What is Start My Claim?

Self-service software that helps you organise the facts, evidence, dates and documents for your own case. It provides general information, calculates dates from what you enter and prepares drafts for you to check, change, sign and submit yourself. It can also help you organise an evidence bundle and practise common hearing questions. It is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice, representation or negotiation: you run the case, make every decision and control every document.

Will Start My Claim represent me or act on my behalf?

No. Nothing here contacts the other side, signs anything, or files anything for you. You review every document, you sign it, and you submit it. That is also why we never take a percentage of what you recover.

Do I need legal knowledge to use it?

No. You describe what happened in your own words. Where a legal term is unavoidable it is explained on the spot, in the sentence where it appears.

Can't I just use ChatGPT to write these documents?

General AI can be useful for explanations and first drafts. Start My Claim adds a structured case record, date calculations, document organisation and track-specific drafting steps. Whichever tool you use, check important dates and documents against current official information before you act.

Do I still need to use gov.uk?

Yes, and that is the point. Your claim is filed with the tribunal or the court through the official service, in your name, by you. That never changes. What we do is everything either side of that moment: working out which deadline applies to you, turning what happened into what the official form actually asks for, and telling you what comes next once it is filed.

How does charging work?

One flat fee, paid once, and only if you decide to continue: £49 to £399 depending on the track. Finding out where you stand is free and needs no card. We never take a percentage of what you recover.

What if my case fails?

You keep the documents and you have paid a flat fee rather than a share of nothing. Nobody can tell you a case will succeed, and anyone who does is selling you something.

Do I need a solicitor or claims handler?

Not for most straightforward claims. 31–59% of employment tribunal claimants at the hearing have no legal representation, depending on the data source (MoJ hearing survey 2018; HMCTS case records 2023–25). If your case is genuinely complex, the honest answer is to get a solicitor, and we will say so.

How long do I have to make a claim?

It depends on the claim. Employment tribunal is three months less one day from the date it happened. Scam refunds run on two clocks — 13 months to report the payment to your bank, then six months from its final response to reach the Ombudsman. Small claims usually run to six years. Tell us your date and we will work out yours.

How much does it cost to file?

Employment tribunal claims carry no court fee. A money claim of £3,000 to £5,000 costs £205 to issue, and that fee is recoverable from the other side if you win. Rent Repayment Order applications cost £114, plus £227 if a hearing is listed (£341 combined); fee remission may apply. Ombudsman routes cost you nothing to bring.

What if the other side has solicitors or a fraud team?

That is normal and it is not the disadvantage it feels like. Tribunals and the small claims track are designed to be used without representation, and the judge is used to it. What matters is that your paperwork is right and your deadlines are met.

Is my information kept private?

Your documents are encrypted and only you can open them. Nothing is sent to your employer, your landlord or your bank unless you send it.

Will a letter really be enough to get paid?

Often, yes. A Letter Before Action that sets out the debt, the interest running on it and what happens next is the cheapest possible ending for you — they pay and you never file anything. It also puts you in a better position if it does reach court.

Run your own legal case, without a solicitor.

A case runs for months, not minutes. Deadlines worked out from your dates. Documents built from your facts. Every stage, from the first letter to the hearing bundle.

Scam & APP Fraud Refund

I was sacked, or pushed out

Someone owes me money

I was scammed into paying

My landlord isn’t playing fair

Someone is claiming against me

Pick the one that sounds like you.

You do not need to know the legal name for it — that is our job.

Or the other way round

Free, and no card. Choose a route, organise the information you provide and see the relevant process and date prompts. An email is only asked for at the end, and only if you want it sent to you.

Nobody is contacted.

Your employer, your landlord, your bank — none of them are told you looked.

This is where the deadline is worked out. You can still stop at any point — nothing is filed and nobody is contacted.

Here is where you stand.

This looks out of time

. That doesn’t always mean the door is closed — there are exceptions worth checking before you assume it is.

What it would cost to run it

· keep 100% of any award.

Work out what you are owed

Generating the Letter Before Action itself is a paid step, £49 — a free account gives you a blank Letter Before Action template to fill in yourself.

That’s everything — nothing has been sent and no account was created.

any time you’re ready.

Free to set up. Use every free tool for this claim — pay only if and when you choose a paid step.

Purpose-built case support

AI can answer a question. Start My Claim manages the case around it.

General AI can help explain and draft. Start My Claim adds a dedicated case structure, so your facts, dates, evidence, documents and next steps stay connected between stages.

ChatGPT will answer your question well. But a case runs for months. It turns on dates you have to get exactly right, it punishes you for the step you did not know about, and it falls apart when your own documents start contradicting each other. That is the difference between an answer and a case. Free to start, no card.

You remain responsible for checking dates, reviewing documents and deciding what is sent. No outcome is guaranteed.

Compare your options

Compare a solicitor or claims company quote with Start My Claim.

Use the fee a solicitor or claims company has actually quoted you. We do not use invented market averages.

Enter the full amount, including VAT and any success fee if they appear in your quote. Check what work the quote includes before comparing services.

Common with claims management companies, and with some solicitors working on a “no win, no fee” basis. This shows what that percentage comes to at the recovery figure above — check your agreement for VAT treatment, any minimum fee, and what happens if the claim does not succeed.

For most non-PPI financial-services claims, the published cap is the lower of

, excluding VAT. This illustration adds VAT at 20%.

Illustrative comparison

Difference in what you’d keep

Start My Claim shows its lowest-priced plan for this track. Your needs may require a higher plan. This compares fees, not the scope or suitability of different services, and is not an estimate of what your claim is worth.

Official benchmark: FCA fee caps for claims-management work on most financial-services or financial-product claims started under agreements from 1 March 2022. Court work and some solicitor activities may fall outside the cap. See the

FCA Handbook CMCOB 5.2

SRA Claims Management Fees Rules

. This benchmark does not apply to employment, small claims or renters’ rights.

Free to start. If you continue, the current flat fee for your chosen track is shown before payment.

Started this on your own?

Already started your case yourself?

You don’t have to start again.

Started the paperwork yourself and finding it hard going? Bring what you have. Set up your case workspace, add the documents and information you’ve already gathered, and use the tools that fit where you are now.

Already have an account?

to return to it instead.

Prepare the documents your case needs.

Start with the information you provide and prepare structured drafts for your route. You review, edit and approve everything before deciding whether to send or submit it.

Where your claim actually goes.

Every claim is filed with the official service, by you, in your name. We do the work that comes before that moment, and the work that comes after it.

We are not affiliated with any of them. We never file anything for you and we never contact any of them on your behalf. Every submission is yours.

Keep your case on track

Every deadline, tracked.

Four kinds of claim can involve four different clocks. We calculate dates from what you enter, show the working and help you keep the next step visible.

Dates are calculated from the information you enter and the rules encoded for that route. Check critical deadlines against current official guidance before acting.

Not ready to start anything yet?

Not sure where you stand?

Start with the free resources.

The four Survival Guides, and twelve shorter ones

Sixteen guides across the four tracks, written by us and updated when the law moves. Plain English, no jargon, and no obligation to do anything afterwards.

One email per requested guide. Follow-up emails are optional. No card required.

Ready to organise your case instead?

Starting is free too — no card, no guide required.

When you are ready, starting a case takes about fifteen minutes. Free to start, no card, and never a percentage of your award.

Run your own legal case,

without a solicitor.

£49–£399 flat if you continue · free to explore your options

“I built it for the person I was — kitchen table, 1 a.m., cold cup of tea, staring at a letter from a solicitor and not knowing where to begin.”

Self-represented twice: small claims, filmed for BBC One, then divorce court.

View Paul on LinkedIn

Book a 15-minute walkthrough

A look at how the tool works. Not advice on your case.

Does this actually work for people like me?

Normal people. Real cases.

From customer feedback. Surnames shortened where requested.

Your case can include tools for understanding correspondence, organising evidence, preparing user-reviewed documents and getting ready for what happens next.

What do people ask before they commit?