You can recover an unpaid invoice yourself for free through Money Claim Online — and for some people that is the right call. Here is an honest look at DIY versus RobinReturn, and when each makes sense.
Doing it yourself is free apart from the court fee, but you draft every document and research the process. RobinReturn provides solicitor-drafted documents, the correct protocol and interest wording, and a guided flow for a flat per-action fee. You file the claim on Money Claim Online either way.
Both routes end at the same place — a claim filed on Money Claim Online. The difference is how much of the work and the get-it-right risk sits with you.
| Dimension | Doing it yourself | RobinReturn |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free to do — you pay only the HMCTS court fee if you issue a claim. | Flat per-action fees (reminder £2.00, LBA £9.50, claim prep £35.00) plus the same court fee. No subscription, no commission. |
| The documents | You write the reminder, the Letter Before Action, the Claim Form and Particulars yourself. | Solicitor-drafted templates, populated from your case so the wording is consistent and complete. |
| Getting it right | You research the Pre-Action Protocol, the correct response windows, and how to calculate statutory interest. | The protocol windows and statutory interest are built in, so the figures and deadlines are right by default. |
| Your time | Your hours to learn the process, draft the documents and track the deadlines. | A guided flow — a few minutes per step, with the deadlines tracked for you. |
| Filing the claim | You file on Money Claim Online. | You still file on Money Claim Online — RobinReturn prepares the documents and guides you through it (there is no MCOL API). |
| Best for | A confident creditor with the time, and a straightforward debt. | Wanting it done correctly without the learning curve, at a known flat fee. |
If you have done it before, you are comfortable writing a Letter Before Action that follows the Pre-Action Protocol, and you have the time to research interest and track the deadlines, then doing it yourself is free and entirely sensible. The court route is deliberately designed to be usable without help.
Where RobinReturn earns its fee is the get-it-right-first-time part: the documents are solicitor-drafted, the statutory interest and protocol windows are calculated for you, and the process is a few guided minutes rather than an afternoon of research — for a flat £46.50 across all three stages, with the figures and deadlines handled. RobinReturn is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.
Yes. You can send your own reminder and Letter Before Action and issue a claim through Money Claim Online; the only unavoidable cost is the HMCTS court fee if you go to a claim. Doing it yourself is a perfectly valid choice.
For solicitor-drafted documents populated from your case, the correct Pre-Action Protocol wording and statutory-interest figures, a guided step-by-step flow, and the deadlines tracked for you — for a flat £46.50 across all three stages, with no subscription and no commission.
No — you file the claim yourself on Money Claim Online either way, because there is no MCOL API. RobinReturn prepares the Claim Form and Particulars and walks you through the steps.
If you are confident drafting a Letter Before Action, comfortable researching the protocol and interest, and have the time, DIY is free and entirely reasonable. RobinReturn is for when you would rather not learn all of that for one invoice.
Start with a reminder; escalate only if you need to. Or read the free guides and do it yourself — both are fine by us.