Making a Complaint About the Small Claims Court

If you are unhappy about the way in which your case has been handled, you can complain to the court that has had conduct of your case. Remember that this is not an ‘appeal’ against a decision made by a judge but rather a means of complaining when you are unhappy with the way staff at the small claims court have dealt with your case. If you have lost money as a result of the way your case has been handled, you can also claim for compensation - although whether this is accepted and paid is another matter.

How to Complain

You can complain in person, at the court, by telephoning the court, or in writing, by email, by writing a letter or by filling out form EX343A. Once your claim has been received it will be evaluated and a report will be filed. If your complaint is considered to be valid, you will receive an apology and compensation (if you have requested it and it is considered appropriate in the circumstances.)

The Area Director

If you are not happy with the response you receive from the court, you can take your complaint to the Area Director. The court in question will be able to give you the name and contact details of the Area Director, who has responsibility for all the courts and probate registries in the area.

Your complaint should explain that you have already gone through the requisite channels with the court in question but that you are not satisfied with the outcome. Your complaint will be acknowledged within 2 working days, and a response will be forthcoming within 10 working days. This response may be given in writing or verbally. It must be stressed that you will not necessarily achieve a different outcome.

The Customer Service Unit

If, when you receive your response from the Area Director, you are still not happy you can take your complaint to the highest complaints section of the courts service, the Customer Service Unit. Again, you should explain that you have been through the previous complaints procedures with the Area Director and the court. Your complaint will be acknowledged within two working days, after which time the unit will obtain all the documents in relation to your complaint from the Area Director and the court, and will also make further enquiries if it deems them necessary.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

If you are still unhappy with the way your complaint has been handled within the courts service, you can ask the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to look at your case. However this is not something that you can do personally. You have to approach your local MP to do this on your behalf. The Ombudsman’s job is to investigate accusations that individuals have been treated poorly by government agencies, departments or other public bodies. As such, the Ombudsman is completely independent of the government and other public agencies. If you don’t know who your local MP is, ask your local library or ask someone at the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.