There is a lot of information out there about small claims courts in the UK, and the process can be daunting. To help you decide if small claims court is right for your debt, we have detailed everything you need to know below.
What is Small Claims Court For?
A small claims court deals with problems that people have for services that have been paid for, as well as claims for unpaid invoices, debts and repayments. Claims for refunds for goods and services not supplied are also heard at a small claims court, along with claims for goods and unpaid debts.
What Do I Need to Do?
You can take a person to small claims court if you are owed money, and a lot of the application can be done online. Once you have submitted your claim, the person you are claiming from will be informed. They must respond to the claim by a given date and this might be enough to encourage them to pay. If not, a decision about what they need to pay and when will be made by the court.
What are the Pros and Cons?
If you are chasing a debt to the value of a few hundred pounds, small claims court is a route worth thinking about, and it’s a route many people find to be successful. It’s a good option if other debt collection avenues have failed, as the threat of a court claim is sometimes enough to get a debt paid.
However, the cons of pursuing a debt through the courts put a lot of people off. For example, it can be an expensive and time-consuming undertaking. There is currently a big backlog of cases waiting to be heard, and you could find yourself waiting a long time to have your claim looked at. Plus, there is no guarantee of any payment at the end, even if you win. There is also an upper limit of £10,000 for small claims courts in the UK, meaning that it’s not a viable option for a lot of debts.
What are the Alternatives?
Though there are obvious advantages to recovering a debt via a small claims court in the UK, there are also a number of downsides. This is why it is often better to enlist the help of a reputable debt collection agency, such as Cobra Financial. The small claims court process can be slow and expensive, and there is no guarantee of success. Luckily, this is not the case when you use a debt collection agency.
Using a debt collection agency is a faster and cheaper way of recovering money that is rightfully yours, and you have a much better chance of success. Instead of dealing with the stress that often comes with a court claim, you can hand everything over to our professional team, knowing that your debt will be recovered quickly and effectively.
To find out more about our debt recovery process and the benefits of engaging international debt collectors to locate your money, get in touch with the Cobra Financial team
