Using Small Claims Court

Small claims court is great for the little guy because unlike the regular court system small claims court is usually a little more understanding and lenient to the little guy. It is also less expensive. I filed my case in Elizabeth, New Jersey for $19. Utilize small claims court to your advantage.

Instead of getting frustrated when a company will not help you clear up a dispute with them, take them to small claims court.

As I discussed previously on this website, Equifax would not fix mistakes on my credti report so I had to take them to court. In my state, New Jersey, I was able to sue Equifax for $3,000. My search for an attorney to take my case was not successful. One attorney wanted a $5,000 retainer and others didn't think I had a case or it wasn't worth their time.

Learn about small claims court in your state

To get started with fling your case for yourself, you should first use an internet search engine to find information about the small claims division in your paticular state. Use quotes when entering your search terms. It will narrow down your search. For example, for my state I would enter "small claims" "new jersey". When I typed those search terms into google, the information I needed was first on the list. Make sure you use quotes when searching, it will streamline your search by making the search engine do most of the work to find what you need. The key is to learn how to tell the search engine exactly what you are looking for.

Get a good book about small claims court

You should also go to the library or bookstore and get a good book on how to use small claims court. I have found that the publisher Nolo has some pretty good self help law books. I have read several. They were helpful and inspirational. By inspirational, I mean they allowed me to say to myself, "heck I can sue Equifax on my own without using a lawyer". And that's exactly what I did. A good book to start with is Everybody's Guide to Small Claims Court. Nolo has been around since 1971, so I feel if anyone has perfected self-help law books, it is them.