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The letter before claim

Before a county court claim is issued, the rules expect the claimant to write to the other side setting out the claim and giving them a fair chance to reply. This guide explains which set of rules applies to you, what the letter must say, how long to wait, and what happens if the step is skipped.

Checked against official sources on 30 September 2026. Court fees from 13 July 2026; enforcement agent fees from 1 May 2026.

Which rules apply to you

Two sets of rules cover money claims. The Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols applies to every claim where there is no specific protocol. The Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (the Debt Protocol) applies where ‘any business (including sole traders and public bodies)’ is claiming payment of a debt from ‘an individual (including a sole trader)’. It does not apply to business-to-business debts unless the debtor is a sole trader.

The court is not concerned with minor or technical slips; it looks at whether the parties complied in substance and took proportionate steps. The cost of complying should itself be proportionate to the claim.

The Practice Direction letter: individuals and business-to-business

Paragraph 6 of the Practice Direction says the steps before issue will usually include the claimant writing to the defendant with concise details of the claim. The letter should include:

• the basis on which the claim is made;
• a summary of the facts;
• what the claimant wants from the defendant; and
• if money, how the amount is calculated.

The defendant should respond within a reasonable time: 14 days in a straightforward case and no more than three months in a very complex one. The reply should say whether the claim is accepted and, if not, why, which facts are disputed and whether there is a counterclaim. Both sides should disclose the key documents relevant to the dispute, and both should consider whether negotiation or another form of dispute resolution (mediation, an ombudsman scheme) could settle it. Silence in response to an invitation to mediate can itself be treated as unreasonable.

Many claimants set a clear deadline in the letter (for example ‘within 14 days of the date of this letter’), state that a county court claim will follow without further notice if it passes, and mention that interest and court fees will be added.

The Debt Protocol: a business claiming from an individual

The Debt Protocol is more prescriptive. The Letter of Claim must state the amount of the debt, whether interest or other charges are continuing, how the debt arose (whether the agreement was oral or written, with dates and parties, or who made it and what was said), details of the original creditor if the debt has been assigned, why any instalments being paid are not being accepted, how the debt can be paid and how to discuss payment options. It must enclose:

1. an up-to-date statement of account (or the most recent statement plus the interest and charges since);
2. the Information Sheet and Reply Form in Annex 1 of the Protocol, which explain the debtor’s options and list free advice services; and
3. a Financial Statement form (Annex 2), so the debtor can set out their income and outgoings if they need time to pay.

The letter should be dated at the top of the first page and posted the same day or the next. It may be sent by email only if the debtor has previously said email may be used and given an address.

The timetable is then:

• If the debtor does not reply within 30 days of the date on the letter, the creditor may start proceedings.
• If the debtor returns the Reply Form seeking advice or documents, the creditor should not start proceedings until at least 30 days after receiving the Reply Form or 30 days after supplying the documents, whichever is later, and should allow reasonable extra time for advice. Requested documents must be supplied, or their absence explained, within 30 days.
• Where the debtor has responded but no agreement is reached, the creditor should give at least 14 days’ notice of the intention to issue, unless urgent action is required.

If the debtor asks for time to pay, the parties should try to agree instalments based on the debtor’s income and expenditure, and a creditor rejecting a proposal should give reasons in writing. A partly completed Reply Form counts as engagement and the creditor should follow it up.

Business-to-business debts: interest and fixed sums

Where both supplier and purchaser were acting in the course of a business, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 applies alongside the Practice Direction letter. The statutory rate is 8% above the Bank of England Bank Rate on the reference date; because Bank Rate stood at 3.75% on 31 December 2025 and 30 June 2026, the rate for interest starting to run at any time in 2026 is 11.75%. The creditor can also claim a fixed sum for recovery costs on each debt: £40 for a debt under £1,000, £70 from £1,000 to £9,999.99 and £100 for £10,000 or more, plus any reasonable recovery costs above that. The statutory rate cannot be used if the contract sets its own rate, and it does not apply to consumer transactions. See interest on a debt.

What happens if the step is skipped

Under paragraphs 13 to 16 of the Practice Direction the court takes non-compliance into account when managing the case and deciding costs. It may find a failure where a party gave insufficient information, missed a time limit or unreasonably refused dispute resolution, and it may:

• stay the proceedings while the missing steps are taken;
• order the party at fault to pay some or all of the other side’s costs, even on the indemnity basis;
• if the claimant is at fault, deprive them of interest for a period or award it at a lower rate; or
• if the defendant is at fault, award the claimant interest at a higher rate, up to 10% above base rate.

Sending the letter and keeping proof

Post remains the safe default: the Debt Protocol assumes post, and a dated letter posted the day it is dated starts the 30-day clock cleanly. Where the dispute has been conducted over WhatsApp, Messenger or Instagram, many claimants also send a copy through the same channel, and keep the screenshot showing it was delivered and read. That does two things: it makes it hard for the debtor to say they did not know, and if the debtor later cannot be found at a postal address, it is evidence that the channel is one they use, which matters for an application to serve the claim by that route. See serving by WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram and evidence from messaging apps.

Keep a copy of the letter, the enclosures, a note of the date and method of posting, and every reply. The Start my claim tool produces a letter in the right form for your situation, and the deadline calculator works out when the reply period ends. If you have questions about your letter, ask ClaimsBot.

Sources

• Practice Direction: Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols
• Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (PDF)
• Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 s.5A (fixed sums)
• gov.uk: Charging interest on late commercial payments
• Bank of England: Bank Rate
• Practice Direction 27A: small claims track (standard directions, Appendix B)