Paper claim or claim online for small claims?

hsnhendr1989

Hi 

If this is in the wrong place, please move it. I am a tenant about to start legal action to reclaim a holding deposit from a landlord. The landlord has ignored all letters about this, leaving me with a small claim as the only option. I was going to do it online; however, I have read bad reviews about Money Claim Online, saying that there's a lot of back and forth, it's confusing, and it takes ages. I am thinking of filling in an N1 form for a paper claim. This is more expensive; however, I can fill in an EX160 form and get the fees waived. Is the paper claim a better and more simpler process? As far as I can see, it will be - I have unlimited space to write up my claim and I can send in all supporting documents in one go - and the whole claim is written up. Once I send in this form and documents, the process is straightforward from here compared to the online claim? I note that the onlne claim ha a word limit for a summary of the claim and also it can take a long time for them to redirect the case to a court if the defendant wants to challenge it. I wat to be in control of the process as much as possible, 

Does anyone have experience with both services for reclaiming small amounts (in my case, £500)?


Thanks

[Deleted User]

Online would be much simpler.

fatbelly

and less likely to go wrong with mislaid paperwork

hsnhendr1989

But what about the bad reviews which say the online service is not fit for purpose? See,

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.moneyclaim.gov.uk

brettcta

hsnhendr1989 said:

But what about the bad reviews which say the online service is not fit for purpose? See,

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.moneyclaim.gov.uk

I‘m not sure who leaves reviews for a court process but you‘ll always hear more from the complainers than those who have had a positive experience.

do what you want though, you’re your own person. If the route you pick works, great, if it doesn’t, then leave a negative review and move on.