option is to ignore the summons, which means you can ask for judgement in default and payment forthwith, or in instalments. Alternatively, they can admit to the claim and offer to pay full payments owed plus court costs, or on the other hand, file a defence or a counter-claim.

If they decide to file a defence or counter claim, yours could be one of the very few cases that makes it to the court room (most are settles after the client first receives the claim in the post). However, if it does go to court, you will be given a copy of the defence, and in order to help the judge decide how to proceed, you and the client will be sent an allocation questionnaire. The two tracks available are: fast or multi-track for long or complex cases; or small claims track for lesser, quicker claims.

 

What Do You Think?

Do you have any tips for other businesses to avoid the matter making it to court? Leave your comments here.

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