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Scotland — Sheriff Court Simple Procedure: claim of £300 or less has no expenses recovery

Under the Sheriff Court Simple Procedure (Limits on Award of Expenses) Order 2016 (SSI 2016/388, as amended), recoverable legal expenses in the Sheriff Court are capped: where the claim is £300 or less, NO expenses may be awarded; where the claim is over £300 but not over £1,500, expenses are capped at £150; where it is over £1,500 but not over £3,000, expenses cannot exceed 10% of the claim value. This is a powerful deterrent against private parking operators raising small-claim Sheriff Court actions in Scotland — the legal cost of running the action can exceed anything recoverable in expenses. Use this to call the operator's bluff: state in your Letter Before Action response that you will defend in Simple Procedure and that any expenses recovery is statutorily capped. Note the cap does not apply if you do not state a defence, state one and then abandon it, defend in bad faith or behave in a manifestly unreasonable way (s.81(4)–(5) Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014), and the sheriff can lift it for a difficult question of law or exceptionally complex facts (s.81(6)–(7)).

Legal basis

In the Sheriff Court's Simple Procedure, recoverable expenses are capped by the Sheriff Court Simple Procedure (Limits on Award of Expenses) Order 2016 (SSI 2016/388, as amended by SSI 2019/79): where the value of the claim is £300 or less, NO expenses may be awarded; where it is over £300 but not over £1,500, expenses are capped at £150; where it is over £1,500 but not over £3,000, expenses may not exceed 10% of the claim value. This limits what an operator can recover in expenses on a small parking claim. Caveat: under s.81(4)–(5) of the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 the limits do NOT apply where the defender has not stated a defence, has stated one but not proceeded with it, or has not acted in good faith as to its merits, or where a party has behaved in a manifestly unreasonable way; and under s.81(6)–(7) the sheriff may, on application, direct that the limits do not apply where a difficult question of law or a question of fact of exceptional complexity is involved — so a defended-then-abandoned case can expose the defender to expenses.

How to identify this in your case

Operator threatens court action for a private parking charge in Scotland (typical claim £100–£170). This letter is written for a claim of £300 or less; for a larger claim, use the cap for its band instead. It is for private operators only — a council penalty charge in Scotland is enforced through its own statutory appeal and debt-registration route, not by court action of this kind.

Sample appeal wording

Before you send this

Deadline. A late submission can be turned down without your argument being read. Check your notice for the deadline and how it is counted.
Paying may end it. Paying can count as accepting the notice and can close a challenge already under way. Part-paying or acknowledging an old debt can also revive a time limit that had expired.
The amount can change. Check what happens to the sum if you challenge — it may be held, re-offered lower, or keep rising, and fees or enforcement can continue meanwhile.
Use the official route. Use the method, recipient and form your notice specifies, with any reference, evidence and signature it asks for. Sent elsewhere, it may not count.
Only say what is true. Do not copy any statement of fact unless it is true for you, and check the legal point still applies. Delete what does not fit. It may be treated as your statement.
Careful what you volunteer. Avoid unnecessary admissions — naming the driver or accepting responsibility can remove arguments. But answer anything you are legally required to answer, and do include the evidence your ground needs.
Keep the record. Keep what you sent, the attachments, any receipt, and the reply. Note the next deadline.

Sample wording to adapt and send yourself — it may not fit your notice or the stage you are at. Replace the bracketed prompts with your own details; leave any case citation as it is.

Dear [OPERATOR / SOLICITOR], Re: Notice of Court Action If you raise proceedings in the Sheriff Court under Simple Procedure, please note that under the Sheriff Court Simple Procedure (Limits on Award of Expenses) Order 2016 (as amended): — where the claim is £300 or less, no expenses may be awarded at all; — where the claim is over £300 and up to £1,500, expenses are capped at £150; — where the claim is over £1,500 and up to £3,000, expenses are capped at 10% of the claim. Your claim is for £[AMOUNT], which is £300 or less. No expenses can therefore be awarded to either side, unless the court finds that a defence was not stated or pursued, was not put forward in good faith, or that a party behaved in a manifestly unreasonable way, or the sheriff directs otherwise because a difficult question of law or a question of fact of exceptional complexity is involved (Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, section 81(4) to (7)). Absent those exceptions, whatever it costs you to run the action, none of that cost can be recovered from me. I will defend on the substantive grounds set out separately, including that the keeper-liability provisions in Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 do not extend to Scotland [and, if they apply to you: no contract was formed; the claim is prescribed]. I expect, on these economics, that you will withdraw rather than pursue. Yours faithfully, [NAME]

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Sources

Sheriff Court Simple Procedure (Limits on Award of Expenses) Order 2016 (SSI 2016/388, as amended by SSI 2019/79), arts 2–3
Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, s.81(4)–(7) (when the expenses limits do not apply)