The Small Claims Court allows consumers to resolve certain disputes with businesses through the District Court without having to engage the services of a solicitor. The court deals with claims up to the value of €2,000 and it costs €25 to make a claim. However, the CCPC has found that many consumers are excluded from this process as they report spending an average of €6,473 on the product or service they contacted the CCPC about.

The top business sectors, the CCPC report shows, where consumers were signposted to the small claims procedure are in order; home building and improvements, furniture and furnishings, domestic appliances, vehicles and transport and holidays and travel.

Aoibhín de Búrca, CCPC director of communications and consumer information said: “Many consumers, especially those with issues with cars or home improvements, are automatically excluded from the option of the Small Claims Court due to the low claim threshold. The CCPC welcomes the commitment from the Government in its Programme for Government and its 2025 Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity to ‘substantially increase’ the limit of the small claims procedure. We strongly recommend it be increased to €8,000.”