Upon receipt of the claim form the court issues what is called a Notice of issue, this is served on the defendant with a time frame of 14days in which to respond to the court over the claim. Within the Pack which is served upon the defendant there is three forms for the defendant, these being;

-          Admission: This form gives the defendant the option to accept that the debt is due and offer a instalment plan, of which the court can order that be paid if that is as much as the defendant can afford. An Admission also gives the option to state that the amount is not due (has already been paid).

-          Acknowledgment of Service: The Defendant has the option to acknowledge that the claim form has been served on them but request a further 14days to compile a defence or counter claim. This means the defendant has 28days from the date of the claim form to respond to the court.

-          Defence and Counterclaim: As the title stipulates the defendant has the option to put a defence or counterclaim forward in respects to the claim issued by the claimant. For example if the claimant is claiming for unpaid goods, the defendant can fill in the defence and counterclaim stating that they never received the goods.

6yTo see an example click here.