If a debtor does not respond to a Letter Before Action or raises a dispute with which the claimant does not agree, a County Court claim can be issued. There are several important factors to consider before entering a claim regarding the commerciality of the action which will be dealt with in a later article.
Like the Letter Before Action, it is important that the correct debtor is identified on the claim form, please see ‘Identifying the Debtor’ for more information on this.
The claim form can be completed online via the Money Claim Online, click here or submitted by paper using form N1, but either way you must comply with section 7 of the Civil Procedure Rules. Any claim form must be accompanied by a court fee. However, the fees vary depending on which method is being used.
The court fees are listed below:
| Claim Amount | Paper fee | Online fee |
| Up to £300 | £35 | £25 |
| £300.01 to £500 | £50 | £35 |
| £500.01 to £1,000 | £70 | £60 |
| £1,000.01 to £1,500 | £80 | £70 |
| £1,500.01 to £3,000 | £115 | £105 |
| £3,000.01 to £5,000 | £205 | £185 |
| £5,000.01 to £10,000 | £455 | £410 |
| £10,000.01 to £100,000 | 5% of the claim | 4.5% of the claim |
| £100,000.01 to £200,000 | 5% of the claim | You cannot make a claim online |
| More than £200,000 | £10,000 |
The court fee will be added to the outstanding amount owed, so if a debtor admits the claim after the claim form is issued by the court the debtor will also be liable to pay this amount. However, the claimant must pay the fee initially otherwise the court will not issue the claim.
As well as a court fee the claim must be accompanied by particulars of claim. The particulars of claim should detail the amount owed, what the debt is for and include a claim for interest if it is an individual debtor, sole trader or company, plus compensation if the debtor is a company. This section should comply with section 16 of the Civil Procedure Rules (and its accompanying Practice Direction), which in particular requires the Claimant to include a concise statement of the facts on which it wishes to rely. Key documents should be attached to the particulars of claim, for example the contract or documents constituting the agreement on which the debt is based, invoices and statements of accounts.
Where a paper claim form is used the claim should be sent to the County Court Money Claims Centre (CCMCC) County Court Money Claims Centre, PO Box 527, Salford, M5 0BY where it will be issued. Once a claim has been issued the court will send a Notice of Issue with the date the claim was issued, the date the claim was served on the debtor and the date by which the debtor must respond.
Amy Carlton is a debt recovery manager at law firm Sintons. To speak to Amy about any debt-related matter, contact her on 0191 226 3649 or amy.carlton@sintons.co.uk.
