All civil disputes are dealt with by the County Court.

Disputes involving a value of less than £5,000 are dealt with by the small claims track which is designed to allow for a relatively quick and cheap method of dispute resolution without the need for legal representation.

The procedure:

• Identify the person or company that you need to take action against. This will be the goods or service provider and may include a credit provider. It is advisable to write to inform them of your intention to take action through the courts.
• Complete a Claim Form and Particulars of Claim giving your version of events.
• Send the completed forms and any supporting documentation to your local County Court with the fee specified (approximately 20% of the value of the claim).
• The Court will serve your claim on the defendant. The defendant will either:
• Accept your claim and agree to pay
• Defend your claim giving reasons
• Defend your claim and/or make a counterclaim against you.

If the defendant fails to respond to your claim within the time allowed you can then request that the Court makes a judgement in your favour. This is done by completing the form in the pack sent to you.

If the claim is defended, you will be asked to complete an Allocation Questionnaire which asks for more information relating to the claim. This allows the court to deal with your claim appropriately. At this stage you can ask the Judge to decide the case by referring to written documents only, but this must be agreed by both parties. You will then be advised of the date and place of the hearing which will be informally held usually in a small room.

Assuming that a judgement has been made in your favour, you may find it difficult and expensive to enforce the judgement if you need to use bailiffs.

It may be wise to check if the defendant already has outstanding Court Judgements before making your claim.

Further information on Small Claims can be obtained from the Court Service website.