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Court proceedings are commenced against a debtor by issuing a Claim Form at Court.
Before a Claim Form is issued a creditor should give a debtor sufficient warning of the creditor's intention to issue a Claim Form. Usually, this is done by the creditor's debt recovery specialist sending the debtor a letter before action.
The Claim Form is completed by the creditor's debt recovery specialist and contains general information, such as the name of the creditor and the debtor, details of the claim and the sum claimed. The sum claimed will comprise of the total value of the unpaid invoices, interest and costs.
The Claim Form is delivered to the Court by the creditor's debt recovery agent, together with a prescribed fee. Court proceedings are commenced when the Court issues the Claim Form (from that point the creditor is referred to as the "claimant"). After the Claim Form is issued it is normally served on the debtor (who is now referred to as the "defendant") by the Court by post. The Court also sends the defendant a form for acknowledging service of the Claim Form, a form for admitting the claim and a form for defending the claim ("the Response Pack").
The Claim Form must contain a statement that the claimant believes that the facts stated in it are true ("the Statement of Truth"). The statement must be signed by either the claimant or the claimant's solicitor. The purpose of the Statement of Truth is to try to prevent unmeritorious cases being pursued or defended. The claimant should ensure that information given to the claimant's debt recovery specialist is correct. The sanctions for verifying incorrect information in a Claim Form are potentially very serious.
Where appropriate, Legal Recoveries & Collections Limited issue Claim Forms for clients electronically, making use of a bulk production centre. This not only results in prompt issue and service of Claim Forms, but also costs savings for our clients.
In certain circumstances, for example in the case of more complex claims, it is more appropriate for Claim Forms to be issued in a traditional manner through a local County Court rather than through the bulk processing centre.
Useful notes regarding the procedure to be followed if the Defendant disputes the debt following the issue of a claim form can be found on Her Majesty's Courts Service web-site at... http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/claims/fastmulti/index.htm
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