Respondent identity
Who to name in small claims in Ireland
How to think about respondent identity before escalating an Irish consumer dispute, including trading names, companies, sole traders, brokers, and missing addresses.
- company and business-name checks
- CRO
- wrong name can derail the route
- 1
- check identity before escalation
- before
Check your dispute first
Answer a few questions to see your options before writing your complaint.
Check your optionsOne of the most common small-claims problems is not the story of what went wrong. It is the name.
People often know the shop sign, website brand, Instagram handle, delivery broker, or first name of the person who called out. They may not know the legal person or business that should receive a formal complaint.
This page helps organise that respondent question before court. It does not decide contested legal identity or draft court filing text.
What to do next
- 1Start with the invoice, receipt, quote, terms, email footer, payment descriptor, and website legal details.
- 2Separate the brand, the legal entity, and the person you dealt with.
- 3Use CRO/CORE where relevant to check Irish company or business-name details before any official route.
Brand, legal entity, person
The brand is the public name. The legal entity is the company, sole trader, partnership, or individual responsible for the goods or services. The person you dealt with may be an employee, director, subcontractor, or owner.
Do not assume a visible director is automatically the correct respondent. Do not assume a payment app name is enough. Build a respondent file before escalating.
Where to look
Useful clues include invoices, receipts, quotes, terms and conditions, order confirmations, warranty paperwork, email footers, card descriptors, bank transfer names, delivery notes, website contact pages, and CRO records.
If the respondent is a sole trader, the legal name may be the individual behind the business. If it is a limited company, the company name and registered details may matter more than a person you emailed.
Forum pattern
Boards.ie and Reddit threads repeatedly ask whether to name a director, a shop, a broker, a local authority, a platform, or a person with no address. That is a strong signal that respondent identity deserves its own support page.
Before you write
- Trading name used at purchase
- Legal company or sole-trader name
- CRO number or business-name record if available
- Registered or trading address
- Invoice, receipt, quote, or terms showing seller identity
- Payment descriptor or bank transfer name
- Screenshots of website/contact details with dates
Questions people ask
Can I use small claims without an address?
A usable respondent identity and address are often a practical necessity. If you cannot identify the respondent, pause and gather more information before assuming small claims is viable.
Should I name the director of a company?
Usually the contract is with the company, not a director personally, but facts can vary. TBD can help organise clues, not decide contested legal identity.