Small Claims Court proves big success in providing solution to petty disputes

It's a court without solicitors or barristers, where the emphasis is on conciliation rather than confrontation and where the consumer can seek a low-cost solution to petty disputes. And its parameters are about to be extended.

The maximum award which can be made by the Small Claims Court is likely to be increased in September in response to the rising cost of living and to the success of the scheme which allows consumers to bring relatively minor grievances before it at a cost of just £6 (€7.62).

Currently the limit is set at £600 for complaints about faulty goods or services - including those bought on credit - damage to property and non-return of rent deposits by landlords.

The scheme, administered by the District Court services, provides ready access to the courts structure through a relatively informal mechanism, a revolutionary concept in consumer rights when it was introduced, as a pilot scheme, in December 1991.

Currently under review by the Department of Justice Equality and Law Reform, the scheme's monetary limit "will be increased on a phased basis to £1,000", the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue has said.

The scheme is not a recourse for business transactions which have gone wrong. Nor can it be used to settle bad debts or personal injuries.

The original scheme envisaged that the court would provide a forum for resolving disputes speedily and cheaply.

"It is simply another civil court," says the Registrar of Small Claims in Dublin, Mr Michael Feely.

Typical cases, he says, involve defective shop goods but "any type of consumer claim" is heard.

Those cases which have tended to receive publicity have been of the "holiday from hell" type, involving claims that tour operators failed to live up to their contractual duties.

In one case last month, a couple received the maximum compensation after paying £870 for a two-week holiday in the Costa del Sol and endured, as described by the judge, appalling and squalid conditions in their accommodation arrangements. Ms Paula McGreal told The Irish Times she would have claimed for more from the tour operators if she had been able to, although she was "happy enough" with the £600 award.

Another case involved a woman having her £100 holiday deposit returned after she was diagnosed with leukaemia and found she had to cancel the weekend trip to undergo chemotherapy.

In a different kind of case, a judge successfully claimed £455 compensation after damaging his car while trying to drive past a rubbish skip near the entrance to a court carpark.

A claim was successfully brought against a launderette after the plaintiff's white laundry was inadvertently mixed with red clothing, and a motorist also succeeded with a claim when his car was damaged after it had been towed away for being parked illegally.

In an unsuccessful case, an applicant sought compensation for a pair of shoes which wore out after six months, arguing that she had worn the same brand of shoe for two years on a previous occasion. The judge felt she was hard on shoes.

But while the publicity may lead the public to believe that cases are fought in the District Court, most, in fact, are settled before being heard by a judge at all.

Claims, by and large, are routine and are resolved by the small claims registrars, the officials with responsibility for administering the scheme. According to Mr Bertie Donovan, the small claims registrar in Cork, the first round of the scheme's operation is "a default procedure". If the applicant's claim is not disputed by the respondent within 15 days, the applicant will swear an affidavit saying no response has been made to the claim, and, at the District Court judge's discretion, an order will be made for the amount claimed to be paid.

If there is a response disputing the claim, the registrar seeks to resolve the issue, usually over the telephone.

"Most of the people who come to us have a genuine grievance and we do resolve a lot of them before they get to court," Mr Donovan says.

Mr Donovan adds that if he "can see it can help", he will go and meet the respondent. He may also try and resolve the issue with the parties around a table, although proceedings in such circumstances can become "heated".

But if the claim is unresolved, the case is brought to the District Court, effectively as a civil court hearing but with the emphasis on leaving solicitors or barristers out of the equation. "The whole point of this procedure is that you can bring a claim without using a solicitor. If you do engage one, you will have to meet his/her costs even if you win your case," the official Department of Justice leaflet states.

Mr Donovan says 217 claims were made in the Cork city area last year. Of these, 112 were settled by him acting as an arbitrator and 105 were listed for court. But 35 of these were settled before the hearing. Of the 70 cases that went to a hearing, 57 succeeded.

"Four out of five people would succeed in court," Mr Donovan says, although the judge often awards less than is claimed.

The biggest complaints are over landlords retaining rent deposits, followed by faulty electrical goods. Complaints over clothes and shoes are also common. But he has also heard complaints of cars damaged in shopping centre car-parks and, of course, the "holiday from hell" charge.

"It seems to be working very well at the moment. I think most people are very satisfied by it," he says.

He believes that the scheme fills a gap which traditionally a shop may have done informally. Where shopping relations have become more informal, the Small Claims Court has redressed the balance towards the consumer.

"The fobbing off seems to be gone. Shops are starting to deal with problems again," Mr Donovan says.

While the scheme was not originally conceived as a remedy for tenants in their relationship with landlords, the Small Claims Court has filled a gap. Mr Declan Campion, advice officer with Threshold in Cork, says the scheme has provided an effective remedy in landlord/tenant disputes where there was none before.

The Fine Gael TD, Mr Charlie Flanagan, who is also a solicitor, has argued that, given the scheme's success, its monetary limit should be increased to £2,500 to reflect consumer purchases of services or such items as aluminium windows or a top-of-the-range hifi system.

He believes increasing the limit fourfold would be a remedy for the current prohibitively expensive and protracted civil process in the District Court. A civil matter, he says, is typically put towards the end of the list of cases and can take up to a year to be heard with no guarantee on recovery of costs.

"It is time to build on the success of the Small Claims Court. It has been consumer-oriented and the consumer is happy, and, at the end of the day, it is not what the legal profession wants, but what the consumer wants."