Allocation Questionnaire

Allocation Questionaires - An Introduction

from the moment your claim starts in the courts, the emphasis will be on moving to a hearing as soon as possible.

If you have followed the guide to claiming then you will have already attempted to reach a settlement without the courts involvement but the allocation questionnaire is the final chance to reach settlement via discussion.

WHAT DOES ALLOCATION MEAN?
The courts recognise that all cases vary and will require different timescales for hearings. To cater for this diversity, the rules create 3 different categories of case management - TRACKS The AQ's along with the original claim form and any defense will help a judge to determine the track for your case. This proccess is known as allocation

WHAT IS A TRACK
The case management categories that are termed tracks.

SMALL CLAIMS TRACK
For claims values up to £5,000 (excluding injury or housing matters)
FAST TRACK
For claim values between £5,000 and £15,000 where the case can be heard in a day or less.
MULTI-TRACK
cases with fall outside of the above scenarious.

WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW
An allocation questionnaire will be sent to both sides, bit only if the defendant submits a defense.
You have 14 days from receipt of the AQ to return it to the court shown
Failure to meet the deadline could see your case being struck out
There is a fee* if your claim exceeds £1,500 in vlaue
You must return the payment with the form
Failure to pay the fee may result in your case being struck out.

* The fee is £100 but you may not have to pay if you are in receipt of certain state benefits.

DO I HAVE THE CORRECT FORM
The are two types of Allocation Questionnaires, Form N149 and N150

N149 should be issued for claims that are considered likely to be handled by the Small Claims Track, and N150 for more complex or higher vlaue claims, Both are shown below..

The N149 is very straight forward and are less sections which seem to require less response.

Since the N150 is usually distributed for claims which are likely to fall outside the scope of the Small Claims Track, it is slightly more in-depth and has a few more sections. However, do not be worried if you receive one and your claim is under £5,000 - it could just be a mistake. There is no harm in completing one of thses for smaller claims either.

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