Barwells Solicitors

I AM OWED MONEY, WHAT CAN I DO?

In these difficult times many people may find themselves owed money from a variety of sources. This could be unpaid invoices, rent arrears or payments defaulted under an agreement. For amounts under £10,000.00 including interest the small claims court is where the claim needs to be started. The application can be completed online by accessing the Online Civil Money Claims service or a paper version of the claim form can be completed and posted. There are court fees to submit a claim and this will depend on the value of the claim being made and range from £25.00 up to £455.00. Higher value claims up to £100,000.00 can also be started via the Money Claim Online service but in this case there can only be one claimant and no more than two defendants and the defendants must have an address in England or Wales. The court fee payable in this case is 4.5% of the amount being claimed for online applications or 5% for paper form applications.

Claims above £100,000.00 cannot be made online and an application in paper form must be made to the High Court. The fee for claims between £100,000.00 and £200,000.00 is 5% of the value of the claim and for claims over £200,000.00 the fee is £10,000.00. With any of the claims described above the claimant must complete a claim form which must contain specific information. This will then be served on the other party. It is very important that all the relevant information is included and that interest, if being claimed, is correctly claimed. Failure to correctly complete the form could result in the claim being rejected. Once the claim has been issued there are then deadlines for the defendant to either defend or admit the claim.

Can I reclaim solicitor’s costs? In the cases of a claim for a specified amount of money there are rules relating to how much a claimant can claim back for solicitors costs associated with the bringing of a claim. There are fixed amounts depending on the value of the claim and how it was served. If the claim is successful the defendant will normally be ordered to pay the fixed cost amount and the court fee. It is important to bear in mind that the costs of bringing a claim, if instructing a solicitor, may exceed the amount that is allowed to be claimed back.

If you are experiencing difficulties with an outstanding debt owed to you and wish to discuss your options then please do not hesitate to contact our litigation department on 01273 582271 or email us at litigation@barwell.com.

Lauren Chambers Partner, Head of Litigation T 01273 582271 Sarah Rebello Solicitor, Litigation T 01273 582271

Barwells

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