Trying to get small claims fee discharged

[petefig]

I live in Massachusetts. A few months ago, I lent someone money who promised to pay back the following month. When that month and the next came and went with no payback, in mid December, I filed in small claims, paid the fee with credit card and was given a court date of 8/1/2025. On January 2, I was paid back. I called the court to see if I can get the fee discharged and they said no. Since my credit card bill is due on 1/20, I was thinking of calling them to dispute this charge. What do you think?
Thanks

 

[quincy]

I live in Massachusetts. A few months ago, I lent someone money who promised to pay back the following month. When that month and the next came and went with no payback, in mid December, I filed in small claims, paid the fee with credit card and was given a court date of 8/1/2025. On January 2, I was paid back. I called the court to see if I can get the fee discharged and they said no. Since my credit card bill is due on 1/20, I was thinking of calling them to dispute this charge. What do you think?
Thanks

I think a phone call is not likely to accomplish anything.

 

[Taxing Matters]

The court fee you paid is a valid fee for filing the complaint. You got what you wanted out the other person after you filed the suit — you got paid your loan back. So the complaint was worthwhile; the other person might not have paid, or paid as soon, had you not done that. Credit card disputes are successful where the charge on the card was not made by you (identity theft) and in some cases where you ordered goods that you paid for with your card that you never received. They are willing to do that because they can simply debit the seller's account for the charge and they aren't out money. But the credit card company can't do that with the court. Even if it could, you got what you paid for, the filing of the complaint to start the lawsuit. That's not a circumstance in which the credit card company is at all likely to reverse the charges.

 

[adjusterjack]

The person who borrowed the money owes the court fees.

 

[quincy]

The court fees can be included in the award of damages against a defendant when a plaintiff wins his/her small claims suit. Collecting on any court judgment often can be difficult, however. And with no court judgment to back up what is owed - just a demand of your former defendant to pay the cost ($40-$150) of the filing fee - it can be even harder.

Whether pursuing the fellow over this relatively small amount of money is worth your time and effort is something you will have to decide for yourself.

 

[zddoodah]

What do you think?

Don't waste your time. You're not entitled to a refund. If you dispute the charge, your credit card company will resolve the matter in favor of the court.

The person who borrowed the money owes the court fees.

That's wrong. No one owes the fees. The fees have been paid. The only way the borrower would owe the fees would be if a judgment were entered that included the fees, and that's not going to happen because the debt has been discharged.