Recover your debt through court: Money Claim Online

Money Claim Online (MCOL) is an official service provided by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMC&TS) designed to help individuals and businesses make or respond to certain types of claims for recovering debts via the internet.

MCOL can help you if someone owes you money and you wish to start or continue a claim against them, or if you have received a claim pack from the court and wish to respond as a defendant.

This guide explains what you need to know before using MCOL. It will help you understand what the MCOL system is, either as a claimant or a defendant, who it is aimed at and gives guidance on how and when you can use it.

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Information to consider before making a Money Claim Online claim

Issuing a claim should be your last resort. You should first consider other ways to settle the matter. For example, if you are owed money by someone, you could write a letter to them informing them of how much they owe, what it is for and what steps you have already taken to recover the money.

The letter should also include a warning that you will consider issuing a county court claim if they do not pay by the date you give. Sometimes this warning will encourage them to pay and you will not have to go to court. You should keep a copy of the letter and any reply you receive.

You could also consider some form of alternative dispute resolution such as mediation or arbitration – see the page in this guide on alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

It may be that your contract already specifies the processes that are in place for recovering debts. Resolution procedures can enable you to control costs more easily and may be less confrontational than court proceedings, which can help maintain business relationships when the dispute has been settled. For more information, see our guide on managing late payments.

If you do decide to issue a court claim, you can read guidance on using the MCOL Service on the Directgov website – Opens in a new window.

The issue of electronic claim forms is governed by Practice Direction 7e of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). Find out about the CPR for MCOL on the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) website – Opens in a new window.

Will I get my money?

There is no guarantee that you will get your money back. Before you decide to go ahead with any court action, you must give serious consideration to whether you are likely to get all or some of your money.

The court may not be able to help you get your money if the individual or business you are claiming from:

• is unemployed, bankrupt, or if the business has been wound up
• has no money of their own, no personal property and nothing else of value belonging to them – eg a car – which is not hired or subject to a hire purchase or lease agreement
• has ceased to trade
• has other debts to pay

However, you may be able to get your money if you are prepared to accept small instalments over a period of time.

If the individual or business you are claiming against is bankrupt, you will probably not get your money. For further advice, you can contact the Insolvency Service Enquiry Line on Tel 0845 602 9848, with the full name of the individual or business and their last address. Find information on claiming against parties in financial difficulties on the Insolvency Service website – Opens in a new window.

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Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)

ADR is the collective term for the ways that parties can settle civil disputes without going to court or, if proceedings have been started, without going to trial.

There are a number of different ADR options. Parties may wish to use a process where a neutral third party makes a decision (arbitration, expert determination, ombudsmen and regulators). Alternatively they may prefer to use a process where the neutral agent offers an opinion and/or seeks to bring the parties to an agreement (mediation, conciliation, and early neutral evaluation).

Under the Civil Procedure Rules, parties involved in litigation are encouraged to use ADR procedures and in certain circumstances, a judge can recommend it. The court may also impose cost sanctions if it decides that one or more of the parties have been unreasonable in refusing to attempt ADR.

Where can I find out more about ADR?

There are many websites that you can visit for more information on ADR:

• read advice on mediation for various disputes on the ADR Group website – Opens in a new window
• find news and advice on dispute arbitration and mediation on the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution website – Opens in a new window
• find contact details for mediators and arbitrators on the ACI website – Opens in a new window
• read about standards and advice for dispute resolution on the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators website – Opens in a new window
• find out about negotiation options for disputes on the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution website – Opens in a new window
• read about cost efficient dispute resolution on the Academy of Experts website – Opens in a new window

You can also find more information in our guide on how to recover debt through court.

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Who can and cannot use Money Claim Online

The Money Claim Online (MCOL) service can be used by both claimants and defendants of a money claim. However, this service is subject to certain conditions.

Who can use the MCOL service?

Your business can use MCOL if you are issuing a claim for a fixed amount of money.

Where the claim has been issued online, you can also:

• enter judgment
• file an acknowledgment of service, part admission or defence
• apply for a warrant of execution

Other conditions of use for MCOL include:

• the claim must be for a fixed sum below £100,000 including court fees and any solicitors’ costs
• the claim can be against no more than two people
• your address for service as the claimant must be within England and Wales
• the address of the defendant(s) being sued must be within England and Wales
• a valid credit or debit card must be used for payment

If you are an accountant or adviser using MCOL on behalf of an individual or business, you can read guidance on using the MCOL Service on the Directgov website – Opens in a new window.

Who cannot use the MCOL service?

You cannot use MCOL if you are:

• under 18 years of age
• eligible for a fee remission or exemption
• a child or protected party within Part 21 of the Civil Procedure Rules
• a patient as described in the Mental Health Act 1983 – find information on the Mental Health Act on the Directgov website – Opens in a new window
• a legally assisted person under the Legal Aid Act 1988 – find out about legal aid on the Legal Services Commission (LSC) website – Opens in a new window
• a vexatious litigant – a person forbidden by a High Court judge to issue proceedings without permission – check the list of vexatious litigants on the HMC&TS website – Opens in a new window

You also cannot use MCOL to issue a claim against:

• a child or patient as stated above
• the government
• the monarchy

For more information about MCOL, you can contact the HMCS Customer Help Desk on Tel 0845 601 5935. This helpdesk is open Monday to Friday, between 08.45 and 17.00.

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Is Money Claim Online secure?

Because some of the information you provide online for a money claim can be of a sensitive nature, Money Claim Online (MCOL) uses an encrypted, secure website and will give you a unique user ID and password. However, you should note that any emails you send or receive cannot be regarded as secure.

You will need to register with the UK Government Gateway, a website for online government services. You can register for a Government Gateway account on the Government Gateway website – Opens in a new window. Registering gives you a Government Gateway account that you can use for other online government services. After you have registered, please make sure you keep a record of your 12 digit user ID and your password.

If you have previously registered with MCOL, you will have to reregister to continue to use the MCOL service. You will be able to import any existing data from your old MCOL account after you have reregistered.

You can contact the HMCS Customer Help Desk on Tel 0845 601 5935, or on Fax 0845 601 5889. Alternatively, you can email them at MCOL@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk.

If you do not want your claim to go through a centralised process, you can always start proceedings through your local county court. For more information on how to do this, see our related guide on how to recover debt through court.

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Using Money Claim Online to issue or respond to a claim

You can use Money Claim Online (MCOL) if you’re a claimant or a defendant. There is a help facility at each stage of the online process, but it is recommended that you seek legal advice to find out if you have a valid claim or defence. You can obtain advice from a solicitor, law centre, Citizen’s Advice Bureau or other advice centre.

You can find legal advice on the Community Legal Advice website – Opens in a new window.

Read about finding debt management and money claim advice on the Citizen’s Advice Bureau website – Opens in a new window.

For those who do not wish to use the electronic MCOL service, claims can be issued though your local county court. For more information, see the page on how to make a court claim in our guide on how to recover debt through court.

You can find contact details for your local county court on the HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMC&TS) website – Opens in a new window.

Information for claimants

If you are using MCOL to make a claim, you will be asked to provide certain information, including:

• your full name and address
• the full title, name, address and full postcode of the person/s you wish to make a claim against
• the exact amount of money you are claiming including any contractual or statutory interest
• details and facts relating to the claim – eg dates, times, events, invoice numbers etc

If you are unable to supply a full postcode you will have to issue your claim at your local county court.

There is an issue limit of 100 claims per login.

Information for defendants

All MCOL claims are issued in the name of ‘Northampton County Court’ – this is where all MCOL claims are processed. The claim form you receive will contain a login password on the front of the form. You can use this login password to respond to the court electronically using the MCOL service.

You can contact the HMCS Customer Help Desk on Tel 0845 601 5935, or on Fax 0845 601 5889. Alternatively, you can email them at MCOL@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk.

You can read guidance on how to use the MCOL service to make or respond to a claim on the HMC&TS website – Opens in a new window.

Fees for using MCOL

You incur the cost of processing the request as soon as you submit your request for the issue of a claim or warrant to HMC&TS.

All claims received are processed upon receipt, so it is not possible for the court to stop a claim from being issued once it has been submitted online, and any refund of fees is entirely at the discretion of the Court Manager.

For full details of fees for issue of process, find a county court fees list on the HMC&TS website – Opens in a new window.

You will need to pay by debit or credit card.

Start using Money Claim Online with HMC&TS.

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