Going to court

From Consumer Wiki
Revision as of 20:44, 24 June 2007 by Mbrowne (talk | contribs)
  • Check the time and the date.
  • Be there and don't be late.
  • Wear smart clothing.
  • Take a notepad and a couple of pens.
  • Have your papers well organised in a ring binder with separators and/or marked post-its.
  • Have a second ring binder (different colour) containing two copies of each of the papers which you have in your main ring binder. These are in case you need to give any papers to the judge or to the other side.
  • If the judge asks to see any paper from you then give him what he wants and offer a copy to the other side.

If you want the judge to see a document then also give a copy to the other side as well. The judge is addressed as "Sir" or "Madam" The proceedings on the small claims track are usually in a largish office with a T shaped desk. The judge will sit at the same level as you at the top of the T. You and your opponent will sit on either side of the "leg" of the T.

When you arrive at the court you will see some notice boards with the court lists on them. Find your name and note which court number you will be in and at what time. Go to that court.

Find the usher who will be a person in a gown with a clipboard. Introduce yourself to the Usher and tell him/her that you are there "in person" (acting for yourself). Also ask if your opponents have arrived yet. The Usher will mark you down as arrived and then you wait you turn to be called. If you know who the opponents are, go to them and introduce yourself. Ask their names and make a note.

Be polite but don't try to discuss the case unless they want to. Don't make any deals at this stage, BUT see below.

Go and find a place to sit and try and relax.

When you are called, follow the usher through to the Judge's room. When you enter you will be shown to your place.

Bid the judge "Good morning Sir / Madam."

Conducting the case
Normally as the claimant, you would introduce yourself as the claimant and introduce your opponent giving his name and who he is acting for.

You remain sitting throughout the proceedings.

As the judge is aware that you are in person, he may well just start and take the initiative.

You will not be sworn in but the judge may swear you or your opponent in later if he feels that he needs to or he is asked to for some reason.

As the claimant you will have to explain you case first. Speak clearly and slowly. It is very easy to go too fast. The judge may be taking notes so don't go too fast for the judge. Stop frequently so that the judge has time to catch up.

Tell your story.

Show your statements (or better still a schedule of the charges which you have paid)

Explain why you object to the charges.

Explain to the judge what are the cases and the statutes which you are relying on (you will have warned the court and the other side as to what cases and statutes you will relying upon in your claim. You should have copies of these for the judge to see) highlighted at the relevant passages. He may not want to see them.

Explain to the judge what evidence you have which makes you believe that he should decide for you. Just saying that it is obvious that bouncing a DD can't cost £35 is not good enough.

Explain to the judge what particular hardships you have suffered as a result of the charges - defaults, loss of home, illness etc.

When you think that you have made out your case, tell the judge that you have finished. The judge may ask the other side if they have any questions to ask you.

The judge will then invite the other side to reply.

They will explain the arguments which they have laid out in their defence and will go on to explain why you have not made out your case.

You should pay attention. Make brief notes of any point which you want to refer back to. When they have finished you may then ask them questions.

You should at least ask them questions which confirm your story.

  • Are the charges really the cost of bouncing a cheque / a failed direct debit etc?
  • How do you know?
  • Do you set the charges?
  • Who does?
  • If you don't know who does then how do you know that these are the correct charges?
  • Where is the person who sets them - why isn't he here today?
  • You don't actually have any direct knowledge of the charging process, do you?
  • Is the bouncing process automated?
  • How many times a year is a direct debit bounced?
  • What was the cost of setting up the system?
  • When was it set up?
  • This means that it has been used against 20 million people since it was introduced? (Do rough maths)
  • This means that it has cost the bank about 50 pence per person? (You have to do some rough maths here)
  • Is there any manual intervention in the bouncing process?
  • If yes, then how is it done?
  • In every case?
  • How is the manual intervention recorded?
  • Show us some evidence of it.

"But I asked for a data Protection disclosure of evidence of manual intervention in my account and you told me that there wasn't any." (Produce letter to court and one for opponent). (If I got an answer like that then I would probably stop and ask the judge to swear the opponent and then ask him if he had direct knowledge of the answers he had given and if he wanted to reconsider any of them.)

Alternatively if you have a letter to someone else which shows no manual intervention then show that to the judge and ask him to swear the opponent. Then put the question to the opponent again but under oath.

The rules about asking questions is that you only ask questions to which you already know the answer. You are not asking questions in order to find out information in order to build your case. You should have done that before you got into court.

You are asking questions in order to draw out the story in a way which you believe will bring the judge round to your way of thinking.

If your question produces a good answer then leave it. The point is made. Move on to your next point. Because you are acting in person the judge will probably assist you to make your points. And also he may ask his own questions.

Don't forget that the purpose of your questioning is not suddenly to produce some earth-shattering truth. It is merely to shake the defendant's evidence up so that the judge is unsure of it.

At the end of the defendant's case, the judge may ask you if you have anything else you want to say. You can give a little summary if you want but better not to waste time. Try and correct anything which you think the defendant said which was incorrect or unfair.

The judge will give a little summary of what he has heard and what he has decided.

If you have won, ask for costs of travel. You can also say that you have spend, say, 30 hours preparing the case. He may give you an allowance towards it. When you leave the court. Be polite to the other party and go home.

If you have lost than leave the court when the judge indicates. Be polite to the other side and go home and kick the cat.


This scenario and these questions are not a script. You must be thinking and responding for yourself. . . © Reclaim the Right Ltd.