Taking a dispute to the small claims court Sample letter
Letter before claim
A 'Letter before claim' must be sent to the party you are considering starting court action against and this must comply with the Civil Procedure Pre-Action Protocol and include the following:
- A summary of the facts
- What you want from the party you are claiming from
- How you have calculated the sum you want to claim
- A list of the key documents that you will use to support your case
- A list of any documents you want from the party you are claiming from
- A reasonable deadline for a response (this must not be less than 14 days and it’s usually appropriate to allow 28 days)
- A reference to the Practice Direction on Pre Action Conduct and the fact that section II(4) of the direction gives the courts the power to impose sanctions on the parties if they fail to comply with the direction
- A warning that ignoring the letter before claim may result in court action being commenced
- Where appropriate a statement that you would be willing to consider Alternative Dispute Resolution
Your address
Your supplier's address
Dear
[Reference]
As it has not been possible to resolve this matter amicably and it is apparent that court action may be necessary, I write in compliance with the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct.
[Provide a summary of the facts of the dispute]
[State what you want from the party you are claiming from]
[State how you have calculated any sum you are claiming]
Listed below are the documents on which I intend to rely in my claim against you:
[List the key documents that you will need to use to prove your claim]
In accordance with Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct I would request that you provide me with copies of the following documents:
[List any documents you want from the party you are claiming from]
I can confirm that I would be agreeable to mediation and would consider any other system of Alternative Dispute Resolution in order to avoid the need for this matter to be resolved by the courts and would invite you to put forward any proposals in this regard. [Alternatively set out details of any scheme of Alternative Dispute Resolution that you are already aware of that would be prepared to use rather than going to court]
In closing I would draw your attention to section II (4) of the Practice Direction which gives the courts the power to impose sanctions on the parties if they fail to comply with the direction including failing to respond to this letter before claim. I look forward to hearing from you within the next 28 days, should I not receive a response to my letter within this time frame then I anticipate that court action will be commenced with no further reference to you.
Yours sincerely
