​ሕግንና ደንብን በተመለከተ እርዳታ ማግኘት ይፈልጋሉን? - Amharic | هل تحتاج لمساعدة قانونية؟ - Arabic | ܤܢܝܼܩܵܐ ܝ݇ܘ̤ܬ ܠܗܲܝܵܪܬܵܐ ܩܵܢܘܿܢܵܝܬܵܐ؟ - Assyrian | Need Legal Help? - Auslan | Treba li vam pravna pomoc? - Bosnian | Burmese â Need Legal Help? | 需要法律帮助吗? - Chinese Simplified | 需要法律幫助嗎? - Chinese Traditional | Trebate li pravnu pomoć? - Croatian | ضرورت به کمک قانونی دارید؟ - Dari | Wïc Kuɔɔny në Wɛ̈t Löŋ? - Dinka | آیا به کمک حقوقی نیاز دارید؟ - Farsi | Gadreva na Veivuke Vakalawa? - Fijian | Kailangan ninyo ba ng tulong na panglegal? - Filipino | Besoin d’aide juridique ? - French | Χρειάζεστε βοήθεια σε νομικά ζητήματα - Greek | क्या आपको कानूनी सलाह चाहिए? - Hindi | Butuhkan Bantuan dalam Masalah Hukum? - Indonesian | Hai bisogno di assistenza legale? - Italian | ត្រូវការជំនួយលើបញ្ហាផ្លូវច្បាប់ឬទេ? - Khmer | 법적인 도움이 필요하십니까? - Korean | Ви треба ли помош со правни работи? - Macedonian | कानूनी सहयोग चाहिएको छ? - Nepalese | Necessita de ajuda com questões jurídicas? - Portuguese | Вам нужна юридическая помощь? - Russian | E Manaomia Fesoasoani i Mea Tau Tulafono? - Samoan | а ли вам треба помоћ у правним питањима? - Serbian | Ma u baahan tahay Caawimmad xagga sharciga ah?- Somali | ¿Necesita ayuda con cuestiones jurídicas? - Spanish | சட்ட உதவி தேவையா? - Tamil | ท่านต้องการความช่วยเหลือทางด้านกฎหมายไหม? - Thai | Fiema’u ha tokoni Fakalao? - Tongan | Yasal Danışmaya İhtiyacınız mı var? - Turkish | Cần Được Giúp Đỡ Về Luật Pháp? - Vietnamese |

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Is someone chasing you for money? 

This section has information for people who are being chased for money in the Small Claims Division of the Local Court.

Find out what steps you can take if someone is chasing you for money:


    Handy hintOnce a case is started in court you are called the 'defendant'. The other party taking you to court is called the 'plaintiff'.

    AlertIf you are being chased for a consumer credit debt, such as a mortgage, car loan, personal loan or a credit card debt, you have other rights and can try external dispute resolution (EDR). There are lots of benefits of trying to resolve the dispute through EDR, rather than through court. For more information, see External Dispute Resolution.

    Responding to a statement of claim 

    If you receive a document called a statement of claim, this means the other party has started a court case against you to try to get their money back, or to recover the cost of repairing the damage to their vehicle caused by a car accident that they say was your fault. You have a number of options if you receive a statement of claim for money.  

    AlertYou must take action within 28 days of receiving a statement of claim. This section has information on how you can respond. If you are not sure how to respond after reading this information, you should get legal advice​.

    For more information, see Responding to a statement of claim​. 

    During your case 

    If you receive a statement of claim and decide to defend it, you will need to go to court. This section has information about what happens after you file your defence form: 

    • ​​Pre-trial review
    • The hearing
    • The decision.

    For more information, see During your case. 

    Settling your case

    You can try to settle your case at any time. If you and the other party reach an agreement, it is a good idea to put the agreement in writing. You will also need to end the court case. 

    For more information, see Settling your case. 

    After court  

    If you win the case, you will not have to pay the other party any money or return goods.

    If you lose the case or do not defend the claim, there will be a judgment against you. You can either pay the money, or you may be able to negotiate with the other party some more time to pay the debt.

    If you do not do what is set out in the judgment, the other party can take steps to get the money paid. This is called enforcement.

    If you lose the case, you may be able to ask for a review of the decision or appeal your case to the District Court. 

    For more information, see After court. 

    Court document