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Letter before action to a business that will not refund or pay you (Scotland)
Scotland · in English · for consumers
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For a consumer in Scotland whose complaint to a trader has got nowhere — a refund refused, a deposit kept, money owed for faulty goods or poor work. Scotland has no pre-action protocol, but the simple procedure claim form asks what you have done to settle: this letter sets out the claim and the amount, lists your documents, gives 14 days to reply, and says you will otherwise raise simple procedure in the sheriff court for a claim of up to £5,000. Send it by email and by first class post with a free certificate of posting, and keep a copy.
- Made for use in Scotland
- Last updated October 29, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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When to use this document
- A shop in Scotland refused your refund and stopped answering your emails.
- A company kept your deposit for a sofa that was never made.
- You complained to a trader months ago and nothing has happened.
- You want to give a business a final warning before simple procedure in a Scottish sheriff court.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Sender
- Sender's address
- Town or city
- Sender's postcode
- Date
- Trader
- Trader's postal address
- What the dispute is about
- Amount claimed
- Attachments
- Bank account
Common questions
- What should a consumer's letter before action to a business say in Scotland?
- Enough for the business to understand the claim: who you are, what happened, what you want and how much, the documents you rely on, and a reasonable time to reply; 14 days is common in a simple case. No pre-action protocol applies to consumer claims in Scotland, but the simple procedure rules encourage settling first, and the claim form asks what you did to settle. This letter is that record.
- Can I take an English online trader to court in Scotland?
- In most cases, yes. A consumer living in Scotland can usually raise simple procedure in the sheriff court for the area where they live, even against a business based elsewhere in the UK, under the consumer rules of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982. Name the business as it trades and give its registered office if it is a company. Enforcing a Scottish decree in England is a further step.
- What does simple procedure involve if the business does not reply?
- You complete a claim form, normally online through Civil Online, and pay a court fee that depends on the amount; the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service lists the fees. The business can dispute the claim, admit it and pay, or admit it and ask for time to pay. The rules encourage the parties to settle at any stage. Citizens Advice Scotland gives free help with the claim form.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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