People owed money can now chase their debts in cyberspace.

The courts service is launching a new online scheme which allows creditors to make claims over the internet.

Many cases never actually end up in court, and this is the latest in a series of measures aimed at resolving disputes.

Consumers and businesses will be able to make online claims up to �100,000.

If the claim is not defended - and most aren't - the matter could be settled without the claimant having to set foot in court.

Form filling

At the moment, people chasing debts must obtain forms from their local county court or from the Court Service website and send them off. It's then a question of waiting for the claim to be processed.

The aim of the pilot scheme is to speed up and simplify the whole process, although the defendant will still be sent documents by post in case they are not connected to the internet.

However, defended claims will still have to be dealt with physically.

And if you win an undefended case but then the debtor refuses to pay up, you will still have to go through the normal channels to chase your money.

"Going to court should always be a last resort," said Michael Wills of the Lord Chancellors department.

"That is why the government is promoting alternative ways of dispute resolution such as mediation or arbitration.

"However, there will always be some cases that need to go to court. The Court Service's new online service offers consumers, small businesses and solicitors the choice of making these claims online at a time and place convenient to them."

But lawyer Georgina Squire says making it easier could mean more people will be making claims which might otherwise have been resolved without recourse to the law.

More than 1.6m claims were made in 2000 for money owed by one person to another, such as unpaid debts, rent arrears or hire purchase payments.

Most of those are undefended - only 36,000 debt cases went to trial in 2000.

The Court Service expects to have handled 25,000 online claims by the end of this year.