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Money you’re owed · UK guide · 2026

Small claims court — get your money back, from £35.

Last verified 11 Jun 2026 · Source: GOV.UK make-a-court-claim (fee table read live, page updated 11 May 2026)

An unreturned deposit, an unpaid invoice, a refund that never came, a trader who took the money and vanished — if someone owes you money and won’t pay, the small claims court exists precisely for you. You claim online, usually without a solicitor, fees start at £35, you can add interest — and in small claims the loser doesn’t normally pay the winner’s solicitor costs, so a big company can’t outspend you. Most cases never even reach a judge.

£35–£455Issue fee, claims up to £10,000
£10,000Small claims track limit (England & Wales)
£0HMCTS mediation — free, often ends it
No solicitorDesigned for you to do yourself
Start with the letter → Draft my letter before claim

Step one: the letter before claim — most fights end here

Courts expect you to try to settle first, and frankly it works: a properly written letter, showing you know the route to court, gets a remarkable number of people paying within days.

  • Say what happened, what you’re owed and why, list your evidence, and give a clear deadline to pay — 14 days is typical between individuals; a business chasing an individual for a debt must give at least 30 days under the Debt Pre-Action Protocol.
  • State plainly: “If I do not receive payment by [date], I will issue a claim in the county court without further notice.”
  • Send it so you can prove it arrived, and keep a copy — the court will want to see it. Sorted’s letter writer drafts it from one paragraph.
Add the interest You can usually claim statutory interest (8% a year) on top of the debt from the date it was due — businesses chasing other businesses can have contractual or late-payment rates instead. Mention it in the letter; it concentrates minds.

Step two: claim online — the fee table

The official Money Claims service on GOV.UK handles claims up to £10,000 online — it calculates the fee, adds the interest and serves the claim for you. These are the issue fees, read directly from the live GOV.UK table:

You’re claimingIssue fee
Up to £300£35
£300.01 – £500£50
£500.01 – £1,000£70
£1,000.01 – £1,500£80
£1,500.01 – £3,000£115
£3,000.01 – £5,000£205
£5,000.01 – £10,000£455
  • A hearing fee can apply later if it doesn’t settle — and if you win, you normally claim your fees back from the other side on top of the debt.
  • Low income or qualifying benefits? The Help with Fees scheme can wipe the fee entirely — apply online first and take the reference into your claim.
  • The defendant gets a deadline to respond: pay, admit and offer instalments, or defend. Ignore it entirely and you can request judgment by default.
Before you spend a penny — can they pay? A judgment against someone with no money, no job and no assets is a piece of paper. If the person or company looks like a ghost, check the firm first (Companies House + FCA register) — suing a dissolved company wins you nothing. And anyone demanding upfront “court fees” by text or email to RELEASE money owed to you is a scam — check it.

Step three: free mediation, then an informal hearing

  • For most money claims under £10,000 in England & Wales, a free telephone mediation with the HMCTS Small Claims Mediation Service is now a required step — about an hour, mediator speaks to each side separately, and a large share of cases settle right there with a binding agreement.
  • No settlement? The hearing is nothing like TV court: often by phone or video, a district judge asks questions, you explain in plain English and show your evidence (messages, photos, invoices, the letter before claim, bank statements).
  • Each side normally bears its own legal costs in small claims, win or lose — the rule that makes the track safe for ordinary people against companies with lawyers.
The quiet superpower You don’t need legal language. Judges in small claims deal with unrepresented people all day — clear dates, clear evidence and a calm story beat jargon every time.

Step four: won but still not paid? Enforce it

A judgment (CCJ) gives you teeth — each route has a fee that’s usually added to what they owe:

  • Warrant of control — court enforcement agents collect payment or take goods.
  • Attachment of earnings — taken straight from their wages.
  • Third-party debt order — frozen and paid straight from their bank account.
  • Charging order — secured against their property, paid when it’s sold.

And the quiet pressure: the CCJ sits on their credit file for 6 years unless they pay within a month — for many debtors, that alone unlocks the wallet.

Do this now

Tonight, free: gather the paper trail (messages, invoices, photos, dates) and draft the letter before claim — give the deadline, mention the 8% interest and the court route.

Deadline passes? Claim online at GOV.UK — and check Help with Fees first if money is tight. Save it all as a case in My Sorted so the dates track themselves.

Scotland & Northern Ireland Scotland: money disputes up to £5,000 use Simple Procedure through the sheriff court (forms + guidance on scotcourts.gov.uk). Northern Ireland: its own small claims process runs through the NI Courts and Tribunals Service (nidirect). The England & Wales fees above don’t apply there.
Related guides Help with court fees (free route) Letter writer Compensation triage Consumer rights — faulty goods Check a firm Price fairness checker

Small claims — common questions

How much does it cost to take someone to court?

£35 to £455 depending on the amount (up to £10,000) — claimable back from the other side if you win, and the Help with Fees scheme can wipe it entirely on a low income or qualifying benefits.

Do I need a solicitor?

Usually no — small claims is built for self-representation, hearings are informal (often phone/video), and each side normally pays its own legal costs win or lose, so nobody can outspend you.

What must I do first?

A letter before claim: what is owed, the evidence, a payment deadline (14 days typical; 30 days for business-to-individual debts), and notice that court is next. Most disputes settle at this stage.

What is the mediation step?

A free HMCTS telephone mediation — now a required step for most under-£10,000 money claims in England & Wales. About an hour, both sides spoken to separately, binding if you settle.

They lost and still won't pay?

Enforce: warrant of control, attachment of earnings, third-party debt order or a charging order — fees added to their debt. The CCJ also marks their credit file for 6 years unless paid within a month.

Sources Process, fees and enforcement · GOV.UK — make a court claim for money (fee table read live this session, page updated 11 May 2026). Statutory interest · GOV.UK claim-the-interest guidance. Mediation requirement (under-£10k money claims, from May 2024) · HMCTS / Civil Procedure Rules. Pre-action conduct + 30-day debt protocol · Justice.gov.uk Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims. Scotland Simple Procedure · scotcourts.gov.uk. SortedUK is not a law firm and this is general information, not legal advice — for complex or high-value disputes see a regulated professional or Citizens Advice. Last reviewed: 11 June 2026.

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