• Most people are frightened of courts, especially when they feel guilty because they owe money. The County Court is not there to judge anyone guilty or innocent, but to settle disputes about money owed, and how to repay it. The court is not there to serve the interests of the creditors alone.
• If court action is taken, you will not usually have to go to a court hearing. Most of the procedure is done through the post.
• You will receive a "Claim Form" from the court (this used to be called a Default Summons). This will come through the post and tell you how much the creditor says you owe.
• The claim form will usually include details of the debt known as the "Particulars of Claim" but the creditor can send this separately within 14 days.

• There will be a Reply Form with the Claim Form for you to make your offer of repayment. This is called an N9A . There are instructions included on how to fill in the form. It looks quite like a Personal Budget Sheet and asks for similar information on income and essential outgoings. You can use the Online Income & Expenditure Form to help you complete this section of the form.

• It is important to make an offer of payment on the form. This is Section 11 on the form. If you leave it blank the court will decide you have not made an offer. They will tell you to pay the whole debt at once "forthwith", or order you to pay the monthly payments the creditor asks for. If you don't pay what the court has ordered the creditor can enforce the County Court Judgment in a variety of ways.

• It is very important that you send the form to the "address for service" at the bottom of Page 2 of the Claim Form. This might be a solicitor's address rather than the actual creditor.
• There is a time limit of 16 days from the date of the postmark to send back the form. If you don't send it back the court will give judgment against you and order you to pay the whole debt in one lump sum immediately or "forthwith". It is a good idea to send the form recorded delivery and keep a copy.

If you don't agree with the amount of the debt they say you owe then you must either:

• Fill in the Defence Form. In this case send the form back to the court within 16 days.

or

• Fill in the "Acknowledgement of Service" form and tick the box to say you wish to defend all of the claim. Send the form back to the court within 16 days. This gives you another 14 days after that to complete your Defence Form and return it to the court.

• If you agree you owe only part of the debt, then you have to fill in both the Admission Form and the Defence Form and send them to the court.