Our guide gives you a lawyer in your pocket, taking you through the process step by step, in plain English. Updated to include the August 2023 changes to the rules.
Solicitor charges typically start from £177 plus VAT per hour, which is unaffordable or disproportionate in cost for those involved in small claim disputes.
We have intentionally kept the price of our guide at a low £7.50 in order to help as many people as possible.
Download instantly and improve your chances of winning.
£7.50
Join the thousands of individuals and businesses we have helped with guidance on the small claims process.
The guide is written by an experienced litigator but in friendly and easy to understand language.
The court rules and process can at first appear overwhelming but our guide simplifies it greatly, to allow you to confidently deal with a small claim without the need for costly legal representation.
Knowledge of the process will improve your chances of succeeding and help reduce the stress and uncertainty you might be feeling. Our guide will help with that and give you a road map of what to expect and what to do.
Why Press On With A Small Claim Without Legal Representation?
Over 1.5 million civil claims are started each year in the courts of England & Wales, most by people and businesses without legal representation.
In small claims it is only in exceptional circumstances that lawyer costs can be recovered, so most people make the sensible decision to deal with a claim themselves.
You shouldn’t be put off bringing a valid claim by fear or uncertainty of the process.
Our guide will assist you with the process from start to finish. Having this helping hand may improve your chances of winning and will help take away some of the stress caused by unfamiliarity with the small claims process.
Take A Peek At The Index
You Don’t Have To Struggle On Alone
Many people mistakenly think that you need to use a solicitor to go to court. However, most people and businesses go to court without any legal representation or advice.
Many of those struggle on without any obvious help available, which is why we created this site and the guide.
You may not have gone to court before so might be worried about not knowing what to do and worried about getting things wrong. Hundreds of thousands or people and businesses start claims each year, without any legal representation.
You can do so too and with the use of this guide, don’t need to struggle on alone and without guidance.
A Little Bit About The Author
I’m Paul Hatton, the author of the Ultimate Guide and the founder of this site.
For over 16 years I was a litigation solicitor in North West England, helping both individuals and businesses resolve disputes, of many different values and complexities. For 5 years I was a partner in a firm of solicitors.
I have retired from practice as a solicitor to focus on helping individuals and businesses how to deal with simple and lower value disputes, without having to use a lawyer.
Using my knowledge of the process, and experience of helping those unfamiliar with the court system, I set up Small Claims Court Genie, later adding the Ultimate Guide and document store.
How The Ultimate Guide Will Help You
Each year, over a million money claims are started at court, the vast majority of which are started by people and businesses without a solicitor. The vast majority of court users are just like you, going it alone.
The Ultimate Guide was created to help people and businesses exactly like you.
The guide is intentionally written in plain English, and easy to understand. There are plenty of solicitors and barristers out there who like to write in complex, wordy and old fashioned language – often to make themselves look clever and to appear superior. We avoid that. The guide has been created to help those unfamiliar with the court processes, to use the courts with confidence for low value disputes.
The guide is downloadable instantly as a pdf, which you can read on a variety of devices (anything that can display pdf documents – so virtually all tablets, phones, laptops and desktops).
You can dip in and out of it easily and conveniently, as and when you need it, without needing to download any software or by having to log in each time. Once downloaded it will be on that device until you delete it.
Some people read the guide from front to back before starting a claim. Others dip in and out of the relevant sections, as and when they need a bit of guidance. How you use the guide is up to you but having the comfort of access to it whenever you need it, will be invaluable.
Cutting Through The Vast Court Rules
It is easy to get overwhelmed by the vast volume of court rules. Our guide cuts through them all to bring the rules applicable to small claims, to the forefront.
£7.50
Our website provides basic and crucial information about small claims. We also bring you news and updates which we think will be helpful. The ultimate guide greatly expands upon this and takes you through the process step by step and in plain English.
The guide is 98 pages and is delivered as a pdf so you can read it on a variety of devices. You can download your copy now instantly for only £7.50. The revenue raised from sales of the guide helps us to keep the site running and updated with regular content.
What The Guide Covers (And What It Doesn’t)
Most small claims are money claims – someone owes someone else money, whether it be a debt, building dispute or other type of argument. These are the types of matters our site and the Ultimate Guide relates to.
We do not cover on this site or in the guide personal injury claims, employment claims, insolvency or landlord & tenant, as the court rules, forms and administration are different.
This is a digital download for you to view on your device, it is not a purchase of a physical or printable book.
The Guide relates to procedure in the courts of England & Wales. Other courts in other jurisdictions have differing rules.