Has anyone filed a small claims court application?

[lorettalemon]

I was very grateful for the advice I received to take a personal trainer (who has a lot of money on account and won't give it back) to the small claims court.

I haven't had any luck getting the funds back by threatening to take legal action, so I am now filling in the form.

I need to write out the particulars of claim and I'm not sure how detailed and how much supporting evidence that should contain or if the full extent of it (eg copies of his texts cancelling sessions etc) comes later. I'd be really grateful if anyone who has had to file a claim for something like this can tell me what sort of level of detail I need to go into at this stage. Thank you!

You have a limited number of characters for the details of the claim, however you can refer to a list of back up documents/records which are attached to the claim.

You should have disclosed all of your evidence in your letter before action. No need to attach them to the claim form. Just stick to the facts.

The online form allows very few characters, as has already been said. You’re better off just saying “refer to detailed particulars” (or however it refers to the additional doc you can send). You need to tick a box to attach a longer claim.

Try to set it out as clearly and succinctly as possible, eg on DATE I paid [defendant] £X for Y sessions of personal training. In breach of contract, these sessions have not been delivered and [defendant] has refused to refund the monies paid.

You don’t need to attach evidence - that comes later in the process.

Good luck!