You should know
If you ignore a small claim made against you, a decision can be made against you in the case without hearing your side of the story. This is known as a Summary Judgment.
Your options if you have received a small claim against you
Once you have been served with the claim, you have fifteen calendar days to respond.
The options available to you are:
- Accept the claim.
- Dispute the claim.
- Dispute the claim and submit a counterclaim.
When you are served with a small claim, you will receive a number of documents
On the documents you will be known as the respondent and the person who is making the claim against you is known as the claimant.
- Application to Small Claims Registrar, this form includes details of the claim being made against you.
- Notice of Claim against Respondent, this form includes contact information for you and the claimant and information on what you can do next.
- Notice of Dispute, this is a form you must fill out if you do not agree with the claim.
- Notice of Acceptance of Liability, this is a form you must fill out if you accept the claim against you.
Complete your Notice of Acceptance of Liability form
If you accept or agree with the claim made against you, you must fill out the Notice of Acceptance of Liability form. This form states that you are accepting the claim against you.
When accepting the claim against you, your options are to:
- Pay the claim amount in full.
- Pay the full claim amount in instalments.
- Offer a repair or replacement.
Once you have completed the Notice of Acceptance of Liability, you must return it to the small claims registrar. You can do this by post or by visiting the court office the claim was sent from.
If you have agreed to pay the claim amount in full or instalments, you can pay by:
- A cheque(s) made payable to the claimant. You must send the cheque(s) to the small claims registrar who will forward it to the claimant.
- Make direct payment(s) to the card that the good or service was purchased with.
- If you have the claimants bank details, by bank transfer(s).
If you agreed to offer a repair or replacement you should contact the small claims registrar to arrange this.
The small claims registrar will send a copy of the Notice of Acceptance of Liability to the claimant (person who made the application) and provide details of the agreed arrangement.
Once the payment has been made in full or a repair or replacement complete, the small claims registrar will mark the case as closed.
Complete your Notice of Dispute form
If you do not agree with all or part of the claim being made against you, you must complete your Notice of Dispute form. On the form, you will need to:
- Explain the reason(s) why you do not agree with all or part of the claim.
- Provide details about what happened and when it happened.
- Include evidence to support your dispute, for example a quote for repair or receipts.
Once you have completed your Notice of Dispute form, you must return it to the small claims registrar. You can do this by post or by visiting the court office the claim was sent from.
Once you have decided to dispute the claim, there are two potential outcomes.
Your claim is settled
Once you have disputed the claim to the small claims registrar, they will send your response to the claimant and ask for their response. The small claims registrar will speak to you and the claimant to try and come to an agreement and settle the case to avoid going to court.
A settlement between you and the claimant may include:
- The payment of an agreed sum.
- The payment of an agreed sum in instalments.
- The repair or replacement of a good or service.
The claimant must accept your offer for the claim to be settled. When a settlement is agreed and payment has been made in full or the goods or service repaired or replaced, the small claims registrar will mark the case as settled and closed.
Your claim goes to court
If the small claims registrar is not able to settle the claim between both sides, the case will be listed for court. It will be heard before a judge in the District Civil Court. Both sides will receive a Notice of Hearing in the post which includes the date, time and where the case will be heard. Under Irish law a business is required to be legally represented if their case goes to court. The judge cannot award costs or witness expenses in a small claims case.
Going to court can be a stressful experience, please see our preparing for Civil Law court pages for information on how to prepare.
Complete the counterclaim section of your Notice of Dispute form
If you receive a small claim against you and you think it was the claimant who was at fault, you can make a claim against them. This is known as a counterclaim. If you want to make a counterclaim you must set out your reason(s) for doing so in the Notice of Dispute form, you cannot claim for money owed. There is a €25 fee if you submit a counterclaim.
On the form you will need to:
- Explain the reason(s) you are making a counterclaim.
- Attach any evidence to support your counterclaim for example a quote for repair or receipts.
Once you have completed the counterclaim section of the Notice of Dispute form, you must return it to the small claims registrar along with the €25 fee. You can do this by post or by visiting the court office the claim was sent from. If your counterclaim is rejected, the fee will be returned to you.
When you make a counterclaim, there are two potential outcomes.
Your claim is settled
Once you have submitted your counterclaim to the small claims registrar, they will send it to the claimant and ask for their response. The small claims registrar will speak to you and the claimant to try and come to an agreement and settle the case to avoid going to court.
A settlement between you and the claimant may include:
- The payment of an agreed sum.
- The payment of an agreed sum in instalments.
- The repair or replacement of a good or service.
The claimant must accept your offer for the claim to be settled. When a settlement is agreed and payment has been made in full or the goods or service repaired or replaced, the small claims registrar will mark the case as settled and closed.
Your claim goes to court
If the small claims registrar is not able to settle the claim between both sides, the case will be listed for court. It will be heard before a judge in the District Civil Court. Both sides will receive a Notice of Hearing in the post which includes the date, time and where the case will be heard. Under Irish law a business is required to be legally represented if their case goes to court. The judge cannot award costs or witness expenses in a small claims case.
Going to court can be a stressful experience, please see our preparing for Civil Law court pages for information on how to prepare.
