Small Claims Champions
Small Claims Champions · A trading name of Talk Legal Limited
Not sure whether to go ahead? Talk it through first — the assessment is free, with no obligation to instruct us.
Going to the Small Claims Court? You do not have to face it alone.
Small Claims Champions provides affordable help and representation for people and small businesses bringing or defending suitable County Court claims worth between £3,000 and £10,000.
You may have a good case but be unsure how to present it. You may be worried about speaking to the judge, questioning the other side or finding the important documents in a large bundle. You may want experienced help but find conventional solicitors' fees out of proportion to the amount at stake.
That is the gap this service is designed to fill.
For a suitable standard case, the fixed price is £800 for a claim of £3,000 to £8,000, and £950 for a claim over £8,000 up to £10,000. See the full scope, inclusions and exclusions.
For a suitable standard case, that price includes:
- reviewing the claim, defence, court orders and principal evidence;
- identifying the issues that actually decide the case;
- helping organise the documents and preparing a clear hearing plan;
- attending the final hearing and presenting the case as your lay representative.
Cases outside the standard description, and anything excluded, are set out on the fees page and confirmed in writing before any work is paid for.
What clients say
"Throughout an exhausting experience, Bryan has brought clear thinking, sound judgement and a sense that we have someone fighting our corner. We are confident that his persistence, strategic approach and determination will help us achieve the outcome we need."
Sue Arnold
Lichfield
Verified client account
Bringing a claim or defending one?
We consider cases for both claimants and defendants. Typical disputes include:
- —unpaid invoices;
- —defective goods;
- —the purchase or repair of a vehicle;
- —building or home-improvement work;
- —poor workmanship;
- —consumer services;
- —breach of contract;
- —suitable disputes between businesses.
The case should normally have been allocated to the small claims track and have a final hearing date, or be approaching the final-hearing stage.
One claim, end to end
What a small claim involves is easier to follow with numbers attached. The example below is an illustration of how a typical suitable case runs — it is not a prediction of any outcome.
Where a client is content to be identified, we also publish their own account of a case like this, with the size of the claim and the hearing we attended, marked on the page as a verified client account. Those come from real matters and are shown separately from illustrations, so the difference between the two is always plain.
A joiner claims £6,400 for building work from a homeowner who says the work was defective. The defence is filed, the case is allocated to the small claims track, and a final hearing is listed twelve weeks later with a time estimate of three hours.
- —The papers run to about 140 pages: contract, invoices, photographs, two witness statements and the court's directions.
- —The decisive issue is not whether the work was perfect, but whether it was done to a reasonable standard and what deduction, if any, the defects justify.
- —The bundle is reduced to the 30 or so pages that bear on that issue, put in the order the judge will read it, with a one-page hearing plan.
- —At the hearing the case is presented as the client's lay representative: the issues, the evidence, and the answer to each point the other side makes.
- —The price is £800 for a claim in the £3,000 to £8,000 band, agreed in writing before any work is done. The court fee is the client's own, and travel outside the normal area is agreed separately.
The judge decides the case and the costs. What the fixed price buys is the preparation that makes a three-hour hearing survivable: knowing which points decide the case, and being able to put them clearly.
What may be involved beyond the hearing
The fixed price covers the review, the hearing plan and attendance at the final hearing. Alongside that, the work may include discussing the evidence with you and identifying weaknesses, inconsistencies or missing evidence — the things that usually decide the outcome.
At the hearing we attend with you and present the case as your lay representative — someone who is not acting as a practising solicitor or barrister but who may, in appropriate circumstances, assist or represent a party at a hearing — subject to the applicable rules and the judge’s control.
We don’t encourage people to litigate regardless of merit or cost. If the case appears weak, uneconomic or unsuitable for this service, we’ll say so.
A straightforward service
- —Send the principal court papers.
- —We carry out a free assessment of the essential papers.
- —If the case may be suitable, we arrange the next step and request any essential information.
- —If we offer a paid service, we define the work and quote the fee in writing.
- —You decide whether to proceed.
Fees kept in proportion
Suitable standard cases are offered on a clear fixed-price basis. The quotation will reflect the amount at stake, the volume of papers, the work required, the hearing length, the location and any unusual complexity.
Part of Talk Legal
Small Claims Champions is a trading name of Talk Legal Limited.
Our standard Small Claims service (known by the court as the "small claims track") is designed for claims between £3,000 and £10,000. If your claim falls outside that range, contact us and we’ll tell you whether we may still be able to help.
Ready to ask about your case?
Send the claim, defence, allocation notice, relevant orders and hearing notice, together with your name, the amount in dispute and the date of any hearing or deadline.
Or email us at win@talklegal.net