Automatic referral to Small Claims Mediation Service for defended money claims

County court money claims issued on or after 22 May 2024 that are defended are automatically referred to the Small Claims Mediation Service, provided the claim meets three conditions¹. The value of the claim must be less than £10,000, the claim must be only for a specified sum of money, and the claim must not be for personal injury or relate to a road traffic accident².

The automatic referral applies where a defence is filed to a money claim². Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution in which both parties try to resolve the dispute over money without a court hearing, and the Small Claims Mediation Service is provided by HM Courts & Tribunals Service². Where a claim has been referred, attendance at mediation still depends on both sides agreeing to take part: if a defence was filed, a party will only need to attend mediation if both they and the creditor agree to².

There is a carve-out for claims started through the Online Civil Money Claims process. If the claim was started before 5 November 2024, it will not be automatically referred to the Small Claims Mediation Service if it was started using that process¹. The two sources state this cut-off in the same terms¹.

The referral sits within the existing timetable for responding to a claim. A defence form must reach the court within 14 days of the claim being served, or a claimant can complete an acknowledgement of service within that period, which gives another 14 days to submit the defence². Before a claim is issued, a creditor should send a letter of claim, and the reply form should be returned within 30 days of the date at the top of the letter¹. A creditor should give at least 14 days' notice of an intention to start a court claim, and should not start a claim within 30 days of receiving the completed reply form or within 30 days of providing documents that were requested¹.

Why it matters for households

The change affects people in England and Wales who defend a money claim of less than £10,000 issued on or after 22 May 2024¹. Instead of the case moving straight towards a hearing, it is referred to mediation, although mediation only goes ahead if both sides agree². For claims begun through the Online Civil Money Claims process before 5 November 2024, the automatic referral does not apply¹.

The wider consequences of a defended claim are unchanged. If a claim is not defended in time, judgment in default can be made, and a county court judgment stays on a credit reference file and the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines for six years from the date it was made, unless it is paid in full within one calendar month¹. Paying in full after one calendar month allows the entry to be marked as satisfied on proof of payment, but the judgment still stays on the credit reference file¹. Interest on the debt is usually frozen automatically by the court when a CCJ is made¹.

What happens next

The automatic referral applies to claims issued on or after 22 May 2024¹. For claims started using the Online Civil Money Claims process, the position changes for claims started on or after 5 November 2024, which are not excluded from automatic referral on that ground¹. No further dates have been reported.

Households dealing with a claim can read our guides to the small claims court in England and Wales, county court judgments and how long you have to reply to a court claim form. Separate procedures apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland.