County Court Small claims track

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	1.0 Introduction			1.1 Debt recovery through the County Court 1.2 If you have truly exhausted all the other avenues of recovering the amount owed to you by a customer, you are left with only two options. You either accept the loss, and write off the debt. Or you can go to court to settle the claim. 1.3 For debts below £5,000, the small claims track at your local County Court, offers an informal and inexpensive method of recovering what is owed to you. If you visit www.moneyclaim.gov.uk you can make the claim online.
	2.0 Pre-summons stage.			2.1 You must be able to show that you have genuinely taken all reasonable steps to obtain settlement. There is a presumption at this stage that you have fulfilled all of your obligations to your customer. There is no point going to court if the debtor does have reasonable grounds for withholding payment from you. 2.2 You need to have checked to make sure you debtor is solvent. Once again there is little point pursuing the debtor through the courts if the customer cannot pay you when you win the case. 2.3 You also need to evaluate the cost-benefit of issuing a summons. If the debt is small, the cost of the summons alone may be prohibitive. It should also be remembered that you will need to spend many hours preparing your written case, not to mention attending the hearing on the day. It is sadly the case that many nonpaying debtors rely upon the fact that you cannot afford the time, or the cost of taking them to court. They know the size of their debt is not worth the effort of even going through the small claims track. 2.4 The next step is to obtain the necessary application forms from your local County Court office. You will find the address and contact details from the Yellow Pages, or from the Court Service website. After making the application and paying over the relevant fee, the County Court will issue a summons in your name, as the plaintiff. 2.5 The summons will require the defendant to make a reply by a certain date.
	3.0 Post summons and the allocation stage.			3.1 If the defendant does not dispute the claim, they will be required to pay the sum stated on the summons, plus the cost of issuing the summons. The debtor will pay the money demanded directly to the court, who will in turn pay you back the amount you are due. 3.2 If the defendant decides to dispute your claim, you will then be sent a copy of the defendant's defense and Form N150 (the allocation questionnaire). The information you provide in Form N150 will allow the judge to decide what is the most appropriate way forward. 3.3 It should be noted that although you may request that the case be dealt with by way of the small claims track, it is not a foregone conclusion it will happen this way. The defendant must first agree, and then the judge must be satisfied that the claim is straightforward enough for the small claims procedure.
	4.0 Court directions			4.1 You and the defendant will next receive written confirmation of the judge's allocation decision. 4.2 If the judge has allowed the small claims track, you will receive Form N157 (notice of allocation to the small claims track). This notice will give you clear and precise directions (instructions) about what both parties will be required to do before the day of the final hearing. This will include permission to obtain an expert's opinion or report, if this was requested by you at the time of completing Form N150. 4.3 You will also be requested to send copies of all the documents you intend to use to prove your case to both the court, and the defendant no later than 14 days before the hearing. 4.4 If the judge is of the opinion that your case can be decided without the need for a hearing, you will be offered this solution by receiving Form N159 (notice of allocation to the small claims track- no hearing). Provided neither party objects to not having a hearing, judgment will be made in due course. You will then be informed of the decision in writing. 4.5 Prior to issue of a notice of the date of the final hearing, the judge may decide to hold a preliminary hearing. The purpose of this meeting may be to issue special directions. It may also be an attempt to save everyone time and money by pointing out the nature of case has an unavoidable conclusion, or it should never have been brought in the first place.
	5.0 The Final Hearing			5.1 You will be notified of the time, date, and place of the final hearing. 5.2 There are no formal guidelines on how the hearing will be conducted. They are usually held in a small conference room, where the judge sits at the head of the table and the defendant and plaintiff sit either side. 5.3 The hearings are normally open to the public, but in practice they are often conducted with just the judge, plaintiff and defendant in attendance. Either party may decide to allow someone to speak for them on their behalf at the hearing (lay representative). 5.4 The plaintiff and the defendant will be given the opportunity to present their case in turn, usually in that order. There will be an opportunity for each party to cross-examine the other. At the conclusion of the hearing the judge will formerly invite both parties to see if they can reach a compromise of their own accord. 5.5 If not, then after a short recess, the judge will call both parties back to hear the judgment. The judge will give the reasons for the decision, and how it was arrived at. The hearing will then be brought to a close. 5.6 It cannot be stressed enough that you really should not worry about attending the hearing itself. The judge will be highly skilled at conducting such meetings, and will try to create a comfortable and informal atmosphere to put both parties at their ease. 5.7 You also don't need to have been captain of your school's debating team to delivery your argument effectively. You do need to be honest, objective and refrain from becoming personal or insulting. Finally, never lose your temper.
	6.0 FAQs			6.1 Question. Should you take legal advice before issuing a summons? 6.1.0 Answer: Probably 'yes', provided the debt is large enough to warrant the cost of seeking that opinion. 6.1.1 Your solicitor will be able to advise you of the strength of your case and the possible outcomes. They of course will not be able to give you any idea of the final outcome. 6.1.2 To make an informed decision about whether to proceed or not, you need to assess what may happen if you lose you claim, as well as what happens if you win. 6.2 Question. How should I present the written evidence I wish to send to the court to prove my case? 6.2.0 Answer: Great care should be taken over this vital part of the process. The judge will read both parties' submissions before your hearing. It would not be unreasonable to assume that the judge will walk into the final hearing with the best part of his or her mind already set on a decision, based on the written evidence. The hearing will serve to confirm that view one way or the other. The written submission is therefore very important. 6.2.1 It will obviously help your cause if you present your arguments clearly and objectively. 6.2.2 Brevity is important. So is ensuring your commentary is kept free of denigration and personal insult. 6.2.3 Make sure you proofread the submission to remove careless spelling errors and poor grammar. 6.2.4 Adopt the page format most legal documents are drawn up in. 6.2.5 All paragraphs should be numbered (just like this infosheet). This makes it possible for the judge to easily refer back to any key passages. 6.2.6 Use double line spacing (MS Word - Format Menu, Paragraphs, Line Spacing) throughout the document. It makes reading the document just that little bit easier on the eye. Double line spacing also provides space for the judge to make any annotations he or she may wish to make between the text. 6.2.7 Your main submission should have an introduction setting out the basis of your claim, a history of the events, and an explanation of why any evidence you submit supports your claim. 6.2.8 You should create an appendix to the main body of your submission. Use it to store copies of all the documents (invoices, correspondence, etc.) you refer to in your main text. Make sure you cross-reference clearly. 6.2.9 Use a fixed-binder file cover to keep your submission all together. 6.2.10 Remember you will need at least three copies of your final submission. One for the court, another for the defendant, and of course one for your own records. 6.3 Question. What should I do on the day of the hearing? 6.3.0 Answer: Make sure you arrive at the court in good time. If you feel uncomfortable at the prospect of meeting the defendant in the waiting reception, stay outside until just before the hearing is due to start. 6.3.1 Draw up a checklist of all the things you wish to bring along on the day. Make sure you use it. 6.3.2 The rest of society may have adopted a much more casual approach to dress code and personal conduct. The court has not. The judge and the court staff will be wearing formal, business attire. Make sure you match it, and set the best first impression you can. 6.3.3 Not all of us are skilled presenters, so help yourself to do the best you can on the day. Read your submission again to remind yourself of the content. Draw up on a single sheet of paper, the points you feel you must make when it comes to your turn to speak. If your crib sheet is any longer than one page, it is too long. You will not have that much time, so choose the points you intend to make wisely. 6.3.4 Attach to the back of the crib list, three copies of any documents you specifically wish to draw to the attention of the judge during the course of your presentation. Of course you could simply refer to the same copies within the original submission. But in the heat of the moment, it is very easy to lose your way when trying to find a single sheet amongst a large bundle of papers. 6.3.5 As soon as you are seated, quickly detach these schedules from your crib sheet, and arrange them in front of you. When the time comes for you to begin, they will be ready and waiting for you to pass them out in the order you wish to use them. Always make sure each copy discloses the reference of where it can be found in the original submission. This is just in case either the judge or the defendant wishes to confirm that you are using evidence that has been included in the original submission. 6.3.6 Always be polite, attentive and brief when it comes to your turn to present your case. Do not interrupt other people, especially the judge! 6.3.7 You will have a copy of the evidence the defendant submitted in support of their defense. From these documents, you should be able to ascertain the arguments the defendant will be making for why they have not paid your debt. You should prepare an answer for every point they have made in their submission. Plus anymore you feel they could raise on the day. 6.3.8 No matter how well prepared you think you are are, either the judge or the defendant is going to ask you a question which is going to take you completely off-guard. Don't panic. If you don't know the answer, say so. If the question will require you to spend some time working out the answer, ask the judge for a short 10 minute recess to marshall your thoughts before you make your reply. If the answer is that important, the recess will be granted. If you keep your wits about you, the answer will normally come quite naturally. 6.3.9 One last point. Leave you mobile telephone behind. In many higher courts, it is an automatic contempt of court (read fine!) if your mobile rings during a session. Untimely calls in the middle of your hearing will not help your case. 6.4 Question. If I win judgment, will that be the end of the matter? 6.4.0 Answer: The opportunity to be granted leave to appeal against the judgment of a small claims case is very remote. So having won judgment it is very unlikely to be overturned. 6.4.1 Having won judgment, the court will issue an order that states what the defendant must do in the way of settlement, and by when. 6.4.2 It is a common misconception to believe that just because you have won judgment, payment will be forthcoming within a reasonable period of time. 6.4.3 You may find that the debtor declares that they are unable to pay, and enters into an insolvency arrangement. Your chances of getting paid under these circumstances are now very remote indeed. 6.4.4 You may find that although you have won judgment, the debtor still refuses to settle the debt. Under these circumstances you will have no choice but to go back to court to enforce the court order awarded in your favour. Even if an enforcement order is granted by the court, there is still no guarantee that the bailiff will find the defendant has sufficient assets to settle the debt.
	7.0 Further information			7.1 The Court Service website www.courtservice.gov.uk is a invaluable source of further information on all aspects of issuing a summons and the current court fees. You can also download all the relevant information leaflets the Court Service produce.