It is the last rung of the ladder, not the first. But if a customer simply will not pay, it is a real option that you can run yourself, without a solicitor.
27 October 2026 · 7 min read
Most unpaid invoices are paid after a reminder or two. A few are not. When the polite messages, the firm messages and the final notice have all been ignored, the small claims court is how a tradie recovers money without hiring a solicitor. This guide covers England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own procedures and limits. It is general information, not legal advice.
Before anything else, ask two questions. Is the debt clear, with a written quote or acceptance, an invoice, and messages showing the work was done? And can the customer actually pay? A court judgment is a decision that you are owed the money, not the money itself. If the customer has nothing, winning will not change that. Claims up to £10,000.00 normally go on the small claims track, which is designed for people representing themselves.
You must give the customer a final, formal chance to pay before you issue a claim. If your customer is an individual, including a householder or a sole trader, the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims applies: send a letter of claim with the amount, how it is made up, and the forms the protocol requires, and give them 30 days to reply. For a limited company customer, a clear letter with a reasonable deadline is expected. Our late payment letter template is a good starting point. Skipping this step can count against you later, including on costs.
If the customer is a business, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act lets you claim statutory interest and a fixed compensation sum on top of the invoice. The late payment interest calculator works it out. For a householder, the court can still award interest on the debt, so include it in your claim.
Most money claims are started online through GOV.UK’s make a court claim for money service. The issue fee depends on the amount: on GOV.UK’s court fees page at the time of writing (October 2026) it was £35.00 for claims up to £300.00, £80.00 for £1,000.01 to £1,500.00, and £455.00 for £5,000.01 to £10,000.00, with bands in between. The fee is normally added to what you claim, and a further hearing fee applies if the case goes to a hearing. Check the page for current figures before you file.
The customer can pay, admit the debt and offer instalments, defend the claim, or do nothing. If they do nothing within the deadline, you can ask for judgment without a hearing. If they defend it, the case is allocated to the small claims track, often with a free phone mediation offered first, and if that does not settle it, a short and fairly informal hearing. Bring the quote, the acceptance, the invoice, your messages and photos. Be calm and stick to the facts.
A judgment usually gives a date to pay. If it passes, there are enforcement options, such as a warrant for enforcement agents or an attachment of earnings order, each with its own fee. This is why the "can they pay?" question at the start matters so much.
Small claims are won on paper. A written quote, the customer’s "yes, go ahead", numbered invoices, and the chase messages in one place make the difference. GraftG keeps the quote, the acceptance and every invoice in your WhatsApp chat and in the portal, and on Pro the Late Payment Chaser sends the reminders for you, which builds the trail you would need. Most of the time, that trail is also what gets you paid before it ever gets this far. See the escalation ladder for the earlier steps.
In England and Wales the issue fee depends on the amount claimed. At the time of writing (October 2026) GOV.UK listed £35.00 for claims up to £300.00 rising to £455.00 for claims from £5,000.01 to £10,000.00. A further hearing fee applies if it goes to a hearing, and enforcement has its own fees. The fees are normally added to the claim.
No. The small claims track is designed for people representing themselves, and you can start a claim online. Legal costs are generally not recoverable on the small claims track, so many people do not use a solicitor at all.
Claims up to £10,000.00 normally go on the small claims track. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own procedures and limits.
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