When To Take Your Case To Small Claims Court
Small Claims » When To Take Your Case To Small Claims Court
When To Take Your Case To Small Claims Court
Let's discuss several tips, tricks, and techniques that just about anybody can use to determine whether or not you should take your case to small claims court.
We all watch TV and so we all know what a horrible mess the United States legal system can be. The last thing most people want to do is wind up in court with lengthy and expensive legal fees and years of their life stuck dealing with unpleasant court proceedings.
Small Claims Court is not much different, however it provides an avenue to sue someone or a company for monetary damages against yourself.
Small claims court is for things that are, well, small. If you hired a plumber to fix your bathroom and they did a shoddy job you could go to small claims court. If that mechanic charged you too much and didn't really fix the problem, you can go to small claims court. Usually small claims court costs anywhere from $10-$50 to file a case. Most of these courts set a dollar amount as to how much you can "claim" in your lawsuit and this often sits around $1500-$3000 depending on your state. Many states are trying to raise that limit.
Most of the time you have to act fairly soon after the grievance has taken place. You also have to know exactly who you are suing so that you can name the correct person. For instance you wouldn't sue the mechanic, you would sue the company that the mechanic works for etc.
Here are some tips for making your way through small claims court.
Be sure to keep your claim within the courts dollar limits. A quick search at Google for small claims court and your specific state will show you what those limits are. Be sure to state your claim correctly when filling out the form and attach any evidence you may need. Most of the time you can do this without an attorney but if the form is too confusing for you, you may just have to bite the bullet and swing passed your local attorney's office for a quick consultation that should be relatively inexpensive.
It's also a good idea to practice what you're going to say in front of the judge before hand so that you can be as clear and concise as possible. Often times, small claims court judges are rushed and don't spend a whole lot of time preparing for cases. They will look at you, they will spend a couple of minutes listening to what you have to say, and then they will often rule and put you out of their mind so be concise and be honest.
So there you have several tips and tricks that you can use to sue just about anybody in small claims court. It may be intimidating the first time you do it but it's really not that difficult. The best alternative to Small Claims Court is to hire a national collection agency. These debt collectors are highly trained at retrieving your lost monies and can do so much quicker and more efficiently than you will be able to on your own. Even if you win in small claims, it doesn't mean you're going to get the money from the other party. You may ultimately still need to hire a collection agency to retrieve the monies for you. The best approach would be to hire a debt collector right from the start, since a real national collection agency will have a legal network that extends throughout the entire nation and much of the world.
We recommend letting a professional National Collection Agency handle your outstanding debts for the most effective and efficient no-upfront cost way to collect on monies owed to you.
Looking for the BEST collection agencies?
Fill out the form above right now to get quotes from up to 5 of the BEST collection agencies in your area!