What's the difference between County Court and High Court?
County Court vs. High Court
If you're new to the UK judiciary, it can be complex to navigate. But knowing exactly where to turn when you need to recover unpaid debts or reclaim your property from troublesome tenants is vital. Choosing the right avenue to enforce court judgments will affect the timeliness, cost and success rate of recovery. So let's take a look at the key differences.
County court
County courts exist specifically for civil matters, in other words for issues that are not criminal offences. The main cases handled in a county court are:
- Businesses trying to recover unpaid debts
- Landowners trying to evict trespassers
- Injured individuals seeking compensation
If someone talks about a 'small claims court', they're generally referring to claims made via county court. Applying is easy, it's simply a matter of filling out an online form and paying fees upfront. Or, if you're trying to evict trespassers, you need to make the claim at a county court hearing centre.
You'll then have to prepare for a county court hearing and, if your claim is successful, you'll receive a county court judgment (CCJ) instructing the debtor to pay. The CCJ can be enforced by a dedicated court Bailiff, though this can be quite time consuming and they may not apply the same level of pressure as a private certificated Enforcement Agent.
High Court
The High Court only handles criminal matters, but its work covers a huge area ranging from intellectual property law, through major contract disputes to larger claims for debts. If you are owed over £600, you have the option of High Court enforcement.
The advantage of 'transferring up' to the High Courts is that you can employ High Court Enforcement Agents (HCEA) from the private sector, like Dukes Bailiffs, who will act immediately to recover the debt. Switching to High Court enforcement also allows you to add 8% interest to the debt.
In order to reach the High Court, you must still pass through the county courts to obtain a CCJ. After that, High Court processing generally takes 5-21 days, but all costs will be borne by the debtor. Because private HCEAs are paid from the reclaimed debts, they are also incentivised to act promptly and efficiently.
For more information about fast, effective and ethical debt enforcement services, contact Dukes Bailiffs today.
