Didn't receive paperwork from the court (small claims)

[CMan007]

Hi all, I appreciate any and all advice here. To cut a long story short I did work for someone and was not paid the full amount for the job done.

I started a small claims case against him and we had a preliminary hearing back in February. So I am the claimant in this case.

I was told that there are long waits and the trial could be many months away.

Long story short I didn't hear back from the court at all but yesterday I recieved a letter from the court saying:

"It is ordered that

The claim is struck out due to the Claimant failing to comply with the Notice of Allocation to the Small Claims Track (Hearing) N157 order of xx June 2024 by not paying the hearing fee of £××× or alternatively filing a properly completed application (I.e. one which provides all the required information in the manner requested) for help with fees by xx July 2024.

The Small Claims Trial listed xx August 2024 has been vacated."

I did not receive any kind of correspondence from the court since Janauary when I was requested to attend the preliminary hearing. I did not receive any letter or pack after the preliminary hearing. I absolutely would have paid the hearing fee and submitted everything required of me in a timely manner.

Do I have any recourse here? Is there anything I can do or is my claim completely over?

[JK2054]

Yea of course you have recourse. You pay a £119 fee to the court for an N244 application

I've attached a sketch N244 you can use if you wish

[CMan007]

Many thanks, is it likely that relief will be granted? If it's granted do I fill in form N157 to pay the hearing fee? Will they send that to me.

And how will I go about submitting evidence? The defendant was meant to send an updated defence to me after the preliminary hearing and he has not done so. So you know how I can complain about this?

[JK2054]

Yes relief will be granted for non receipt of paperwork, hence the application only needds evidence in box not a whole seperate WS.

In regards to hearing fee, you will find that once your application is approved, it will be conditional of the fee paid within X days. N157 is proposed allocation, I doubt they will send it again, as they will have already sent it (the fact you did not receive it MEANS NOTHING in relation to whether they will resend it).

The order drawn as a result of your application will ahve the hearing fee date, or they may list your application itself for hearing, to make the repayment terms clear, I'm actually not sure which they will do.

Not sure what you mean about submitting evidence, your evidence for your n244 is in the form I sent you, and you dont submit your trial evidence at this stage.

The defendant not sending the updated defence means nothing at this stage, so don't worry about that.

[CMan007]

Alright so when I hear back from the court I will fill out the N157 form with the information that they've provided about hearing.

Evidence to be submitted is a separate issue to be dealt with at a later date. This is the first time I've ever done something like this so unsure about the processes. I'm quite worried that I didn't receive paperwork from the court - hopefully it doesn't happen again!

One thing I'm not sure about is how can I pay the fee for my N244 application? I do not have a cheque book.

[JK2054]

no you won't be filling the n157 form.

when you email the court your N244 application, you put in the body of the email the below:

"In order to pay the fee for this application, please call me on [phone number] where I will pay by debit/credit card

[CMan007]

I didn't realise you meant that I should email the n244 application. Do you know if I email it to my specific court or is there a generic email address?

[Pezza54]

Please read the rules about applications CPR 23
In particular cpr 23.2 (1) and (2)
If the claim has been allocated to a county court, the application should be sent to that county court.

[JK2054]

basically everything pezza has said is wrong

[JK2054]

Firstly there is no need to serve copies of applications for wihtout hearing on respondents. That is complete rubbish
Secondly, you can find every courts email address on the link below
thirdly there is no need to call the civil claims centre
fourth, you do not and should not post the application to the court, nor you should phone the court yourself.

You simply email your form to the email address from the court finder listed for county, along with your phone number, and let court staff do the rest

again there is no need to serve on respondents. Your application is without notice.

[Pezza54]

ok, wasn't aware of that website
When I tried to find out the email address of my local county court by googling the court name, only the address of the county court appeared.
Useful information for possible future queries

[Pezza54]

I was right about the application being sent to the county court, so not completely wrong

[Pezza54]

Please remember this is a legal forum. "Rubbish" is inappropriate. "Incorrect" or "not right" will suffice

[Pezza54]

Government court procedure rules state that if an application is made without a hearing, the application will still be served on respondents. The respondent may still challenge the application without a hearing,

If a court order is made without consent or hearing, the other party can apply to have the order set aside

[Pezza54]

CPR 3.3 (4) The court may make an order without a hearing
CPR 3.3 (5)(a) A party affected by the order may apply to have the order set aside

For an application to vary (amend or change) a judgement (or order), the court fee is only £15