Letter of Claim
The specific information to be contained in your Letter of Claim comes under Civil Procedure pre-action protocol.
Your letter of claim should include:
- your full trading name and address
- the basis of the claim
- a clear summary of the facts on which the claim is based
- what the you want from the defendant, and an explanation of how the amount has been calculated
- list the essential documents on which the you intend to rely
- set out the form of ADR (if any) that you considers the most suitable and invite the defendant to agree to this
- state the date by which you consider it reasonable for a full response to be provided by the defendant
- identify and ask for copies of any relevant documents not in your possession and which you
This should enable the defendant to understand and investigate the issues without needing to request further information.
Unless the defendant is known to be legally represented the letter should refer the defendant to Practice Directions and in particular draw attention to the court's powers to impose sanctions for failure to comply with the Practice Direction, and inform the defendant that ignoring the letter before claim may lead to the claimant starting proceedings and may increase the defendant's liability for costs.
Where the claimant is a business and the defendant is an individual you should:
- provide details of how the money can be paid, for example the method of payment and the address to which it can be sent
- state that the defendant can contact the claimant to discuss possible repayment options, and provide the relevant contact details, and inform the defendant that free independent advice and assistance can be obtained from organisations
Where the defendant is unable to provide a full response within the time specified in the letter before claim because the defendant intends to seek debt advice then the written acknowledgment should state from whom the advice is sort and when this advice is expected, usually within 14 days.
But you need not allow the defendant time to seek debt advice if you know that the defendant has already received relevant debt advice and the defendant's circumstances have not significantly changed, or if the defendant has previously asked for time to seek debt advice but has not done so.
The MoneyClaimsUK pre-action® ADR® service offers a structured framework supporting off-line paper based and on-line interactive versions of your letter before action, letter of claim, offers, settlement proposals and response forms, managed using the dedicated claimant website – all concluded usually within 14 days.
Start Claim