Takeing A Company To Small Claims Court.

[dustypuss]

I wish to take a company to small claims court. Their head office is in Portsmouth I live in Leeds. If I start a case which county court would the proceedings be held in Portsmouth or Leeds .THANKS.

[hc4361]

Portsmouth

http://www.hutchinson-buchanan.co.uk/downloads/small_claims.pdf

[Buenchico]

>>>If I start a case which county court would the proceedings be held in Portsmouth or Leeds

Neither. It would probably be dealt with by in Northampton. That, of course, assumes that you make your claim online, which is both quicker and cheaper:
https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

Remember that no court is likely to issue a Judgement in your favour unless you can show that you've made a formal demand and that your demand has been ignored.

So the first thing to do is to send a formal letter to the company at their registered address (which might not be the same as their head office address). That letter must show your name and address and those of the company you're claiming against. It must also be dated. The letter needs to clearly state that it is a demand for payment, specifying both the amount demanded and the reason for the demand. It should further indicate that if payment is not forthcoming within a specified period of time (I suggest 14 days) you will commence legal action. The letter should be sent by recorded delivery, using Royal Mail's online tracking service to confirm receipt.

[hc4361]

From Buenchico's link

Why has the claim been issued by Northampton County Court?
All claims issued through MCOL show the Court of issue as ‘Northampton County Court’ because MCOL is administered at the Northampton Bulk Centre (CCBC). You will not have to attend CCBC for a hearing - claims are transferred automatically to either the claimant’s or defendant’s local County Court to be heard

[Peter Pedant]

I am pretty sure that once you have done your letter-before-action see above then you have to use MCOL to initiate your claim

Quite user friendly having done it

[hc4361]

Did it get to court, Peter? If so, was it heard in your local court or the defendants, assuming you live a good distance apart.

The defendant has the right to request a transfer of proceedings to his own local court.

[Peter Pedant]

IN an old case 1990s we had to go to the defendants area
and that got over the common law issue of the person not being able to afford to come and defend his suit ( and therefore getting a delay or adjournment )

In the one a few months ago - you get to the statement of claim bit and the form says make it short - - and also make sure that the defendant sees a longer version which you have to send him....

so I did and he paid up

[hc4361]

Good, but it still stands that the claimant has to travel if the defendant requests it

[Eve]

All new money claims are issued out of "Northampton" at the County Court Money Claims or Bulk Centre - you don't have to use MCOL but can if you want to start your claim online and it fits the criteria.

If the claim needs a hearing it will be transferred out, this depends on what the hearing is for.

If it is a hearing to decide the case, there are set transfer rules, if you are claiming a set figure against a company then it would usually go to the claimant's preferred court but the pre-hearing questionnaires will give you a chance to give any specific requirements be considered (e.g. severe difficulty travelling due to disability). If the claim was for a set sum of money against a person then it would usually go to the defendant's preferred court.

So, it depends on the details of the claim.

[Vivkins3]

We took a business to Court using the Money Claim Online system. We live in Kent and the business was in Weston Super Mare. When the claim was defended, it was, as is usual, transferred to the Defendants Home Court - in your case that would be Portsmouth. However, we won our case and were given extremely generous travelling expenses, enough to compensate us for our petrol and actually enough to make it worth our while spending the day travelling too.