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This explains how small money claims generally work, and what to do first. It is general information, not legal advice about your situation.
The court's name, the maximum amount, the fee and the deadlines are all different from country to country, and often from state to state. Where a number matters here, it says to go and find yours.
Most places have a court for arguments about modest sums.
It is deliberately simple. You usually do not need a lawyer. The forms are meant to be filled in by ordinary people, and the hearing is short and informal compared to a proper trial.
It exists because otherwise a small wrong is not worth fighting.
Sort what a small claims court is for.
Tap an item, then a bucket
Almost nowhere lets you walk straight into court.
You write to the other side first, setting out what you want and why. In many places that step is expected, and a judge can hold it against you if you skipped it.
It is also the step that ends most disputes.
Why does a plain, calm letter get money back so often?
Five things, in this order, on one page.
What was agreed. What actually happened, with dates. Exactly how much you want and how you worked it out. A date by which you want it. And one sentence saying what you will do if that date passes.
Write it as if a stranger will read it out loud in a room. One day, one might.
No insults, no history, no capital letters. Just dates, amounts and what was agreed.
Anger reads as unreliable. Flat and specific reads as somebody who will turn up.
A letter you cannot prove arrived is a letter you did not send.
Use a method that records delivery, and keep the receipt. Email as well, so there is a timestamp.
Keep a copy of exactly what you sent, on the day you sent it.
A shop called Sunny Cleaners ruined your coat. Who do you name in the claim?
Every country puts a deadline on how long after the event you can claim.
It is generous in most places, and it is absolute. Miss it and a perfect case is simply over.
Find out what yours is now, while nothing is urgent.
This is the part that decides most cases, and it happens months earlier.
Photograph things when they are fine, not only when they break. Keep conversations in writing, or send a message afterwards repeating what was said. Keep receipts, quotes, and the advert or listing you agreed to.
A dated photograph beats two people remembering differently.
They are deciding what most likely happened, on what is in front of them.
Not who is nicer. Not who was more upset. They want a sequence of events, an agreement, and a number.
So bring one page with dates down the left, and the documents behind it.
Court is not always the fastest way to get money back.
If you paid by card, your bank may be able to reverse it. Many industries have an ombudsman who costs you nothing to use. Some sectors have a regulator that can order a refund.
Those are usually quicker, free, and do not need a day off work.
There is a fee to file. There is a day, sometimes two, of your time. There may be more fees later.
Against that, put the amount and how likely you are to actually collect it.
Sometimes the answer is that a hundred is not worth a day. Knowing that is not giving up. It is pricing your own time.
The judge orders them to pay you. What happens next?
The question that saves the most wasted effort is this. If I win, is there anything to take?
A trading business with a shop and a bank account is one situation. A person who has already left the country is another.
A judgment against someone with nothing is a piece of paper.
A deposit has not been returned and asking nicely has failed.
Put these in order
Bring three copies of everything: one for you, one for them, one for the court.
Say what happened in order, with dates. Stop talking when you have finished. Answer the question you were asked and not the one you prepared for.
Being brief reads as being sure.
Search for the small claims limit and the filing fee where you live. It takes about three minutes and it is the whole foundation.
Write them somewhere you will find them again. The day you need this, you will not be in a state to research it.