This is the first threat made by an unhappy party in a dispute, almost an automatic response: "I'll see you in Court!" and the legal profession is kept very happy by the natural wish for claimants to 'have their day in court', even though it can be avoided in probably the majority of disputes.

Applying to the Courts for the settling of disputes is the way familiar to most people, even if they have never had to go that way themselves. It tends to be a long and expensive process - the Courts are specialised in legal argument and so technical matters require explanation and expert opinions.

Without going into detail, there are situations where an application to the Court is the only route to the resolution of a dispute.

Small Claims Court

For disputes where the sum involved is less than £5000, there is the Small Claims Court, where businesses can 'go it alone' on a basis that is usually documents only, in other words, the two parties set out their respective cases on paper and the Court decides on the most convincing argument. For those not familiar with the procedure, the nearest Court will provide a set of leaflets which explain the various stages of a case in plain language.