What is a small claim ?
What claims can be taken through the small claims court. How much can be claimed?
The term "small claim" is generally applied to any legal dispute where the value of the claim is currently anything up to £5,000.
As ever, there are exceptions to this general rule. The threshold for personal injury claims for instance is only £1,000. The same applies to housing claims which involve harassment or unlawful eviction and some types of disrepair.
If county court proceedings are started, small claims will be allocated by the court to the "small claims track" (commonly known as the Small Claims Court). Claims exceeding these limits will generally be allocated to a different track where, most crucially, the "no costs" rule will not apply.
If your dispute is for more than £5,000 then you can reduce the claim in order to place it within the scope of the small claim procedure; though the complexity of the case could mean that it will be allocated to another Track anyway.
It is also worth mentioning that the rules allow people to agree to a claim being dealt with under the Small Claims procedure even if the value of the claim exceeds the qualifying amount. However the "no costs" rule does not apply in these circumstances.
The financial limits are regularly reviewed and are likely to be increased in the near future. You should check the position with the court before you embark upon a claim to ensure that your claim falls within the Small Claims court jurisdiction
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