Pay for the step you’re on.
Three one-off prices for a money claim: the Claim Pack, the toolkit, the enforcement add-on. Most disputes settle on the letter — when they don’t, the £29 you paid is credited toward the toolkit within 60 days. Defending a claim, employment tribunal, council tax band challenges and private parking charges are priced separately below.
Claim Pack
The letter before claim under the right pre-action rules, the particulars of claim, the N1 filled in, the interest and court fee worked out, and your deadlines. Most settle on the letter.
- ✓ Letter before claim — 14 or 30 days as the protocol requires
- ✓ Particulars of claim · full and online-form versions
- ✓ N1 claim form filled from your facts · Word downloads
- ✓ Interest (s.69 or Late Payment Act) and court fee statement
- ✓ £29 credited toward the toolkit within 60 days
- ✓ 14-day refund if a document fails a procedural check
Full court toolkit
Everything from filing to hearing. Bundle, witness statement, hearing script, evidence analysis, enforcement guidance. Already paid £29 for the Claim Pack? It’s credited.
- ✓ Everything in the Claim Pack
- ✓ Particulars of Claim · CPR Part 16 pleaded
- ✓ Court bundle · paginated & indexed
- ✓ Witness statement · CPR-format
- ✓ Hearing-day script · running order
- ✓ AI Legal Information Chat · unlimited for your case
- ✓ 14-day refund if a document fails CPR checks
Enforcement
If you win and they still don’t pay. AI helps you pick a method, then we fill in the official HMCTS form with a guide to filing it. Free if you own the toolkit.
- ✓ Warrant of Control (N323)
- ✓ Attachment of Earnings (N337)
- ✓ Third Party Debt Order (N349)
- ✓ Charging Order (N379)
- ✓ Order to Obtain Information (N316 / N316A)
- ✓ Statutory demand (SD4 / SD1)
- ✓ AI method-fit picker
Net total for the whole procedure, end-to-end: £97 — letter, toolkit and enforcement included (the £39 enforcement price only applies if you skip the toolkit). Court fees (£35 to£455 depending on claim size) are paid directly to HMCTS — see below.
The £29 isn’t lost.
It’s a deposit.
Get the Claim Pack first. If the dispute settles on the letter — great, you’re done at £29. If it is defended, the £29 comes off the toolkit within 60 days. You only ever pay £97 for the whole County Court journey.
Employment Tribunal?
Separate track, £147.
Unfair dismissal, discrimination, unpaid wages — these go to the Employment Tribunal, not the County Court. Different procedure, different forms (ET1 not N1), different deadlines (3 months from dismissal, not 6 years). Different toolkit, same one-off price philosophy.
Everything for an Employment Tribunal claim. One price.
- ✓Free claim-strength assessment + compensation calculator
- ✓ET1 form auto-filled · ACAS early-conciliation tracking
- ✓Witness statement · CPR-style format
- ✓Tribunal bundle · paginated & indexed
- ✓AI assistant for employment law (unfair dismissal, discrimination, etc.)
- ✓Hearing-day script + cross-examination prep
- ✓14-day refund if a document fails procedural checks
Employment Tribunal procedure is meaningfully different from small claims.
- 3-month deadline from dismissal, 6 months for acts on or after 1 October 2026 (not 6 years like contract)
- ACAS conciliation mandatory before filing
- ET1 form, not N1 — different format, different fields
- Free to file — no court fee (unlike County Court £35–£455)
- Costs awards are rare in ET — different economics
Council tax band wrong?
Free check, then £29.
Bands in England still rest on 1991 values. The free checker compares your home with its neighbours and back-casts your value — and only calls a case strong when both agree. If they do, the £29 pack builds the challenge the Valuation Office Agency expects. England & Wales.
The evidence pack, the letter, the form text. One property.
- ✓Free check first: neighbours’ bands from the VOA list, sizes from the EPC register
- ✓Proposal-or-review decision, with the six-month deadline tracked
- ✓Up to five comparables formatted the way the VOA asks
- ✓Formal challenge letter (Word & PDF) and the text for the GOV.UK form
- ✓Evidence checklist and the standard VOA objections, answered
- ✓Upload the VOA decision for analysis · Valuation Tribunal appeal guidance
Bands can go up as well as down, so we only sell the pack when both tests point lower.
- Free to challenge — the VOA never charges; we charge for building the case, not the outcome
- 27% of resolved challenges were moved to a lower band in 2023-24 (VOA, the last published year)
- No success fee — you keep the whole refund, which is backdated to when you became liable
- Not affiliated with the VOA — CourtPilot is a document-preparation service
Private parking charge?
Free check, then £29.
A private parking charge is a contract claim, not a fine. The free checker tests the dates on your letters against the Protection of Freedoms Act, checks the amount, and gives you your next deadline. If there is a point to fight, the £29 pack drafts the letters and the defence for you to send and file yourself. England & Wales.
The appeal, the reply, the defence. One parking charge.
- ✓Free check first: notice-to-keeper time limits, keeper cap, added fees, byelaw land, grace period, signage
- ✓Your deadlines tracked, from the reduced rate to the 14 and 28 days on a court claim
- ✓Appeal to the operator, then the POPLA or IAS appeal
- ✓Reply to a Letter of Claim on the Debt Claims Pre-Action Protocol form, requesting the evidence
- ✓Subject access request and keeper statement
- ✓Short online defence and full N9B-style defence, filed by you in your own name
Not every charge has a point worth fighting. The checker says so when it does not, and only then does the pack make sense.
- Not a fine — a contract claim the operator must prove in the county court
- Strict time limits — a camera notice to keeper must arrive within 14 days (Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Sch. 4)
- You conduct your own case — we draft in your name; you send and file
- Council penalty charges are a different process and not covered
Received a claim form?
Defence toolkit, £97.
If a county court claim has been issued against you, the clock is short. The Defence toolkit covers one small claims case in which you are the defendant, from choosing how to respond to preparing for the hearing. England & Wales.
Respond, defend, prepare for the hearing. One case.
- ✓Case analysis of the claim against you, with your deadlines tracked
- ✓The four ways to respond (admit, admit and negotiate, defend, defend and counterclaim) and the right form for each
- ✓Defence and counterclaim drafted from your facts, with the statement of truth
- ✓Document upload and analysis, evidence bundle and witness statement
- ✓Hearing preparation and case chat for your case
- ✓14-day refund if a document fails a procedural check
Defending runs on a different clock from claiming.
- 14 days from service to respond, or 28 if you file an acknowledgment of service (CPR 15.4)
- Ignoring it lets the claimant ask for judgment in default (CPR Part 12)
- No fee to defend — a counterclaim carries its own court fee
- You conduct your own case — we draft in your name; you file and attend
A solicitor charges by the hour.
We charge once.
HMCTS publishes guideline hourly rates for solicitors’ work. From 1 January 2026 they run from £142 an hour for a trainee or paralegal outside London to £579 for a senior London solicitor. Court fees are extra on either route.
Source: HMCTS, Solicitors’ guideline hourly rates (2026). These are guideline rates courts use when assessing costs, not quotes; each firm sets its own. CourtPilot is a document-preparation service. We are not a law firm and do not give legal advice.
Free DIY, or a cut
of your winnings.
Honest comparison: both alternatives are legitimate. Here’s what each actually costs, so you can pick with your eyes open.
MCOL is where you file. It doesn’t write anything.
Money Claim Online is the government’s filing portal — and if you’re confident drafting your own documents, it’s all you need. The portal itself gives you a free-text box. What it doesn’t do:
- Draft Particulars of Claim that comply with CPR Part 16
- Send the Letter Before Action the protocol requires first
- Build the evidence bundle or witness statement
- Track your deadlines, or prepare you for mediation and the hearing
The court fee (£35–£455) is the same whichever route you take. CourtPilot drafts the documents; you still file them on MCOL yourself.
“Only pay if you win” — with 10% of the win.
Some claims services charge a small admin fee upfront, then take around 10% of whatever you recover. Cheaper to start — more expensive to succeed. On a typical claim:
Illustrative example — a £15 admin fee plus 10% of £3,000 recovered. CourtPilot’s price is the same whether you recover £500 or £10,000, and you keep every penny you win.
Paid directly to HMCTS, not us
When you file a Money Claim Online, the court charges a separate issue fee. We don’t collect it — you pay HMCTS directly. Fee scales with the claim:
| Up to £300 | £35 |
| £300 – £500 | £50 |
| £500 – £1,000 | £70 |
| £1,000 – £1,500 | £80 |
| £1,500 – £3,000 | £115 |
| £3,000 – £5,000 | £205 |
| £5,000 – £10,000 | £455 |
FEES AS OF MAY 2026 · CHECK GOV.UK FOR CURRENT
Fixed free, or refunded, if a document fails a check
If we issue a document that fails CPR procedural checks (wrong form, missing required element, wrong court fee band, wrong pre-action protocol), we fix it free or refund you in full. Tell us within 14 days of purchase.
What’s not refundable: court fees paid to HMCTS (those go straight to the court, not us). And if you change your mind about whether to pursue the claim after we draft, that’s on you — we’ve done the work. Your statutory rights are not affected.
Things people ask before paying.
What’s the difference between the £29 Claim Pack and the £97 toolkit?+
£29 buys everything for one claim up to filing: the letter before claim under the right pre-action rules, the particulars of claim, the N1 filled in, the interest and court-fee statement and your deadlines. £97 buys the full toolkit for a defended claim: evidence bundle, witness statement, hearing script, evidence analysis and the case assistant. If you start with the pack and upgrade within 60 days, the £29 is credited — your net cost stays £97 total.
Can’t I just file on MCOL myself for free?+
Yes — and if you’re comfortable drafting your own Particulars of Claim, you should. MCOL is the government’s filing portal; using it costs nothing beyond the court fee. What people pay us for is everything the portal doesn’t do: the protocol-compliant letter first, particulars that follow CPR Part 16, the evidence bundle, the witness statement, deadline tracking, and hearing prep. You still file on MCOL either way — we just make sure what you file is right.
How does £97 compare to no-win-no-fee claim services?+
Services that take a percentage typically charge a small admin fee plus around 10% of what you recover. On a £3,000 claim that’s roughly £315; on £8,000 it’s over £800. CourtPilot is £97 whatever you recover, and you keep the lot. The trade-off is real: with a success-fee service you risk less if you lose. If your case is weak, that might be the better deal — our free assessment will tell you honestly which camp you’re in.
Will the toolkit price go up?+
It may, as we add features. Whatever you pay at purchase is all you will ever pay for that case — every later upgrade to the toolkit is included, and we never charge existing customers the difference.
Is the £97 a subscription?+
No. It’s a one-off payment. There’s no card on file, no recurring charge, no monthly fee. You get lifetime access to your case workspace — keep coming back to it for as long as the dispute runs (or comes back, if there’s a second round of proceedings).
What does the £97 actually cover — one case, or all my cases?+
One case. The toolkit licence is per-claim, not per-user. If you’ve got multiple disputes (multiple tenants, multiple invoices, multiple defendants), each is a separate £97toolkit. Most users only ever need one. Landlords with several properties occasionally have two or three running.
Why is Employment Tribunal £147 not £97?+
Different procedure entirely. ET claims go to the Employment Tribunal, not the County Court — different form (ET1 vs N1), mandatory ACAS conciliation step, a 3- or 6-month deadline, no court fee but different cost dynamics. The toolkit content is substantially different: unfair dismissal grounds, ACAS tracking, compensation calculator. £147 reflects the bespoke work; it’s also a one-off with lifetime access.
What does the £29 council tax band challenge cover?+
One property in England or Wales. It is not a court claim — you challenge your band with the Valuation Office Agency, which is free to do on GOV.UK. The £29 buys the case: the comparables, the formal letter, the exact text for the GOV.UK form, the deadline tracker and a workspace to handle the VOA’s reply. Run the free checker first — bands can go up as well as down, and we only recommend the pack when both of its tests point lower. CourtPilot is not affiliated with the VOA.
What does the £29 Parking Defence Pack cover?+
One private parking charge in England or Wales, at whatever stage it has reached: windscreen ticket, notice to keeper, debt letter, Letter of Claim or county court claim. Run the free checker first — it tests the notice dates against the Protection of Freedoms Act, the amount claimed and your next deadline. The £29 then opens a case workspace built from those answers, with the defence points, the deadlines and drafts of the operator appeal, POPLA or IAS appeal, Letter of Claim reply, subject access request, keeper statement and court defence. You send and file everything yourself; CourtPilot does not act for you. A second parking charge is a second pack. Council penalty charge notices are not covered.
What if my dispute is over £10,000?+
CourtPilot is built for the small-claims track (under £10,000). Above that you’re into fast-track or multi-track, costs become recoverable, and you should instruct a solicitor. Our free case check will flag this for you — and you owe us nothing if it does.
Can I get a refund?+
Yes, within 14 days of purchase, if we’ve issued a document that fails CPR procedural checks — we fix it free or refund you in full. We can’t refund court fees you’ve already paid to HMCTS, because those go directly to the court. And if you’ve had the work done and just changed your mind about pursuing the claim, we can’t refund that either — you’ve received the drafted documents.
Are court fees included?+
No. When you file at MCOL, the court charges a separate issue fee — £35 to £455 depending on claim value. You pay HMCTS directly, not us. See the fee table above. (If the defendant doesn’t pay and you win at hearing, the court fee is added to the judgment and recoverable from them.)
Do you handle Scotland or Northern Ireland?+
Not yet. CourtPilot is built for the County Court of England & Wales. The procedure in Scotland (Simple Procedure) and Northern Ireland (Small Claims Court) is different — different forms, different time-bars, different procedural rules. On the roadmap, but not 2026.
Worth pursuing? Start with the check.
Free case check tells you which tier fits — or whether it’s not worth pursuing at all. No card, no sign-up. Two minutes.