Letter Before Action: What It Must Say (and What Happens If You Skip It)

A letter before action — also called a letter before claim — is a formal, final written demand sent before you issue court proceedings. It sets out what you say you are owed, why, and what will happen if it is not paid.

It is not a nasty-gram, and it is not optional in most cases. The Civil Procedure Rules include a Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct which applies to almost every claim, and a dedicated Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims which applies when a business is claiming from an individual (including a sole trader).

The purpose is genuinely practical: courts want disputes settled without litigation wherever possible. A properly written letter often gets you paid without ever filing a claim, which saves you the issue fee and months of waiting.

Whatever the dispute, a letter before action should set out clearly:

• Who you are — your full name and address, and the correct full legal name and address of the person or company you are claiming from
• What happened — a short, factual, dated summary of the agreement or events
• What you are owed and why — the amount, broken down, and the basis for it
• Interest — if you are claiming it, say so, state the rate and the basis
• What you want them to do — pay by a stated date, or respond
• A deadline — a specific date, not "within a reasonable time"
• What happens next — that you will issue court proceedings without further notice if they do not respond
• Documents — copies of key documents, or an offer to provide them

Under the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims there are further requirements. The letter must be accompanied by an information sheet and reply form in the prescribed form, and a financial statement form for the debtor to complete. It should also state whether the debt has been assigned, and give details of how to pay.

This depends on which regime applies:

• Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (business claiming from an individual): 30 days to respond.
• General Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct (most other claims, including individual to individual and business to business): a reasonable period. Fourteen days is commonly used for a straightforward debt; more complex disputes justify longer.

If the other side replies asking for documents or more time to take advice, the protocol expects you to give it. Issuing the day after your deadline expires, when they have written asking for two more weeks to instruct a solicitor, is exactly the behaviour judges dislike.

Keep proof of sending. Post is fine; email is fine if you have reason to believe they use that address. Sending by both, and keeping the record, costs nothing and removes an argument later.

Skipping the letter before action will not usually get your claim struck out, but it can cost you real money and credibility:

• Costs sanctions. The court can penalise a party who did not comply with the pre-action rules, even one who wins. On the small claims track costs are limited, but the court can still order you to pay the other side's costs where you behaved unreasonably.
• Interest. The court has a discretion over interest and can reduce or refuse it where you failed to engage before issuing.
• A stay. The court can stay proceedings — pause your case — and order the parties to comply with the protocol first. You will have paid your issue fee and gained nothing but delay.
• Credibility. A claimant who tried to settle and was ignored is a sympathetic figure. A claimant who issued proceedings without warning is not.

The flip side is worth stating plainly: a defendant who ignores a properly served letter before action, then turns up at the hearing with a defence they never mentioned, has a difficult explaining job.

Three outcomes are common.

They pay. This happens more often than people expect, particularly where the letter is specific, calm and clearly evidenced. Confirm receipt in writing and close the matter.

They respond disputing it. Read what they say properly, because it is a preview of their defence. If they raise a point you had not considered, deal with it now rather than at a hearing. Consider whether a partial settlement makes sense.

They ignore it. Once your deadline has passed and any reasonable extension has expired, you are free to issue. Keep the letter and proof of sending — it goes in your evidence bundle, and it is the document that shows the judge you behaved reasonably.

CourtPilot's free letter before action generator produces a protocol-compliant letter from your case details, and the interest calculator works out the figure to include. If matters do progress, the same case details carry through to your claim.