Before you take an unpaid invoice to the small claims court in England & Wales, the court expects a letter before action. Here is why, what goes in it, and how long to wait.
Yes. Before you issue a small claim for an unpaid invoice, the court expects you to have sent a letter before action giving the debtor a fair chance to pay. If you skip it, the court can penalise you on costs or interest even if you win.
The court wants a claim to be the last resort, not the opening move. The letter before action is how you show you tried.
The Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct expects both sides to exchange enough information to understand the dispute and, where possible, settle it without going to court. Where the debtor is a sole trader or an individual, the more detailed Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims also applies, with its own information sheet and reply form.
If a claim reaches a judge and you did not give the debtor a fair chance first, the court can take that into account, for example by reducing the interest you are awarded or, in some cases, making a costs order against you, even when the debt itself is proven.
For the full, section-by-section breakdown, see what a letter before action must contain.
Not sure whether it is called a letter before action, a letter before claim or a letter of claim? In practice they are the same letter — here is how the terms differ.
The deadline depends on who owes you the money, not on the size of the invoice.
For a company debtor, a reasonable period is expected, and 14 days is common in a straightforward case. For a sole trader or an individual, the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims gives them 30 days to reply. A very short deadline, such as 7 days, risks the court deciding you did not give the debtor a fair chance.
Once the deadline passes with no payment or response, you can issue the claim. You should not send the letter and file on the same day: the court expects the debtor to have had the deadline.
A claim for a fixed sum, such as an unpaid invoice, can usually be issued online through the government's Money Claim Online service.
The Money Claim Online guide walks through issuing the claim, and the small claims court fees page sets out the HMCTS fee for your claim value. For the whole route from reminder to judgment, see small claims for an unpaid invoice, step by step.
The small claims track covers claims up to £10,000 in England & Wales. On this track, the legal costs either side can recover are limited. That keeps your risk low if you lose, but it also means you should not expect to recover much beyond the debt, interest, compensation and court fees if you win.
A typical order of events for an undisputed invoice. Every case is different.
There is no rule that stops the court accepting a claim without one, but the court expects you to have followed pre-action conduct before you issue. For an unpaid invoice that means a letter before action giving the debtor a fair chance to pay. If you skip it, the court can take that into account on costs or interest, even if you win.
The legal costs recoverable on the small claims track are limited, so do not expect a costs order for what you paid for the letter itself. For a business-to-business debt you can normally add the fixed compensation sum under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 — £40, £70 or £100 by invoice size — and statutory interest.
Read what they say before you do anything else. A genuine dispute about the work or the amount needs a proper reply, and it may mean the debt is no longer a straightforward undisputed claim. RobinReturn is built for undisputed invoices and is not a law firm, so a real dispute is the point to consider taking legal advice.
You should not. The point of the letter is to give the debtor time to pay or respond. Wait until the deadline in the letter has passed — commonly 14 days for a company and 30 days for a sole trader or individual — before you issue the claim.
Start with a reminder, then a solicitor-drafted letter before action populated from your case. RobinReturn is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.
For undisputed invoices up to £10,000 owed by another business in England or Wales.
Related guidesThe Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, explained · Money Claim Online (MCOL): a step-by-step guide · What is a default judgment? · All guides