Small Claims Court or Money Claims Online Questions

Mistral001

Rhenser wrote: »

I've bad news for you I'm afraid. Anyone can make up any claim that they want.

Since it is a court of law evidence is given under oath so that must stand for something, but you should back up your verbal evidence with as much documentation as possible.

Wywth

Mistral001 wrote: »

Since it is a court of law evidence is given under oath so that must stand for something, but you should back up your verbal evidence with as much documentation as possible.

The only requirement to commence a claim is for the claimant (or their rep) to sign a form declaring:

The Claimant believes that the facts stated in these particulars of claim are true

or it can be done online

podperson

Acc72 wrote: »

Hi,

I am just trying to establish exactly what costs could be incurred (is it just the on-line fee of £50 ?).

Also, if I were to lose could there be additional significant costs/damages etc. (other than repaying travelling costs etc.).

I am just trying to weigh up the potential risk of making a claim - eg. if there is a potential that I will be liable for costs of £'000s then I just won't bother.

There is an initial fee to start your claim, which will be the £50 online. Then there is a fee to allocate the claim to a court, and if the other party puts in a defence there is a hearing fee for when it actually goes to court. The last one I believe is on a sliding scale depending on the amount you are claiming.
It's quite rare that if you lost you would be ordered to pay the other sides costs in small claims, but it would be at the discretion of the judge (normally it is only awarded if they feel it is a frivolous claim or something similar).

cavework

Hi OP,
If I understand this correctly you have received the papers showing the claimants reason for persuing you for money.
There should be a form to fill in either disputing the whole claim , agreeing with some of the claim or agreeing completely.
You simply complete the form, if you do owe the whole amount , then pay it plus the fee.
If you don't agree then say so and return the form to the court..
This will be forwarded to the applicant.
If the applicant is not happy they are required to make a payment if they wish to take the matter to court , I think it's about £100 .
This is to prevent the 'stupid' claims that are sometimes made.

ftsos

@cavework, thank you.

I recieved the claim with the "Issue Date: 12 Sep 2012".

I understand that you must respond to the claims within 14 days. Is that 14 working days or 14 normal days? It does not say.

Secondly, I filed an acknowledgemnet which gives me another 14 days to send my defence. It says on the papers that..."If you send the acknowledgement of service you must send a defence to the court to arrive no later than 28 days from the date of service"

So, what I want to know is:

• Do I get 28 days from 12 Sep 2012? or
• Do I get 14 days from my acknowledgemnt of service date "25/09/2012"?

Lastly, is it working days?


Thanks in advance,

cavework

Was it recorded delivery?
It's a few years since I had to deal with this so finding it a little foggy.
I think if it is recorded delivery , it is from the date you signed for receipt.
I think ours was delayed because of a Bank holiday .
If you go to the webb site you can register and using the ref code for this case see what is happening. Also it will give you loads of advice as you are defending the claim.
Hope this helps.

ftsos

Hi, You basically start counting the days 5 days from your case date. So my first 14 days start 5 days from the 12 Sep 2012. However, it does not say if it is "working days" or not,

ftsos

Hello, I have filed my defence and counter claim for the money that is owed to us. The court fee is £35. On the online application, it did not ask me for the money. Is this normal?

pooch

ftsos wrote: »

Hello, I have filed my defence and counter claim for the money that is owed to us. The court fee is £35. On the online application, it did not ask me for the money. Is this normal?

There is no charge for defending a claim.

A charge does apply for making a counter claim (the same as if you were to start a new claim); this charge is required to be paid by credit or debit card when filing online.

If you were not asked to pay the fee, then it doesn't sound like you have filed a counter claim.

ftsos

Hi Pooch,

It does say on the online papwerwork that counter claim is filed.