Get Advice on Court Proceedings

If court proceedings are issued against you the first rule is: do not ignore them. This is not a problem which will just go away.

Responding to Court Proceedings

When a claim is issued the court sends a response pack to the defendant. This contains the claim form and various other forms which can be used to respond to the claim. One of these is the acknowledgement of service. If this form is returned to the court within 14 days, a defendant is given a further 14 days (therefore 28 days in total) to file a defence. If the acknowledgement of service form is not returned, the defendant must file their defence within 14 days from service of the claim form.

Getting Advice

If in any doubt about the validity of the claim, legal advice must be obtained immediately. If a solicitor’s fees are affordable one should be consulted, taking care to choose a solicitor who deals with the right area of law. If on benefits or a low income it may be possible to get free, legally-aided, advice.

There are various organisations who can offer free and confidential legal advice – in particular both the Citizens Advice Bureau and Community Legal Advice can either advise on a claim or provide a list of those who can.

As a matter of law all parties to court proceedings have certain rights and it is vital to know what these are before embarking on the process.

Admitting the Claim

If the claim is correct the admission form can be filled in; this form can also be used to offer to pay the debt by monthly instalments. If a defendant admits a claim but does not pay the debt immediately, the claimant will be entitled to have judgment entered. If the full debt can be paid the claimant should be contacted immediately to ask how to make payment. If only part of the claim is admitted both the defence and the admission forms should be completed.

Because the claimant will have incurred costs in starting court proceedings, and may also be claiming interest, the amount that will have to be paid to avoid judgment will be higher than the original debt. If the amount claimed is paid within 14 days of service of the claim form the claimant will not be entitled to request a judgment.

Defending the Claim

If the claim is disputed a defence will have to be filed at court no later than 28 days after the claim form was served (provided that the acknowledgement of service was returned on time). Once a defence has been filed the court will have to decide how to deal with the case. It will probably send the parties allocation questionnaires, containing questions about the case such as how long it will take and the number of witnesses that will be needed. If the value of the claim is no more than £5000, and the case is straightforward, it is likely to be allocated to the small claims track.

If the debt was paid before the court proceedings were issued the defence form should still be filled in and returned to the court stating this. If the claimant agrees that the debt was paid before issue the proceedings will come to an end; if not the case will continue. The response pack will give the date on which the court issued the claim.

Counterclaims

If the claimant owes you money, or you have some other claim against him, the counterclaim section of the defence form should be completed. A fee will probably have to be paid – the amount of the fee will depend on the value of the counterclaim.

Transfer of Court Proceedings

Claimants will usually issue court proceedings in their local court or via Northampton County Court if the claim is issued online. If the defendant is an individual, the case will almost certainly be transferred to their local court.

Contacting the Other Party

Just because court proceedings have started it does not mean that it is too late to talk to the other side. It is always worth trying to communicate with your opponent – an agreement may still be reached. Even if an agreement cannot be reached you will have shown the court that you have acted reasonably and have tried to resolve the dispute.

Ignoring Court Proceedings

If there has been no response at all after 14 days, the claimant will be entitled to have judgment entered for the full amount of the claim. This will subsequently be registered as a County Court Judgment and will show up on credit reports.