If someone owes you money or you have bought faulty goods and you are unable to settle matter in any other way, you may decide to issue a claim through courts.

The small claims court is less formal than other court procedures and you do not need a solicitor.

You can issue claims for a variety of reasons, including, bad workmanship, damage to property, road traffic accidents, goods ordered and paid for but not supplied and personal injury. The county court in England and sheriff court in Scotland deals with these types of claims, referred to as "small claims" or "small claims court".

The system for handling small claims is designed to be quick, cheap and easy to use and you do not need to use a solicitor, although you can do so if you wish. It will usually only apply to claims for £5,000 or less (or £1,000 or less if claim is for personal injury or housing disrepair), against a person, firm or company in England and Wales , and claims for £750 or less against a person, firm or company in Scotland .

If amount of money claimed is £5,000 or less then it is likely to be heard in Small Claims Court.

However, if your claim is for personal injury it will only be heard in Small Claims Court if claim for injury itself is not more than £1,000.

Step 1 - Excess The easiest way to cut your car insurance premiums is to cut risk and accept a higher voluntary excess. An insurer's standard excess may be £100 but if you meet first £250 of any claim, you'll see a reduction in your premium. This is because you're taking on more of risk so you get a discount. But it's a gamble, be aware that you might have to meet cost of a broken window after an attempted theft, then a bill for repairing bodywork damage after a car park crunch.