Small Claims Court

Information

The aim of the Small Claims Court procedure is to provide an inexpensive, fast and easy way for consumers to resolve disputes without the need to employ a solicitor. The Small Claims service is provided in your local District Court office.

The procedure can be used to resolve consumer complaints. Certain other types of disputes are also eligible. From 11 January 2010, businesses can make claims against other businesses. 

The claim cannot exceed €2,000.

Rules

The following types of consumer claims can be dealt with under the Small Claims procedure:

• Consumer claims such as for faulty goods or bad workmanship. You must have bought the goods or service for private use from someone selling them in the course of business.
• Claims can also be made for minor damage to your property.
• Claims for the non-return of a rent deposit for certain kinds of rented properties, such as, a holiday home or a flat in a premises where the landlord also lives. The Private Residential Tenancies Board handles such claims for the mainstream private rented housing sector.

Consumer claims cannot be made in the Small Claims Court for debts, personal injuries or breach of leasing or hire-purchase agreements.

Businesses can make claims against other businesses in relation to contracts for goods or services purchased. It does not apply to claims in relation to:

• Agreements to which the Consumer Credit Act 1995 applies
• Breaches of leasing agreements
• Debt or liquidated damages  

The procedure is designed to deal with claims up to €2,000.

The procedure can be summarised as follows:

• The claimant completes the application form and sends it to the Registrar with the relevant fee.
• The application is registered by the Registrar
• A copy of the claim and a Notice of Claim is sent by the Registrar to the respondent

At this stage, there are various choices available to the respondent:

• They can admit the claim
• They can dispute the claim
• They can counterclaim
• They might ignore the claim.

Respondent admits the claim

The respondent has 15 calendar days to reply. Where the respondent admits the claim, he/she completes a Notice of Acceptance of Liability, and returns it to the Registrar

The respondent has 3 options:

1. The respondent agrees to pay the amount claimed. Here, the respondent agrees to pay you immediately. Payment is made by cheque, postal order or money order, made payable to the claimant, and sent to the Registrar. If payment is conditional, e.g., the goods must be returned, then the Registrar must seek the claimant's agreement
2. The respondent consents to judgement. Here, the respondent will only pay you when judgement is made in the Small Claims Court Office. You will not have to attend at court. The claimant swears an Affidavit of Debt and makes a request for Judgement and Decree. The Registrar will assist the claimant in this procedure. The Registrar will notify the respondent of the judgement. The respondent has 28 calendar days to comply with the judgement.
3. The respondent wishes to pay the amount claimed in instalments. The Registrar must inform the claimant of this request and must seek the consent of the claimant to the terms proposed.

Respondent disputes the claim

The respondent has 15 calendar days to reply and returns to the Registrar the Notice of Dispute within the 15 calendar day period. The Registrar sends the claimant a copy of the Notice of Dispute and tries to settle the dispute. If no settlement can be reached, the matter is then set down for court hearing.

The respondent counterclaims

The respondent outlines his/her intention to counterclaim on the Notice of Dispute and sends the appropriate fee to the Registrar. The Registrar sends the claimant a copy of the Notice of Dispute and Counterclaim.

The respondent does not reply to the claim

The respondent has 15 calendar days to reply to the claim. Where there is no reply by the respondent, he/she is then held to have admitted the claim. The procedure is the same as if he/she had consented to judgement. The claimant swears an Affidavit of Debt and makes a request for Judgement and Decree. The Registrar will assist the claimant in this procedure. The Registrar will notify the respondent of the Judgement. The Respondent has 28 calendar days to comply with the judgement.

Court Appearance

If your case has been referred to court for hearing it may be advisable to get legal advice. Under Irish Law should there be court proceedings a business has to be legally represented.

You will receive a letter from the Small Claims Office telling you the date and time of the court hearing and the location of the court itself.

If you have any difficulty with attending court on that date, notify the Small Claims Office and the respondent immediately. You may ask to have the date adjourned, or put back, to another date. Only the judge can make this order and you will need a very good reason for not being able to attend or go ahead with the case on that date. If you cannot attend yourself, you can send a representative to make the request to the court on your behalf.

At your hearing, when all the witnesses have been heard, the judge will usually make his or her decision there and then. If the judge decides in your favour, he or she will make an order or Decree. This is usually an order for the respondent to pay an amount of money to you, but the judge can decide to make any order he or she sees fit. For example, the Judge may direct that the work be completed or the goods be repaired. The order will be made to suit your particular case.

If the court makes a Decree for an amount of money, the respondent has 28 calendar days to pay you. If the court makes any other type of Decree, it will usually put a time limit within which it must be completed.

If the judge decides not to uphold your claim, your case will be dismissed, this means that no order or Decree will be made in your favour.

You can find further information on preparing for court and the court hearing in More about this topic.

Enforcing your judgement

Once you have obtained judgement and have a decree, there is the possibility that the respondent will not comply with the order of the court. In this situation, you may need to enforce your judgement. The most usual way of enforcing a judgement is to refer the Decree to the Sheriff or the County Registrar for execution. The Decree is sent by the Small Claims Court Registrar to the Sheriff or the County Registrar who then goes to the respondent and seizes goods or money to the value of the amount set out in your Decree.

The Registrar will not automatically refer unsatisfied Decrees for execution in this way. You will have to set this enforcement procedure in motion. The Registrar will assist you to do this and it will involve a further fee. If the Sheriff successfully executes the judgement, this fee will be refunded to you.

Appealing a decision

If you are not satisfied with the decision of the Small Claims Court, you can appeal your case to the Circuit Court. Careful consideration should be given to this decision. You should look at why your case failed and consider how likely you are to succeed in another court. If you are not successful in your appeal, there is a possibility you might be held liable for the other parties' costs. In addition, if you decide to appeal to the Circuit Court, you may need to get advice or assistance from a lawyer since this is a higher and more formal court. You must make your application for appeal within 14 calendar days of the court hearing.

The respondent also has a right to appeal the decision to the Circuit Court. They too must do this within 14 calendar days of the court hearing. If this happens, you will receive notice from the court office.

Rates

The current fee for making a claim in the Small Claims Court is €15. This fee is payable by cheque or postal order. The District Court Clerk or the Small Claims Registrar will accept the fee in cash if you pay it in person.

How to apply

Download an application for the Small Claims Court. (You can complete this form by filling it in on the screen and printing it, or by printing it and completing it by hand. You will find a list of district court areas and district numbers on the Court Service website.) This application form is also available from your local District Court office . Staff in your District Court office can help in completing the application form.

It is important when completing the application form to give all the necessary information. This will help the Small Claims Registrar to process your claim and try and resolve the dispute. If no resolution can be reached, it will also make it easier to enforce a Decree (or court order) if one is granted.

You can find further information on completing the application form in More about this topic.

The Courts Service has published a Guide to Small Claims (pdf)

Claiming online

You can lodge an application for the Small Claims procedure in the District Court online. Using the Small Claims Online System you can create and pay for a small claim application. You can also check the status of your online small claim securely using a PIN that is issued to you. (Businesses can not currently make a claim online.)

To create a claim online you need a credit/debit card and an email address to which you have access.

Where to apply

The Small Claims procedure is provided through your local District Court. Contact information for local District Court offices throughout Ireland is here.