- Note the date that the documents were received… double check!
- Diarise all response dates.
- Send an acknowledgment of service – get proof of postage – telephone court to ensure receipt. (A call is cheaper than applying to set aside a Judgment).
- If a full or part admission is sent to the court a Judgment will be given for the amount admitted. This must be paid within 28 days to avoid the Judgment being registered.
- If a claim is defended, the Defence should refer to every paragraph and briefly explain why it is incorrect. A short explanation why no balance is claimed should be given and final a comment that ‘everything else is denied’.
- If the Claimant owes the Defendant money or other, a Counter Claim may be filed in addition to the defence.
- The next stage will be that the court will either order a timetable of tasks or a hearing to discuss such a timetable.
- The tasks include:
- swapping statements;
- providing the other side with the documents that they will show to the Judge;
- Allowing inspection of original documents;
- Jointly requesting a report from an independent expert
- The final task will be the hearing date.
- The rules for presenting claims and actions are set out in the Civil Procedure Rules or CPR.
