Letter before action (letter before claim)

The pre-action letter required by the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols before issuing a county court money claim — or, where a business is claiming a debt from an individual, the Letter of Claim required by the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims.

Not reviewed by a solicitor. This template was written from the legislation and official guidance cited below, but no regulated professional has checked it and none is scheduled to. Treat it as a starting point to adapt, not as legal advice. Read the surrounding guide, check the cited sources still say what the letter assumes, and get free advice from Citizens Advice or a solicitor before sending anything that starts a legal process or admits a fact.

Send it by post and keep proof. Get a free certificate of posting from the Post Office. A signed-for item that goes unclaimed proves only that the recipient did not sign for it. Email a copy the same day if you have an address, but post remains the primary method — the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims expressly says the Letter of Claim should be sent by post.

Check who you are actually claiming from. For a limited company, take the exact registered name and registered office address from the Companies House register. A trading name is not a legal person, and a claim issued against one can be a nullity.

Date it and post it the same day. Under the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims the debtor's 30 days run from the date at the top of the letter, so a letter dated a week before it is posted quietly eats the recipient's response time.

Which regime applies. If you are a business (including a sole trader or public body) claiming payment of a debt from an individual (including a sole trader), the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims applies and this generator switches to the 30-day protocol timetable. You must enclose the Information Sheet, Reply Form and a Financial Statement form from the annexes to the protocol — download them from the protocol itself. In every other case the general Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols applies. Check the list of pre-action protocols first — personal injury, professional negligence, housing disrepair and construction disputes all have their own protocols with different requirements.

Statutory interest is business-to-business only. The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 applies to commercial contracts between businesses. Do not use it against a consumer. In other cases, section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 lets the county court award simple interest at such rate as it thinks fit — the rate is discretionary, so this letter does not assert a fixed percentage.

AI cross-check (2026-08-11) — not reviewed by a regulated solicitor

The authority cited in this letter has been checked against justice.gov.uk, legislation.gov.uk and GOV.UK:

  • Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols, paragraph 6(a): verified. Requires the claimant to write with concise details of the claim, including the basis on which the claim is made, a summary of the facts, what the claimant wants from the defendant, and if money, how the amount is calculated. The letter's numbered sections 1 and 2 are built to satisfy this.
  • Paragraph 6(b) — response period: verified. "Within a reasonable time — 14 days in a straight forward case and no more than 3 months in a very complex one." The 14/30/60-day options reflect this; 30 days for a business recipient is customary practice rather than a rule.
  • Paragraph 16 — sanctions: verified. The court may order the party at fault to pay the costs of the proceedings or part of them, order those costs on the indemnity basis, deprive a claimant of interest or award it at a lower rate, or order a defendant to pay interest at a higher rate (up to 10 percentage points above base rate).
  • Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims — scope: verified. Applies where a business (including a sole trader or public body) claims payment of a debt from an individual (including a sole trader).
  • Debt Claims Protocol — 30-day reply period, 30 days to supply requested documents, and 14 days' further notice before issuing: verified against the protocol and National Debtline's summary. The generator enforces a 30-day minimum when the protocol applies.
  • Debt Claims Protocol — mandatory enclosures: verified. An Information Sheet, Reply Form and Financial Statement form must accompany the Letter of Claim.
  • Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998: verified against GOV.UK. Statutory interest is the Bank of England base rate plus 8%, and the fixed sums for debt recovery costs are £40 (debt up to £999.99), £70 (£1,000 to £9,999.99) and £100 (£10,000 or more).
  • Section 69 County Courts Act 1984: verified. The section gives the county court a discretion to include simple interest "at such rate as the court thinks fit or as may be prescribed" — it does not fix a rate, so the letter does not assert one.

Reviewer focus areas: (1) Confirm no specific pre-action protocol displaces the general Practice Direction for the user's dispute type. (2) Confirm the Debt Claims Protocol annexes have not been renumbered or replaced. (3) Consider whether a claim is time-barred under the Limitation Act 1980 before sending — this generator does not check limitation. (4) Confirm whether an ADR-refusal costs sanction should be worded more cautiously in light of developing case law on compelled ADR.

This AI cross-check is an aid only and is not legal advice.

Your details

For a limited company use the registered name from the Companies House register, not a trading name.

For a limited company, the registered office address.

Leave blank if there is none.

What was agreed, when, and what went wrong. Keep it factual and dated — this becomes the "concise details of the claim" required by paragraph 6(a).

Break the figure down — for example: invoice 1042 of £1,200 plus £150 of re-delivery costs.

For example: the contract dated 3 March, invoice 1042, and the email chain of 14–20 April.

Statutory late-payment interest is only available between businesses.

The Practice Direction describes a reasonable time as 14 days in a straightforward case and no more than 3 months in a very complex one. 30 days is customary for a business recipient, and is mandatory under the Debt Claims Protocol.

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Disclaimer

This information is for general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. You should seek qualified legal help if your situation requires it.