You did everything properly. The terms were agreed, the work was done or the money was handed over, and there may even be a written promise — or an order — setting out exactly what you are owed. And the other side has gone quiet. No payment, no reply, no explanation. It is one of the most demoralising experiences in civil life, and it is precisely the situation the money claims system exists to fix. This guide walks the generic pathway from ignored obligation to issued claim: quantify the loss, send a letter before action a judge would respect, and — if it is still ignored — issue through the official Money Claims service (OCMC).
Where money claims are filed: the official portal is www.moneyclaims.service.gov.uk — HMCTS’s own Money Claims service. It is new (still badged beta), and following the 181st Practice Direction update there is no upper limit on the amount you can claim through it — and if you qualify for Help with Fees, the issue fee itself can be reduced to zero, whatever the size of the claim. New to the portal? Read our step-by-step walkthrough.
First, pick the right door
Not every ignored obligation leads to a fresh money claim, so thirty seconds of triage saves months of wasted effort:
- You already hold a money judgment. If a court has already ordered payment and it has not arrived, you do not sue again — you enforce. Our guide to enforcing an ignored court order covers the options, from warrants of control to attachment of earnings.
- The order was made in proceedings that are still running. Non-compliance inside a live case is usually dealt with by an application within that case, made on form N244 — see our N244 application notice guide.
- An agreement or obligation has been breached and no court has yet put a number on it. An unpaid invoice. A refund agreed in writing that never arrived. A settlement that was signed and then simply ignored. This is money claim territory — and the rest of this guide is for you.
Step 1 — Quantify the loss to the penny
Courts award figures, not feelings. Before a single letter is written, turn the breach into an exact number: the principal sum owed, any further loss the breach directly caused, and interest. For most money claims you can claim interest under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984, conventionally at 8% a year from the date the money fell due — OCMC will calculate the daily rate for you once you supply the dates.
Build the number from evidence: the agreement or order itself, invoices, bank statements, messages acknowledging the debt. A claim whose arithmetic is shown line by line is harder to dispute and far easier for a judge to accept. Vague round numbers invite defences; precise, evidenced ones settle cases.
Step 2 — The letter before action, done properly
The letter before action (formally, a letter of claim) is not a threat — it is a required stage. The Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols expects the parties to exchange enough information to understand each other’s position and try to settle before anyone issues proceedings. A proper letter contains:
- who you are and the basis of the claim — the agreement or obligation, and how it was breached;
- a concise summary of the facts, in date order;
- the amount claimed and exactly how it is calculated, including interest;
- copies of, or an offer to provide, the key documents you rely on;
- a clear deadline for a response, and notice that proceedings will be issued without further warning if none arrives;
- your willingness to consider alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation.
On response time, the Practice Direction expects a reply within a reasonable period — 14 days in a straightforward case, and no more than three months in a genuinely complex one. Where a business is claiming a debt from an individual, the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims applies instead: the letter of claim must enclose an Information Sheet and Reply Form, and the individual has 30 days to respond before proceedings can be started.
Why does this matter so much? Because judges check. A court can take non-compliance with the pre-action rules into account when it manages the case, and its sanctions have teeth: a stay of proceedings, costs orders, or cutting the interest you would otherwise recover. A properly constructed letter is also, quietly, your best settlement tool — a large share of disputes end here, because the letter shows the recipient precisely what a judge will see. Our full guide to what to include in a letter before claim under the pre-action protocol takes each element in depth.
Step 3 — If it is ignored: issue through OCMC
If the deadline passes in silence, you issue. For money claims, the official route is HM Courts & Tribunals Service’s Online Civil Money Claims service — OCMC — which replaced the paper N1 form for most people suing for money. You answer structured questions about the parties, the facts and the figures, pay the statutory issue fee (which scales with the value of the claim — and the Help with Fees scheme can reduce or remove it if you qualify), and the court issues your claim.
One fact still surprises people: OCMC has no upper value limit. Since the 181st Practice Direction Update, in force 27 February 2025, the words “not exceeding £25,000 including interest” were removed from PD 51R 2.1(3)(a) — so claims above £25,000 can now be issued through the service too. Our step-by-step guide to making a money claim online through OCMC walks the whole process, and the hub — Make a Money Claim Yourself — maps every stage from first letter to final payment.
You can run every step of this yourself, free of charge: the government’s guidance at gov.uk on making a court claim for money covers the mechanics, and Citizens Advice offers free, independent help.
Step 4 — After issue: the 28th-day rule
Once the claim is issued, the clock starts. On OCMC, the defendant’s deadline to respond is 4pm on the 28th day after the claim is issued — the service shows the exact date in the response pack. From there, three things can happen:
- They admit — in full or in part — and payment terms are set.
- They defend, and the case moves towards directions and, if it does not settle, a hearing.
- They do nothing — in which case you can request judgment in default through the service, converting your claim into a court judgment for the full amount plus interest and fees.
And if that judgment is then ignored too? You are back at the first door of this guide, now holding the strongest position of all: an enforceable judgment, with the full toolkit of the enforcement guide behind it.
How Chris drafts it with you
Every stage above is a drafting task: a letter that satisfies the Practice Direction, particulars of claim that plead the breach and the arithmetic cleanly, and portal answers that say exactly what the court needs to hear. Chris, our technology at eLitigant, drafts the letter before action, the particulars and every OCMC answer with you to a professional standard in minutes — built around your facts, your figures and your documents. You check every word, you sign the statement of truth, you file — and you keep 100% of what you recover.
Being ignored is not the end of your claim. It is the beginning of the procedure — a procedure that was always meant to be usable by the person who is owed the money. That shift is the story we told in our essay on the moment litigation’s tools reached the people who need them.
The Money Claim Series: This guide is one chapter of the series. Start at the hub — Make a Money Claim Yourself: the complete guide — then go deeper: make a money claim online (OCMC) · the step-by-step walkthrough of every screen · OCMC vs County Court: which route to use · what happens after you file · how OCMC replaced the paper N1.