Once a court claim has been issued, the defendant has a maximum of 28 days from service of the claim to respond with a fully-reasoned defence, and deliver this to the court. Generally, the court will post the claim form to the defendant and it will be deemed served two days after posting. The court will then send the parties a questionnaire, which is used to allocate the case to one of three tracks. The small claims track is used for lower-value cases (under £5,000) of a simple nature; the fast track is used for reasonable cases of more moderate value (£5,000 - £15,000; and the multi-track is used for complex and high value cases (over £15,000), where the trial is likely to last more than one day.
Small claims should generally be heard within three to six months of the start of the court proceedings; fast track claims may take six to nine months; and claims on the multi-track can take considerably longer because of the complexity of the issues involved. However, these timescales are useful only as a guide for the average case; if more complex issues arise the whole process can take considerably longer.
