Letter before claim or letter of intention is mandatory part of the pre-action protocol. Claimant couldn’t start a claim without sending a letter where issue should be described fully
Main tips for pre-court letter
There are some points and things need to be put in a letter before action.
Pre-court letter must contain:
- Name, address and contact information of both parties
- Specify a reasonable deadline for response, it is 2-3 weeks usually(!!!)
- Describe a issue as fully as possible, it let respondent to do as much as possible in resolving a claim before court. Specify date when issue began, what have been done and what exactly happened before and after
- provide calculation of the claimed sum
- define a position and clarify what decision you are expecting
- use plain and simple language
- letter should be dated and signed
- provide a copy of document that could be a proof
- use recorded delivery mail like 1st class signed or Special Delivery Royal mail service.
- put a notification in the letter that claim would be issued in case of fail to reply.
A lot of web-sites offer to download templates of letter before claim for small fee. There is no reason to pay any fee for the useless sample with title, common phrases or even layout.
The main part of pre-court letter is your essay. Provide a chronology of relevant events, specify a persons who you contacted to, what was breached and how it affected you.
Set out in a pre-court letter the circumstances from you point of view and time limit should also be included for compliance.