Can I get help with court fees against a UK seller?
Yes, you may be able to get help with court fees. Confirm the court jurisdiction first, then check its scheme and prepare your financial records. England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland use different routes. Keep purchase and sourcing records from Cambridge China Bridge.
Confirm the claimant and court jurisdiction
This guide concerns goods bought for yourself or your household from a UK seller, even if they were shipped from China. Match the contracting seller across your order and invoice using our seller and agent guide. If you also run a business, keep this personal purchase clearly identified in your records.
Confirm the appropriate jurisdiction before choosing a fee-support application. A seller’s UK address alone does not settle where to bring proceedings. Our UK seller dispute guide covers complaint preparation, the court route and your claim evidence; this guide adds the financial preparation for requesting fee support.
Prepare an eligibility evidence folder
Before applying, gather your savings and investment statements, payslips, benefit correspondence and records of other income. Add household circumstances and relevant partner information. For England and Wales, the official guidance says to include your partner’s savings. Ask the receiving court to confirm which savings, benefits, income and household circumstances it will assess under its own scheme.
Keep the documents used for your calculations and note the period each covers. If self-employed, prepare a calculation supported by income and expense records rather than a business account balance alone. Ask which calculation period and supporting documents the court wants. Keep this financial folder separate from the purchase, defect and loss evidence.
Apply in England and Wales
You can apply for Help with Fees online or using the EX160 paper form. Read the current application guidance before entering your figures. Have your identity details, court application details and any existing claim reference ready. Check the court’s filing instructions so that the fee-support application can be associated with the correct claim.
For England and Wales, you do not need to send income evidence unless you receive a letter asking for it. Keep your documents ready and follow any request carefully. Save your completed application, online reference or paper copy, submission record and decision. Ask the court how to handle any contribution it requests and any later fee.
Check Scotland’s fee exemption route
For proceedings in Scotland, start with the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service’s Guide to Court Fees and its fee exemption form. Ask the court which benefit or legal-aid category, if any, matches your circumstances and what proof accompanies that category. Court staff cannot apply an exemption outside the prescribed circumstances.
Download the form through the official guide and ask the receiving court how to submit it with your case papers. Prepare benefit confirmation or other documents relevant to the category you are asking it to consider. Check whose benefit entitlement matters and whether further financial evidence is needed before relying on an exemption.
Working out your own order? Send us the product on WhatsApp and we reply the same working day: WhatsApp us
Use Northern Ireland’s separate application
For Northern Ireland, use the Department of Justice’s exemption and remission application form and its Do I have to pay court fees? guidance. The guidance explains that a decision may leave no fee payable or reduce the fee. Ask the court to check the appropriate benefit-based exemption or hardship remission route for your circumstances.
Prepare benefit details and a clear account of income, essential expenditure and supporting records. Ask the court where to send the application, which evidence to attach and how to include your case papers. If you have already paid, ask about the retrospective application route promptly. Keep the decision and ask for clarification of any payment or review instructions.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get help with fees for a personal China purchase?
You may be able to. Confirm the court jurisdiction for your claim against the UK seller, then check that court’s fee-support scheme using your personal financial circumstances.
Do I send bank statements with my application?
In England and Wales, income evidence is not needed unless a letter requests it. Keep statements ready. For Scotland or Northern Ireland, check the relevant form’s evidence instructions before submitting.
Can I use the same fee-help form throughout the UK?
Choose the application for the court handling your claim. England and Wales offer Help with Fees; Scotland has fee exemption forms; Northern Ireland has an exemption and remission application.
What if I have already paid the court fee?
Contact the court promptly and ask about retrospective help, the applicable deadline and evidence of your finances when you paid. Keep the fee receipt and do not assume another jurisdiction’s procedure applies.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Get help paying court and tribunal fees
- GOV.UK: How to apply for help with fees
- GOV.UK: Apply for help with court and tribunal fees
- Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service: Guide to Court Fees
- Northern Ireland Department of Justice: Exemption and remission application
- Northern Ireland Department of Justice: Do I have to pay court fees?