Chapter 5
Problem 2: Claim is too large for the Small Claims Court (SCC)
You have a claim against Furniture Wholesalers for R23 200. Can you use the Small Claims Court to get your money back?
WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY?
If you want to claim this full amount you cannot use the Small Claims Court. The law says that you can only use the Small Claims Court if your claim is for R20 000 or less.
If you want to claim R23 200, you must use the Magistrate’s Court. The Magistrate’s Court is much more expensive (because you have to use an attorney) and also takes more time than the Small Claims Court to sort out problems. You can however reduce your claim to R20 000 if you want to use the SCC. You will lose R3 200 but in the long run, this may be cheaper than paying attorney’s fees to bring the case in the magistrate’s court.
(See Small Claims Court)
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
If you decide to reduce the claim so that you can use the Small Claims Court, then you must follow the procedures of the Small Claims Court.