Particulars of Claim — Small Claims Track (England & Wales)

The small claims track is a simplified, low-cost procedure in the County Court of England and Wales designed to resolve disputes without the parties needing professional legal representation. It is governed by CPR Part 27 and is normally used for claims with a value of £10,000 or less, with two important exceptions: personal injury claims are allocated to the small claims track only if the claim for personal injury does not exceed £1,000, and housing disrepair claims are only allocated to the small claims track if both the cost of repairs and any damages claimed do not exceed £1,000 each. The advantage of the small claims track is that the costs rules are significantly more protective: under CPR r.27.14, the amount of legal costs the losing party can be ordered to pay is strictly limited, meaning that even if you lose you are unlikely to face a large adverse costs order (unlike the fast track or multi-track). The small claims track is commonly used for consumer disputes over faulty goods or poor workmanship (relying on the Consumer Rights Act 2015), unpaid debts, damage to property, return of deposits, minor professional negligence, and many other everyday disputes. Claims over £10,000 but not more than £25,000 (or up to £100,000 for personal injury arising from road traffic accidents in certain circumstances) may be allocated to the fast track, which has a higher costs exposure but a similar case management approach.

Under CPR r.16.4 and Practice Direction 16, Particulars of Claim must contain several mandatory elements. First, they must include a concise statement of the facts on which the claimant relies — this means the actual events that give rise to the claim, stated chronologically in numbered paragraphs, without legal argument or excessive detail. Second, if the claimant is seeking interest, the Particulars must state the legal basis for the interest claim (typically s.69 of the County Courts Act 1984 for consumer debts or the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 for business-to-business debts), the rate claimed, the period for which interest is claimed, and the amount accrued to the date of the Particulars. Third, the Particulars must set out the remedy the claimant is seeking — typically payment of a sum of money, interest, and court costs. For consumer claims, Practice Direction 16 paragraph 7.3 requires the Particulars to identify whether the claim is for goods or services and the relevant statutory basis under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 or Sale of Goods Act 1979 (for contracts before October 2015). The Particulars must also be verified by a statement of truth, signed by the claimant or their legal representative, as required by CPR Part 22. A false statement of truth can lead to proceedings for contempt of court.

There are two main statutory bases for claiming interest on a County Court claim. For most consumer and individual claims, s.69 of the County Courts Act 1984 allows the court to award interest at a rate not exceeding 8% per annum on the amount of the claim from the date the cause of action arose (usually the date payment was due) until judgment or sooner payment. You must specifically plead this in your Particulars of Claim — the court will not award interest unless it is claimed. To calculate the interest, use the formula: Principal × Rate ÷ 365 × Number of Days. For example, on £3,500 at 8% per annum for 180 days, the interest is £3,500 × 0.08 ÷ 365 × 180 = £138.08. You must then also plead that interest continues at the daily rate until judgment. For business-to-business (B2B) debts where the goods or services were supplied under a contract and payment is at least 30 days overdue, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 provides a statutory right to interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, plus a fixed compensation sum of £40 for debts under £1,000, £70 for debts between £1,000 and £9,999, or £100 for debts of £10,000 or more. The 1998 Act interest is therefore significantly higher than s.69 interest in a low-base-rate environment.

Limitation periods are set out in the Limitation Act 1980 and determine the deadline by which legal proceedings must be commenced. If you issue your claim after the limitation period has expired, the defendant can apply to have it struck out. For contract claims — the most common type of small claim — the limitation period under s.5 of the Limitation Act 1980 is six years from the date the breach of contract occurred. So if someone failed to pay you in January 2020, you have until January 2026 to issue your claim form. For tort claims (for example, negligence or damage to property not founded in contract), the limitation period under s.2 of the Limitation Act 1980 is also six years from the date the cause of action accrued. For personal injury claims, the limitation period is three years from the date of the accident or the date of knowledge under s.11 of the Limitation Act 1980. For consumer credit claims, different limitation periods may apply depending on the agreement. The limitation period does not stop running simply because you have written letters or made demands — proceedings must actually be issued at court before the deadline. It is important to note that certain provisions of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 may interact with limitation rules where goods or services were supplied under a regulated contract.

Once the N1 Claim Form and Particulars of Claim are filed at the County Court (either in person, by post, or online via Money Claim Online for claims up to £10,000), the court will issue the claim and serve it on the defendant — or, if you have indicated you will serve it yourself, give you the sealed claim form and documents to do so. The defendant then has 14 days from service of the Particulars of Claim to file either a defence or an acknowledgment of service under CPR r.10.3 and r.15.4. If they file an acknowledgment of service, they have a further 14 days (28 days total from service) to file a defence. If no defence is filed in time, you may apply for a default judgment under CPR Part 12 — a significant advantage if the defendant fails to engage with the proceedings. If a defence is filed, the court will send out a directions questionnaire (DQ) to both parties asking about the nature of the dispute, whether mediation has been tried, and whether witnesses or experts are needed. The court will then allocate the claim to the small claims track if it qualifies and issue directions, which typically require the parties to exchange documents and witness statements a set number of days before the hearing. The typical hearing length for a small claim is 30 minutes to 2 hours. At the hearing, the judge will hear from both parties informally, consider the evidence, and give a judgment — either at the hearing or in writing afterwards.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA 2015) applies to contracts between a trader and a consumer entered into on or after 1 October 2015, replacing the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 for consumer transactions. For goods, the CRA 2015 implies that goods must be of satisfactory quality (s.9), fit for any particular purpose made known to the trader (s.10), and as described (s.11). If goods do not meet these standards, you have a short-term right to reject the goods and receive a full refund within 30 days of receiving them under s.20(4). After 30 days, you are entitled to one repair or replacement attempt under s.23. If the repair or replacement fails, you can then claim a final right to reject, which may involve a price reduction or refund under s.24. For services, the CRA 2015 implies that the service must be performed with reasonable care and skill under s.49, at a reasonable price under s.51 (if no price was agreed), and within a reasonable time under s.52. If the service falls short, you are entitled to require the trader to repeat or remedy the service under s.55 or, if that is not possible, a price reduction under s.56. For digital content, separate rights apply under ss.34–47 of the CRA 2015. All of these implied rights are implied terms of the contract and cannot be excluded or restricted by the trader (s.31 CRA 2015). A small claim is often the appropriate route to enforce these rights if the trader refuses to provide a refund or remedy.