Bringing a Claim to the Petty Debts Court

Before issuing proceedings

Identifying your Defendant

As the person bringing the claim (the 'Plaintiff'), you must identify your Defendant correctly. If you do not, your claim may be dismissed, and costs may be granted against you.

Your Defendant is the person or company against whom you are bringing your claim. For instance, they may be the person or company you had a contract with, or the person you say is responsible for an injury that you suffered.

Your Defendant can be a person, a person with a trading name or a limited company.

You may wish to contact the Jersey Financial Services Commission on +44 (0) 1534 822000 or go to Jersey Financial Services Commission for help to identify your Defendant. If your Defendant does not reside in Jersey, different rules apply, and you should call the Greffier for advice.

Sending a claim letter to your Defendant

Before you bring a claim to Court, you must post a claim letter to your Defendant. Your claim letter will advise them that you will bring a claim to the Petty Debts Court if they fail to pay the sum claimed within 7 days (for a claim up to £10,000) or within 14 days (for a claim above £10,000).

This letter must contain:

your full name and address
the correct full name and address for your Defendant
a clear description of your claim
the amount of money you are claiming
an invitation to resolve the dispute without having to go to Court

You should bring proceedings to Court no more than 3 months after sending the claim letter.

What will it cost?

To bring a claim to Court, you must pay a Court fee. If your claim is not disputed by the Defendant, you can reclaim that Court fee from them, plus fixed costs which are a contribution for the time and effort spent in bringing your claim. Fees and fixed costs vary depending on how much your claim is for.

Petty Debt Court current fees and fixed costs

You can pay your Court fee at Gov.je, using the online payment form. Once payment has been processed, you will receive a confirmation via email. You must print this receipt as the Petty Debts Court Greffier will need it to process your claim. The Court fee is non-refundable, so you should make sure you pay the correct amount when paying online.

Alternatively, you can pay your Court fee in person at the Magistrate’s Court Greffe when you come to submit the documents required to process your claim, using a debit or credit card.

Note that the Court fee is non-refundable even if you withdraw your claim before the Court date because the Defendant has paid the sum claimed.

Preparing your Summons and Claim Summary

The Plaintiff must sign the summons and attend Court in person. If the claim is brought by a limited company, a company Director must sign the summons and attend Court on behalf of the company.

Alternatively, both an individual and a limited company may be represented by a Jersey lawyer in Court.

Before you can bring your Defendant to Court, you must let the 7 days or 14 days given in your claim letter pass. If no payment has been received at the end of this period and you wish to bring a claim, you must complete a Summons and a Claim Summary.

Guidance notes are available to help you complete the forms.

A list of examples will help you to describe your claim depending on what it is in relation to.

If your claim is for arrears of maintenance

If the defendant owes you child maintenance and/or sums relating to other expenses for your child, and you have an Order from the Royal Court (Family Division) or a private agreement with them, the process for bringing a claim to the Petty Debts Court is the same as for any other monetary claim but you should complete a specific Summons and Claim Summary.

When you come to the Magistrate's Court to have your claim considered, you should bring a copy of the Royal Court Order or private agreement.

If you have an Order from the Royal Court (Family Division) and an earlier Petty Debts Court Judgment in relation to arrears of maintenance, contact the Greffier for guidance on how to apply to the Court for an ongoing wage arrest against the Defendant. This could prevent you from having to take them to Court again in the future. The Greffier can give you the forms required to do this.

Bringing your claim to the Greffe

Once you have completed your Summons and Claim Summary, bring these to the Magistrate's Court Greffe with a copy of your claim letter (which should be no older than 3 months), your Court fee payment receipt if you have paid online at Gov.je and a stamped envelope addressed to your Defendant (one envelope per Defendant).

The Greffier will set a date for your case to be heard, take payment of your Court fee if you cannot pay online, and will post your summons to the Defendant (for eviction cases, see evictions guidance regarding personal service).

If the Defendant pays the sum claimed before the Court date, you must immediately contact the Greffier so that the case can be removed from the list.

Petty Debts Court Process

Your first Court hearing

Unless your claim is settled before the Court date, you must attend in person or be represented by a lawyer. A friend or relative cannot attend on your behalf.

If you feel you or your Defendant would benefit from an interpreter, make sure you inform the Court at least a week before the Court date (see information in other languages and interpreters).

If the Defendant does not attend, you may ask the Court for a Judgment ordering them to pay the sum claimed, together with your Court fee and fixed costs.

If the Defendant attends, the Judge will ask you both to briefly explain your claim and defence. They will not make a decision on the case on that day, so you do not need to bring all of your evidence.

If the Defendant contests the claim (denies that the money is owed, either in full or in part), the Court will refer the case to mediation. A date will be set for this to take place usually within a couple of weeks.

Mediation

The vast majority of cases brought to Court each year are resolved at mediation. It is a free service offered by the Court to give parties a chance to resolve their dispute and avoid spending a long time preparing for a stressful and potentially costly trial. Mediations are held in private.

At your appointment, you and your Defendant work with a trained neutral mediator who listens to your views and helps you to negotiate a settlement. The mediator will not try to force you to reach an agreement.

For mediation to work, you should:

participate in good faith with the intention of finding an agreement
listen to the points raised by the other party
be willing to compromise
have the authority to agree a settlement

If you resolve the dispute at mediation, you and your Defendant will sign a mediation agreement, the terms of which are binding. This means you must comply with them.

If a party fails to honour the terms of the agreement, for instance fails to pay the settlement sum by the due date, then the other party may bring the case back to Court to apply for judgment.

Pleadings

If your case progresses to trial, the Relief Magistrate conducting the mediation, or the Judge at the Court hearing, will order the Plaintiff to prepare a Statement of Claim and the Defendant to reply to the Statement of Claim in an Answer (this may also include a Counterclaim). These documents are called Pleadings.

The Court will set a timetable to allow you time to complete your Pleadings. These Court Orders, which you must comply with, are called Directions and will be given to you in writing.

Guidance on how to prepare your Pleadings

Directions hearing

Once Pleadings have been filed, the parties will attend a case management hearing. The Judge will have reviewed your Pleadings and will confirm whether they explain the claim and defence (and any counterclaim) well enough for the trial Judge to understand the case. If the Pleadings are acceptable, the Judge will make further directions for you to produce all documents you will rely on at the trial. These documents are called your evidence.

In addition, the Judge may order you to present your own evidence as a sworn written statement called an Affidavit. This will need to be sworn in front of a lawyer and will form your own evidence at trial.

The Judge will also fix a date for the trial and ask if you wish to bring any witnesses. There is a fee of £43 payable by the Plaintiff on listing the claim for trial, and a further trial fee of £383 (per day or part of the day) if your claim is above £3,000.00.

If the Pleadings are unclear or information is missing, the Judge may adjourn the case to allow more time for you or the Defendant to amend your Pleadings.

Trial – Claims over £5,000.00

On the day of your trial, you and your witnesses will take the oath (or be affirmed) to give evidence. The Judge might ask you to clarify some aspects of your claim or evidence and the other party will ask you questions. This is called cross-examination.

Once both parties (and their witnesses) have given evidence, the Court will either give its decision and explain its reasons or adjourn the case to make its decision.

Once the decision has been made, the Greffier will prepare an Act of Court detailing the Judgment and will inform you when you can collect it from the Court.