Small Court Claims - Taking forever, have you witnessed this?

[tomdickandharry]

Hi All

I have a claim just under £35k where its taken over 9 months to go through the process. Surely the backlog is not this big?

We called them and they said we're going to write to them one last time and then if they don't reply in 7 days it will be awarded a CCJ. What we don't understand is why its taking so long and giving them multiple times to respond. This puts us at risk on monies owed and is a drain on our capital.

Keen to understand if others are experiencing a backlog and issues with small claims court process?

 

[Newchodge]

Have they issued a defence?

At what stage is the claim?

 

[WaveJumper]

Can you actually do a 35k claim through the small court process or have I miss read this

 

[Newchodge]

Can you actually do a 35k claim through the small court process or have I miss read this

No you cannot. The limit is £10,000, so it is a County Court action.

 

[tomdickandharry]

No you cannot. The limit is £10,000, so it is a County Court action.

Money Claim online is up to £100k.

You can make your claim online, unless:

• you do not know how much money you want to claim
• your claim is for more than £10,000 and you want to get help to pay the court fee
• your claim is for £100,000 or over

 

[Newchodge]

Money Claim online is up to £100k.

You can make your claim online, unless:

• you do not know how much money you want to claim
• your claim is for more than £10,000 and you want to get help to pay the court fee
• your claim is for £100,000 or over

How does that affect what I said?

Money Claim Online is a method of registering a claim in the County Court. If the claim is worth more than £100,000 it goes to the High Court.

Once your claim has been registered it would be allocated to the Small Claims track if it is below £10,000.

If your claim is for £35,000 it would not have been allocated to the Small Claims track.

 

[tomdickandharry]

How does that affect what I said?

Money Claim Online is a method of registering a claim in the County Court. If the claim is worth more than £100,000 it goes to the High Court.

Once your claim has been registered it would be allocated to the Small Claims track if it is below £10,000.

If your claim is for £35,000 it would not have been allocated to the Small Claims track.

I didn't see this noted on their site.

 

[Lisa Thomas]

I agree with Cindy - 335k is not a small claim, so it's going through the High Court. 9 months sounds quite quick to me but I'm not a solicitor. Maybe one of the solicitors on the forum will be along to add their thoughts.

I guess you are not using a solicitor?

 

[IanSuth]

Adding on to that - as this is going to the High Court have you investigated/budgeted for what it will cost you to do so by the end of the process.

I think (may be wrong) as you are claiming over £25k you are not even in the fast track so your hearing fee will be a bit over £1100 rather than £545

 

[Newchodge]

Adding on to that - as this is going to the High Court have you investigated/budgeted for what it will cost you to do so by the end of the process.

I think (may be wrong) as you are claiming over £25k you are not even in the fast track so your hearing fee will be a bit over £1100 rather than £545

It's going to the County Court, the High Court is for over £100,000.

It will still be expensive.

 

[IanSuth]

It's going to the County Court, the High Court is for over £100,000.

It will still be expensive.

Thanks for correction

OP def needs to sit down and work out what this is going to cost them both to win and if they for some reason lose and if the defendant actually has the funds to pay them

 

[tomdickandharry]

is anyone seeing general issues

Adding on to that - as this is going to the High Court have you investigated/budgeted for what it will cost you to do so by the end of the process.

I think (may be wrong) as you are claiming over £25k you are not even in the fast track so your hearing fee will be a bit over £1100 rather than £545

Fully aware of the fees etc - it just seems to be taking a long time with the defence not even responding to initial proceedings or requests. That's what we find odd, if it was MCO <£10k it would be CCJ applied for ignoring and awarded.

 

[tomdickandharry]

Thanks for correction

OP def needs to sit down and work out what this is going to cost them both to win and if they for some reason lose and if the defendant actually has the funds to pay them

They have the funds, their established. its really odd... I will keep everyone updated.

 

[Newchodge]

They have the funds, their established. its really odd... I will keep everyone updated.

Do you mean that no defence has been lodged? Are you aware of what the correspondence between the court and the respondent is about? Perhaps you should speak to a solicitor about getting the matter before a judge?

 

[Michael Loveridge]

Hi All

I have a claim just under £35k where its taken over 9 months to go through the process. Surely the backlog is not this big?

We called them and they said we're going to write to them one last time and then if they don't reply in 7 days it will be awarded a CCJ. What we don't understand is why its taking so long and giving them multiple times to respond. This puts us at risk on monies owed and is a drain on our capital.

Keen to understand if others are experiencing a backlog and issues with small claims court process?

Sorry, but this doesn't make sense.

It's not clear whether or not you've actually issued the claim, as you mention giving them 7 days to respond, so have you issued it or not?

If you have, then the court will send them the Claim Form, and they have 14 days to file a Defence (or 28 days if they file a form called an Acknowledgment of Service),

Once the Defence is filed the claim will then be allocated to a `track' by the Court. If it's for less than £10k it'll go to the small claims track, but if it's for more than that it will basically be allocated to a mainstream County Court action.

There's then a process where you both have to file completed questionnaires, and the Court will then issue directions to prepare the case for trial. Theese include such things as disclosing all relevant documents, exchanging witness statements, arranging for any expert evidence that may be needed and so on.

Eventually , the case will get listed for trial. Typically, these days, it could easily take a year from issuing the claim to trial.

But is the claim contested on genuine grounds? If not, you can shortcut the process by apoplying for `summary judgment'. This means you ask the Court to dispense with the usual rigmarole on the basis that the Defendant doesn't really have a viable Defence, so let's just cut to the chase and enter judgment straight away. You would probably need professional assistance to prepare the application, but if you're successful the Court would probably order that most of your legal costs must be paid by the Defendant.

 

[tomdickandharry]

Sorry, but this doesn't make sense.

It's not clear whether or not you've actually issued the claim, as you mention giving them 7 days to respond, so have you issued it or not?

If you have, then the court will send them the Claim Form, and they have 14 days to file a Defence (or 28 days if they file a form called an Acknowledgment of Service),

Once the Defence is filed the claim will then be allocated to a `track' by the Court. If it's for less than £10k it'll go to the small claims track, but if it's for more than that it will basically be allocated to a mainstream County Court action.

There's then a process where you both have to file completed questionnaires, and the Court will then issue directions to prepare the case for trial. Theese include such things as disclosing all relevant documents, exchanging witness statements, arranging for any expert evidence that may be needed and so on.

Eventually , the case will get listed for trial. Typically, these days, it could easily take a year from issuing the claim to trial.

But is the claim contested on genuine grounds? If not, you can shortcut the process by apoplying for `summary judgment'. This means you ask the Court to dispense with the usual rigmarole on the basis that the Defendant doesn't really have a viable Defence, so let's just cut to the chase and enter judgment straight away. You would probably need professional assistance to prepare the application, but if you're successful the Court would probably order that most of your legal costs must be paid by the Defendant.

Thanks for explaining, in summary, the customer has ignored all correspondence from the court. Very odd when still trading.

 

[Newchodge]

Thanks for explaining, in summary, the customer has ignored all correspondence from the court. Very odd when still trading.

But, as I asked in post #2 - have they issued a defence? Or, indeed, have you actually filed a claim?

 

[Michael Loveridge]

Thanks for explaining, in summary, the customer has ignored all correspondence from the court. Very odd when still trading.

The court don't engage in `correspondence', they just send out court orders.

If you issued the claim 9 months ago then they can't have ignored what the court sent them, or the defence would by now have been struck out.

 

[Talktime]

Small Court Claims - Taking forever, have you witnessed this?

I'm aware of the extended durations involved in processing claims. HM Court Service, perpetually constrained by limited funds, faces the challenges of understaffing and the inefficiencies brought about by remote working.

I've observed clients' claims exceeding two years from the initial filing to the final judgment. Additionally, in the County Court, current filings are being scheduled for hearings in the middle of next year.

 

[tomdickandharry]

But, as I asked in post #2 - have they issued a defence? Or, indeed, have you actually filed a claim?

issued claim, no response from them at all....

 

[tomdickandharry]

I'm aware of the extended durations involved in processing claims. HM Court Service, perpetually constrained by limited funds, faces the challenges of understaffing and the inefficiencies brought about by remote working.

I've observed clients' claims exceeding two years from the initial filing to the final judgment. Additionally, in the County Court, current filings are being scheduled for hearings in the middle of next year.

thanks for sharing, makes sense.

 

[Michael Loveridge]

issued claim, no response from them at all....

So have you applied for default judgment, and if not why not?

 

[Socio South West]

issued claim, no response from them at all....

Have you checked that they are still trading?

 

[tomdickandharry]

So have you applied for default judgment, and if not why not?

We have but they kept saying we will give them another letter and another 14 days.. it’s like watching paint dry.

 

[tomdickandharry]

Have you checked that they are still trading?

They are

 

[Newchodge]

We have but they kept saying we will give them another letter and another 14 days.. it’s like watching paint dry.

Another 14 days to do what? This does not sound like the whole story.

 

[Michael Loveridge]

We have but they kept saying we will give them another letter and another 14 days.. it’s like watching paint dry.

Again, this makes no sense at all. Who is "they"? If you're referring to the debtor then if you've applied for default judgment they can't ask for more time, as the court wouldn't allow it.

I've invited you to contact me as I'm quite happy to provide free advice, but you've not accepted the offer. That's your privilege, but you can't expect people to help you if you continue to provide such a confusing and incoherent version of what's happening. It might be understandable if it was a claim for £350, but it's frankly absurd that you should have so little comprehension of the legal process when it's (apparently) a claim for £35k.

 

[Socio South West]

@tomdickandharry The CCJ is just the first step - J stands for judgement... you are then going to be down the pathway of actually getting the payment out of them: You may be offered reduced sums to settle.

You have to live with the possibility that you are one of several similar claimants, and they will liquidate - or be liquidated: You will be more likely to receive nothing than anything approaching the sum you are owed, so prepare your business for that possibility.

 

[japancool]

WHO keeps saying "we will give them another 14 days"?

What court papers have you received back?

 

[tomdickandharry]

WHO keeps saying "we will give them another 14 days"?

What court papers have you received back?

Its a reasonable value - just over £50k.

its been a joke with the court systems, they keep sending letters to the respondent who ignores, we have doubled checked all addresses and all is correct, they courts keep saying will send another letter, give it another 7 days, then we call and today its oh we need to give time for postal delays... its been months of this back and forth with the court system.

has anyone experienced it. To think this has been the same noise from them since we did this post tells you the challanges we're having the the 'system'

is anyone else having the same issues?

ref this business - if judgement is awarded they have plenty of assets on the balance sheet which should give us some weight - still trading. Seems odd they have not responded.

 

[tomdickandharry]

Again, this makes no sense at all. Who is "they"? If you're referring to the debtor then if you've applied for default judgment they can't ask for more time, as the court wouldn't allow it.

The Debtor is not responding - they is the courts, they keep giving them more time to respond and not issuing judgement. its a joke how much time they are allowing them to respond. Really odd.

 

[Michael Loveridge]

Its a reasonable value - just over £50k.

its been a joke with the court systems, they keep sending letters to the respondent who ignores, we have doubled checked all addresses and all is correct, they courts keep saying will send another letter, give it another 7 days, then we call and today its oh we need to give time for postal delays... its been months of this back and forth with the court system.

has anyone experienced it. To think this has been the same noise from them since we did this post tells you the challanges we're having the the 'system'

is anyone else having the same issues?

ref this business - if judgement is awarded they have plenty of assets on the balance sheet which should give us some weight - still trading. Seems odd they have not responded.

The Debtor is not responding - they is the courts, they keep giving them more time to respond and not issuing judgement. its a joke how much time they are allowing them to respond. Really odd.

I'm seriously beginning to wonder if this is some form of trolling exercise.

None of what you're saying makes the slightest bit of sense.

The court procedure is straightforward:

1. You send the claim form to the court and pay the issue fee.

2. The court issues the claim by stamping the claim form and (normally) posts it to the defendant.

3. The defendant has 14 days, starting 5 days from the date the court posts the claim form, to either file a defence or an acknowledgment of service.

4. If they do neither you apply for default judgment, and a few days later the court issues judgment for the amount claimed.

5. If they file a defence within the 14 days the case moves forward by way of the judge making directions as to what needs to be done in the way of producing evidence etc, and sets a timetable towards trial.

6. If they file an acknowledgment of service instead they have an additional 14 days to file their defence. Again, if they fail to do so within that extended time limit you apply for default judgement.

7. The overall 28 day limit can be extended by up to an additional 28 days by agreement between you and the defendant - but it appears that no such agreement was reached, and even if it had it has long since expired, again allowing you to go for default judgment if the defence wasn't filed.

8. The only way the defendant could obtain more time than the maximum of 56 days mentioned is by obtaining an order from the court allowing more time. They would need to provide very compelling reasons to justify a further extension, and you would be notified of the application and be offered the chance to have your say about it. You have made no mention of such an application ever having been made.

The court would never grant a defendant extra time just on the basis of a letter requesting it. It's therefore impossible that they would write to you telling you that further time had been granted.

So one way or the other, the time for the defendant to file their defence must have expired months ago, at which time you would have applied for - and received - judgment.

And this is why none of what you are saying makes any sense at all.

 

[japancool]

Its a reasonable value - just over £50k.

its been a joke with the court systems, they keep sending letters to the respondent who ignores, we have doubled checked all addresses and all is correct, they courts keep saying will send another letter, give it another 7 days, then we call and today its oh we need to give time for postal delays... its been months of this back and forth with the court system.

has anyone experienced it. To think this has been the same noise from them since we did this post tells you the challanges we're having the the 'system'

is anyone else having the same issues?

ref this business - if judgement is awarded they have plenty of assets on the balance sheet which should give us some weight - still trading. Seems odd they have not responded.

I don't know why you're quoting my post, as your reply didn't answer either of the questions I asked.