Solicitors have this week called for restraint in a review of how the small claims system works, amid fears that many clients will be left without legal advice and failing to claim what they are entitled to.

They spoke out after the constitutional affairs select committee announced that it will investigate the handling of small claims in the county courts, following government concerns that people who start out in the county courts often find themselves in the higher courts and are forced to abandon their cases because they cannot afford it.


One of the issues up for debate is raising the small claims limit from the current £5,000 for money claims and £1,000 for personal injury. But Law Society President Kevin Martin warned that this would damage access to justice.


'The existing small claims financial limits should not be raised because the small claims procedure is designed for simpler, lower value claims and people often act without legal advice or representation because legal costs are not recoverable,' he argued.


The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) agreed small claims are often complex and cannot be handled without legal advice. 'This was illustrated in a MORI poll commissioned by APIL earlier this year, when 64% of people surveyed said they would be unlikely to pursue their case without the help of an independent solicitor,' a spokeswoman said.


The committee, chaired by Liberal Democrat MP Alan Beith, will also look at enforcing court orders, better ways of allocating cases and making the system simpler and less formal.