Do you have a friend who owes you money but never pays you back? Is the amount owed a hundred thousand pesos or less?
Is the person just keeps on promising you to pay but never do? Have you exhausted all 'friendly' means but to no avail?
Someone owed me money and she failed to pay and refused to honor our written agreement so I decided to bring my case to the Small Claims court. This is very educational and refreshing for me because, like many other people out there, I never thought I could easily and inexpensively file a claim against someone who refuses to pay me back.
Filing a case in court takes a lot of time and money which discourages people to sue their debtors.
It's a good thing to know that the Supreme Court has come up with Small Claims which allows ordinary people like you and me file a claim in court against another who conveniently forgets to pay the sum of money owed.
As I have mentioned above, this is the first time I filed a claim and I find the how to video below very, very helpful. (And very entertaining, too!)
So, if someone owes you money not more than P100,000 and that person refuses to pay you back no matter how hard you tried, you can now make them pay back the money they owe you.
What Is a Small Claim?
Small claim is a special legal procedure where money claims for a hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) or less are heard.
- It is a quick, simple, and informal procedure.
- No attorneys are allowed during the hearing (unless of course if you are the plaintiff and you are an attorney)
- The hearing and the judge's decision are completed in just one day.
- The decision is final and non-appealable and immediately executory.
How to File a Small Claim in Iligan City
Here are the steps one should take when filing a small claim in the city of Iligan.
1. Obtain the necessary blank forms from the Clerk of Court of the Hall of Justice. You may need to pay P20 for the docs.
These are the documents you need to fill up:
- Information for Plaintiff
- Statement of Claim
- Certification of Non-Forum Shopping
3. Attach any important document that will show that the loan occurred, such as written agreements, receipts, photocopies of checks issued which the borrower encashed, promissory notes, etc.
4. Make seven (7) copies of each completely filled-up forms together with the paper evidences.
5. Pay the docket fees at the Cashier. The amount you need to pay depends on the amount of your claim. For a P68,000 claim, for example, the fee is P2,915.00.
6. Submit the forms and get the schedule of the hearing.
If you have learned from this blog post, please spread the news and help others deal with people who goes into the habit of borrowing money but never have the intention of paying back just because they know that filing a civil case for sum of money in court is not worth it.
With the creation of Small Claims court, these type of people will think twice before they borrow.
