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defence . They only have 14 days to respond with options to give a defence or an “ acknowledgement of service ”. This would give them a further 14 days more to put their defence together .
Many people will settle up once they have been sent the claim . Then they can see that you weren ’ t bluffing .
Attending court
Most times you won ’ t need to attend court . If you actually need to attend the hearing there is some very useful help that can be found by searching Google for “ Citizens advice Going to a small claims hearing ”.
Remember that there will only be a hearing if the judge believes that this is necessary . You ’ ll be asked to send copies of documents to both the court and the defendant so send these by recorded delivery and keep proof of postage . If you ’ re worried , ask your local county court if there ’ s a hearing you can attend beforehand .
Re-read all of the material just before the case , remember to take originals of documents with you and make notes of anything the defendant says that you think is wrong . You can take a friend or relative with you for support .
The judge will give their decision at the end of the hearing and explain the reasons .
Default judgement
If the person or company you are lodging your claim against doesn ’ t reply to your claim within 14 days , you can ask the court for a “ judgment by default ” and you may win your case by default providing it is sound .
Losing
If you lose , you will have lost the court fees , your time and you will need to pay fixed and limited costs for the other side like lost wages for attending court and travel costs . But there ’ s no risk of paying out a larger amount .
Winning
Many defendants will pay in full immediately if they lose . If they propose a repayment schedule it ’ s probably best to agree .
Occasionally someone who loses a case still doesn ’ t pay you . In these circumstances , you need to “ enforce the judgement ” which you apply for . You don ’ t need to give notice but it ’ s best to write a letter or email to tell them what you are going to do . Include this in your witness statement when you apply for enforcement .
If the judgement is for £ 600 or more transfer to the high court else apply to use the county court bailiffs . There is a £ 60 charge for transferring to the high court using Form N323 .
High Court Enforcement has a much higher success rate because the High Court Enforcement Officers ( HCEOs – previously “ High Court Sheriffs ”), are authorised by the Lord Chancellor , work privately , have more powers and are paid on results .
County court bailiffs work for the court , the cost is £ 110 , and it takes an average of 60 days to collect the money . With the county court bailiff you need to get a writ of control using form PF86A .
There are similar fees from either route . You supply the court judgement , the court fee and as much information about the debtor as you can . If they fail to recover the money you must pay them £ 75 , otherwise their fees come from the defendant . If the defendant has moved the HCEO ’ s tracing agents can be instructed to find them before enforcement commences .
Other options
There are several other options that you can use to enforce your judgement as well as bailiffs or HCEOs . For instance , you can get the debtor into court to explain their circumstances . You can get an order to deduct the debt from their earnings at source , you can get an order for their bank to directly satisfy the debt or you can make them bankrupt . Hopefully , none of this would be required and bailiffs or HCEOs is probably an easier and more common route .
The full story
For the full rules of the Small Claims Court search on Google for “ courts part 27 – the small claims track ”.
Make it happen
Like most things in life , when you have never tried something , the thought of it can be quite daunting . Claiming through the court system is a bit like that even though it is fairly straightforward . If you have a simple case that isn ’ t really in dispute , I would strongly encourage you to give it a go .
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