Taking someone to small claims court involves five main steps:
- Send a Letter Before Action giving them 30 days to pay
- File your claim using the N1 form with supporting evidence
- Wait for the defendant to respond within 14 days (they can admit, defend, or ignore)
- Prepare for a hearing if they defend by organising all your evidence
- Attend the hearing - an informal 30-60 minute session before a district judge
If you win, the court orders them to pay the debt, court fees, fixed legal costs, and interest. You may need enforcement action if they still don't pay.
DIY vs Garfield: which should you choose?
DIY with Money Claims Online (MCOL)
You can file yourself through gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money.
- Time required: 10-20+ hours over several months
- Cost: Court fees only (£35-£455, recoverable if you win)
- What you do: Write your own Letter Before Action, complete the N1 form, calculate interest, track deadlines, handle all correspondence, prepare your own evidence
Garfield (recommended)
Garfield automates the entire process.
- Time required: 5 minutes to start
- Cost: Fixed recoverable fees - if you win, you should be able to recover the majority of Garfield's fees from the defendant.
- What Garfield does: Generates and sends Letter Before Action, prepares and files all court forms correctly, tracks deadlines and responses, provides hearing preparation support
This makes debt recovery simple without legal expertise or hours of paperwork.