Small Claims Court Disputes – Defendant

You may have made enquiries to seek legal advice from a solicitor as you have been served with a Claim Form and been advised that it wouldn’t be cost-effective for you to instruct a solicitor to act on your behalf.

If this is the case, you will likely have been informed that the claim is a Small Claims Court matter. This blog aims to provide you with a brief overview of what this means and your options in regards to defending the claim.

1. Where can I find the Small Claims Court?

You may be surprised to know that there isn’t actually such a thing as the Small Claims Court. Instead, it is merely a procedure that deals with small claims called the small claims track. These claims tend to be simple and of lower value, which should take less than a day to resolve, and they are typically heard in the County Court.

2. What claims are dealt with by the small claims track?

The small claims process deals with most types of claims provided that the value is less than £10,000 in England and Wales. This includes claims for unpaid invoices, breaches of contract, sale of goods and services, parking tickets and building disputes.

There are a couple of exceptions to this general rule. The small claims track is used for personal injury claims and housing disrepair claims up to a value of £1,000 in England and Wales.

3. Should I try and settle the dispute with the claimant?

Yes, going to court should always be the last resort. You should always try and resolve your dispute outside of court first as it will likely be cheaper and quicker to do so. In addition, the court may penalise you if you are unable to demonstrate that you have tried to resolve the dispute outside of court.

Notifying the other party of your defence and/or counterclaim in writing and ongoing civil communication can go a long way in resolving a dispute. However, if you are unable to come to an agreement with the other party then you could try and negotiate a settlement. If you are unable to do so, you could instruct a mediator to assist with this process if required.

In addition, you should ensure that you have complied with all of the steps set out in the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct before the matter gets to court. You can find these steps here.

4. Why is it not cost effective for me to instruct a solicitor for a small claim?

It wouldn’t be proportionate for you to instruct a solicitor due to the low value of the claims and the fact that even if you win, you cannot claim your legal fees from the other party. The reason for this is that the small claims track has been designed for parties to represent themselves.

5. What is the Claim Form that I have received and what does it mean?

The Claim Form is a statement to the court that outlines that the other party believes that you owe them money. It will likely contain the following:

• The name and address of the claimant.
• The particular of claims – outlining why they believe you owe them money.
• The value of the claim – this will usually be the alleged debt plus the court fee.

6. What should I do following receipt of the Claim Form?

Your response to the Claim Form will depend on what your position is in relation to the claim being made. However, you will need to respond within 14 days of the date on the Claim Form regardless of how you proceed and you can do so by clicking here. It is worth noting that if you do nothing, a judgment may be entered against you.

If you admit the claim or the amount being claimed you will need to complete the relevant admission form, being form N9A for a specified amount or form N9C for an unspecified amount, and make payment to the claimant. You should ensure to keep proof of payment.

If you admit part of the claim you will need to complete the relevant admission form as above and you will be required to complete the relevant defence and counterclaim form, being form N9B for a specified amount or form N9D for an unspecified amount. You should also make payment to the claimant for the amount that you think you owe.

If you dispute the whole claim or wish to make a counterclaim against the other party you will be required to complete the relevant defence and counterclaim form, being form N9B for a specified amount or form N9D for an unspecified amount.

If you need more time to respond, you can file an Acknowledgement of Service to ask for another 14 days to respond. However, this is only available if you are defending the claim or only paying what you think you owe.

You will likely be offered mediation when you respond to the claim, which is free and quicker than going to court. However, both parties will have to agree to mediation for it to take place. The mediator will remain neutral and explore options to negotiate and agree a settlement between you.

7. How much will it cost for me to defend a claim and make a counterclaim?

If you are purely defending a claim, and not making a counterclaim, there should be no court fees to pay to progress matters to court.

However, you will need to pay a court fee if you decide to make a counterclaim. The court fee applicable is based on the value of your counterclaim, rather than the value of the initial claim brought against you. The applicable court fees as at the date of this blog are as follows:

You may be entitled to receive a reduction in the court fees if you have little or no savings and you either receive certain benefits or have a low income. Further information about this can be found here.

8. What happens next if I defend a claim and/or make a counterclaim?

The court will then send out the notice of proposed allocation once your defence and/or counterclaim has been received. A directions questionnaire will also be circulated for both parties to complete.

9. What happens if I win?

If you are purely defending the claim brought against you, you will not have to pay the damages being sought by the claimant. You will be able to claim for certain expenses, including £90 a day for loss of earnings to attend a hearing plus reasonable travel expenses for yourself and any of your necessary witnesses. In addition, you may be able to claim £750 towards an expert’s costs if the judge gave you permission to obtain expert evidence.

If you are defending the claim brought against you and making a counterclaim against the claimant, you will be awarded damages and the court fees you have incurred. In addition, you may be able to claim for the expenses as detailed above.

10. What happens if I lose?

If you are purely defending the claim brought against you, the Court will order you to pay damages to the claimant. You could be liable to pay for any expenses incurred by the other party, including £90 a day for loss of earnings to attend a hearing plus reasonable travel expenses for the other party and any of their necessary witnesses. In addition, you may be ordered to cover £750 towards an expert’s costs if the judge gave the other party permission to obtain expert evidence.

If you are defending the claim brought against you and making a counterclaim against the claimant, the Court will order you to pay damages to the claimant and you will not be awarded damages for your counterclaim, or be able to claim the court fees you have incurred. In addition, you could be liable to pay the claimant’s expenses as detailed above.

However, if the other party has instructed a solicitor at any point throughout the process, you should not be required to cover their legal fees.

11. Do I have the right to appeal the judgment if I lose?

You do have the right to appeal if you are not happy with the judge’s decision. However, there are limited circumstances in which this applies, namely that the court has made a mistake in law.

It will be necessary to obtain the judge’s permission to appeal and you must request this when you lose at trial. If the judge refuses to grant you permission, you will be required to complete form N164 and file this with the court within 21 days of the date of judgment.

If someone is bringing a claim against you using the Small Claims Court and you would like some initial advice on your specific circumstances, do get in touch as we may be able to offer you a fixed fee appointment for you to discuss matters with one of our dispute resolution solicitors. You can do so by calling 0845 543 5700 or contacting us via our online enquiry form.