Sue for money using the internet
This is absolutely fascinating, and I must admit that it is the first time that I had heard about this.
The website: www.moneyclaim.gov.uk is a government website that provides and online alternative
Also from the BBC News website:About 100,000 people this year are likely to take advantage of an online government service to sue those who owe them money.
It is called Money Claim Online, which started in 2002 and is an internet version of the small claims court.
The chances of success when using it seem high.
Only 20% of claims are defended, which means they end up being heard by a judge in a county court.
Most of the rest are undefended - so the claimant gets a court order automatically in his favour - or the defendant admits he owes the money and offers to pay by instalments or in full.
A few claims collapse because the claimant just gives up, perhaps if the defendant appears to have disappeared or gone bust.
The system is run by a government department called HM Courts Services which administers the court system in England and Wales.
How does it work?
The online process is fairly straightforward. Click on the Money Claim Online web site and follow the menu of instructions.
It should all take about 15 minutes.
You can sue for any amount below £100,000 but you must have an address in England or Wales (or a service address here if you live abroad) and be online with an e-mail address.
Likewise, the people you are suing must also live in England or Wales.
Once you have registered and written up your claim you submit it and pay a fee by credit or debit card.
At this stage you do not have to prove your claim with evidence, you just have to state it with concise details.
It is important to note that the online service will not tell you if you have a valid claim. For that you will need to ask a solicitor or a Citizens Advice Bureau.
But you must be telling the truth, otherwise you could be prosecuted for contempt of court.
A bulk processing centre in Northampton then sends out the documentation to the defendants in the name of Northampton County Court, telling them you are demanding the money.
What happens next?
The defendant has 14 days in which to respond to the documents once they are served, which is itself reckoned to be 5 days after they were posted.
If he simply ignores the claim then you can use the online system to request judgement by default and even ask the court to enforce your claim immediately by sending round the bailiffs.
Alternative responses from the defendant are
* paying in full
* admitting he owes all the money but fails to offer payment
* asks for time to pay
* admits he owes some money but not all of it
* or denies the claim altogether, perhaps lodging a counter-claim.In some of these cases the online system effectively comes to a halt and you will then have to write back to Northampton, using some forms, asking for the court to make a decision.
That might be to decide on an offer of delayed or staged payments with which you are unhappy.
And if you are met with a full defence of your claim, or do not want to accept a partial offer, then it will be transferred to a county court for a conventional hearing before a judge.
If you are suing a person, that will be at his or her county court; if you are suing a business, it will be heard at your local county court.
So if you want to get your money out of people...this seems like a viable option and one, it seems, that has a high rate of success.
See the full version of this article: click here.
Go to the Money Claim Online website: click here
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