DIY Law - The Small Claims Procedure
What do you do if you are owed a few hundred or a few thousand pounds? Do you really need to instruct a lawyer?
The Small Claims Track has been devised to help litigants resolve small value disputes (mainly those valued below £5,000) without lawyers. However, one important feature is that you cannot recover your legal costs from the other side even if you win.
So how do you go it alone and what do you have to do? The first step is to write to the potential defendant (you are the claimant) and explain what you believe are the grounds of the dispute (e. g. you are owed a sum of money). You should also set a reasonable deadline for a response, say two weeks. If this is ignored, you will have to consider issuing a claim.
Your local court will be able to provide you with the forms you need and explain the basic procedure. Once you have issued the claim and paid the court fee, the court serves it on the defendant. The defendant has 14 days to defend, though it can request a further 14 days.
If the claim is defended, the defendant must file a defence with its reasons. You may then file a reply to the defence responding to any of the points raised.
Once these have all been filed, the court sends out a questionnaire to both parties concerning various procedural details, such as how many witnesses you intend to call. The court will also consider whether an independent expert witness, such as a building surveyor, will be required. Following this, you file witness statements and any other evidence. The court will set a deadline for this and give you a hearing date. If you cannot resolve the matter with your opponent, you will have to attend the hearing.
The best advice we can give you for the hearing is: preparation, preparation, preparation. A Judge will decide your claim, not a jury, and they will not be impressed by any Perry Mason impressions or transparent attempts to ambush your opponents. You will swiftly discover that television shows such as Judge John Deed bear no resemblance to a real courtroom.
What will help you is to identify the core issues and concentrate on them. If you are clear and well-organised, you have the best chance of getting the Judge to understand your case. If you are disorganised and incoherent, the Judge may not comprehend you at all. Have your paperwork in order and try to agree with your opponent a bundle of all the relevant papers with page numbers, with copies for you, your opponent and the Judge. This is normally greatly appreciated by the Judge.
Finally, we wish you luck. Any litigation lawyer will tell you that there is a risk in any claim but you will greatly increase your chances of success if you are prepared.
To contact Raworths, telephone 01423 566666 or visit our offices at Eton House, 89 Station Parade, Harrogate HG1 1HF Or visit our website on www.raworths.co.uk or email matthew.hill@raworths.co.uk.
