Is This County Court Claim Real or a Scam? How to Check

A threatening letter claiming you owe money and demanding immediate payment is frightening — and scammers know it. Fraudulent court demand letters are common enough that HMCTS has issued public warnings about them. Before you pay anything, take five minutes to verify the claim is genuine.

Three Checks That Confirm a Real Claim

1. Verify the Court Name

Every legitimate county court claim in England and Wales is issued through the County Court system administered by HM Courts & Tribunals Service. The court name on the paperwork should match a real court or processing centre.

Go to the GOV.UK "Find a Court or Tribunal" service and search for the court listed on your papers. If the court does not exist in the system, the paperwork is not from HMCTS.

Most money claims are processed centrally through the Civil National Business Centre (CNBC) at St Katharine's House, 21–27 St Katharine's Street, Northampton, NN1 2LH. Online claims are handled through the OCMC or MCOL portals.

2. Check the Claim Number

Legitimate claims carry a specific reference format:

• OCMC claims use a claim number starting with "MC"
• MCOL claims use an 8-character alphanumeric code
• Paper claims carry a court reference number issued by the CNBC or local hearing centre

You can verify the claim number by calling the CNBC directly. They can confirm whether a claim with that reference exists in their system.

3. Look at the Payment Instructions

This is the fastest red flag detector. Legitimate court fees and judgment debts are payable to "HM Courts and Tribunals Service" or "HMCTS." If the letter asks you to pay into a private bank account, send money via a transfer service, or pay through an unusual channel, it is almost certainly fraudulent.

Real claims also do not demand immediate payment to a solicitor's personal account or threaten bailiff action without a court judgment already in place.

Signs of a Fraudulent Demand

• The court name does not appear on GOV.UK
• Payment is requested to a private individual or company, not HMCTS
• The letter threatens immediate arrest or imprisonment for a civil debt (civil claims cannot lead to arrest)
• No claim number or an obviously fabricated reference
• The letter demands payment within 24 or 48 hours (real court deadlines are 14 days from deemed service)
• Contact details lead to a mobile phone number rather than an HMCTS landline or GOV.UK email address
• The envelope has no court seal or the seal looks photocopied

What to Do If the Claim Is Real

Once verified, do not ignore it. You have 14 days from deemed service to respond — failing to respond lets the claimant get a default judgment against you. File an Acknowledgment of Service immediately to extend your deadline to 28 days, then decide whether to pay, admit, defend, or counterclaim.

What to Do If It Is a Scam

Report the fake demand to Action Fraud (the UK's national reporting centre for fraud) at actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040. Keep the original letter and envelope as evidence. Do not pay, do not call the numbers on the letter, and do not provide personal information.

If you have received a genuine county court claim and need a structured system for responding, the England & Wales Money Claim Response Guide walks you through verification, deadlines, and every response route.

See more England and Wales guides →