Have you ever taken a company to the small claims court?

[Alan Medic]

This is a work related thing. We have a claim of a relatively small amount of ?3k against an ex client. This is due to happen next month in Lambeth CC and I will be representing our company unless the claim is settled beforehand.

I'm just wondering what is the best way to approach this. I have a mountain of information I'm currently going through and I have to collate a lot of this and forward to the court and the defendant no later than two weeks before the case.

Is there such a thing as overkill by providing too much information? The judge is allowing up to 150 minutes to hear the case. As this is new territory for me, if anyone has any experience of this and what's likely to happen on the day I'd love to hear it. Also is there a way to rub up a judge the wrong way? Something I'd like to avoid.

[KidKruger]

Stick to the facts, remove emotion as far as possible, remember that it's SMALL claims court so judge is not expecting barrister-quality delivery and as long as he can discern accurate facts/evidence and the calendar of events then he's half-way there. Summarise the key facts and bring your mountains of detail with you and make sure you know your way round it and can get to the detail quickly if required. How it will go depends on may factors, you may have significant wait/delay at Lambeth.

[womanofdulwich]

Ditto that. speed at finding the answers in your files assisted greatly by sticky notes and labels. Respect for Judge important too.

[Salsaboy]

What KK said. It's a business transaction so remain professional and unemotional. If you lose you can always give the other party a good kicking round the back of the court.

[Lowlander]

Judges are human (contrary to common belief!). Stay calm, if the other side kicks off the judge won't like it. If you're a reasonable human and present a reasonable case it's actually very hard to piss off a judge. Treat them as an father/mother-in-law.

The judge will make things as easy as possible for you, don't feel intimidated even if the other side has a solicitor.

What womanofdulwich said, if you have a mountain of information, index they key documents, use labels, whatever works for you. Try and be as organised as possible and have some sort of index, so if you're asked an obscure point you may not know off the top of your head, say "give me a minute whilst I refer to the index please". The judge won't mind.

Try and see the other side's view so you know how to argue any points they may throw.

Good luck!

[Alan Medic]

Thanks for all the input including the PM and the phone call. One thing I don't know is what do you call a judge?

[KidKruger]

Often at the start of a hearing whether at magistrates court or in front of a judge, the officials address the figurehead before you'll ever get to, so you hear how to agrees him/her.

Otherwise I sometimes plead ignorance (and show willing) by asking what he/she prefers.

You're not on trial for being in court, it's your right, so don't worry too much about genuine mistakes or getting protocol wrong. The less effort you spend worrying about protocol, the more effort you can spend concentrating on your case.

[malumbu]

Oh yes

A membership club (they settled out of court)

A carpet shop (they didn't contest and paid the claim)

And when I get round to it the (in my humble opion) evil Dixons Group.

County Court is supposed to be a simple low cost option of seeking redress and it shouldn't be advantageous or otherwise to pay for legal representation.

You have some pretty good advice.

The membership club was in Leicester and if they had any sense they would have requested the hearing there. Which would have been heavily in their advantage as for the sum I was claiming it wasn't worth a day off work and the travel costs. Instead it was they who had to face these costs and therefore settled before the hearing.

I'd rather not go through all the hassle and even when you are successful you still may have to enforce the claim which can be a pain, debt recovery etc.

[mancity68]

You've probably seen this https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-rights/legal-system/taking-legal-action/small-claims/.

Quite like the new Citizens Advice website. They've done a fair bit to improve it.

[SLad]

If it's a small claim the Judge will be a District Judge or a Deputy District Judge and both should be addressed as Sir or Ma'am.

As you're the Claimant, you're expected to prove the case : sounds as though it's a non-payment of fees claim so you will need to prove the debt (i.e. prove that there was a contract - be it written or oral - for you to do something for which they were obliged to pay) by proving you performed the services you were supposed to provide and that there has been non-payment of the some due, in the time specified for payment. If the other side want to suggest that they shouldn't have to pay the debt because you didn't do the work you were supposed to do to the required standard then they should have brought a counterclaim, which they ought to have raised when they put in the defence. If they are acting without lawyers, the Judge may well allow them to proceed with that argument even if they haven't expressly raised a counterclaim.

If there have been any directions then you should make sure they have all been complied with, particularly directions requiring your Company to provide documents and/or witness evidence to the Court. It would be sensible to make sure that they are sent to the Defendant in good time before the hearing.

Even if there are no directions then it would be sensible for you to prepare a witness statement from any relevant personnel (including yourself) dealing with the facts you need to prove. This should be headed with the court, claim number and parties and clearly labelled 'Witness statement of ...' - there are lots of hints and tips available on the internet to help. If the witness speaks to a relevant document, like a contract or an email requesting payment, then these can be exhibited to the witness statement by being attached. It's sensible to give page numbers to the documents which are attached so you can refer the judge to the relevant sections.

Again, make sure you send any witness statements to the Court and to the Defendant in good time before the hearing (at least 7 days before) and turn up with copies of what was sent at least in triplicate so you can give spares to the Judge or the Defendant in case they have got lost in the admin system before the hearing.

As for prep for the day, make sure all your witnesses can attend and turn up smartly dressed and ready to be professional. Make sure you know your stuff and can explain your position to the judge and try to have a think about what the other side might be saying to avoid the debt.

Don't forget that you're entitled to ask for interest on the debt if there's a contractual provision for interest or you've asked for interest in your claim form.

You can also get costs - fixed costs and witness expenses - unless the other side behalf unreasonably, in which case you might be able to all your costs in preparing the claim.

The whole thing will be conducted pursuant to Part 27 of the Civil Procedure Rules and the associated practice direction. Both these can be found in their current format here http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part27 I'd suggest you print them out and have a good read of both before you go to Court.

Good luck.

[Ellem86]

A timeline is very helpful if you haven't prepared one already.

[Dodo1]

Hi

How much does the court charge?

I amthinking of doing this as I am owed ?60?

[Alan Medic]

You should initially use Money Claim Online. For that amount it will cost you ?25.00 which you can include in your claim.