[ams6110]

You can't "tack on court costs" so easily. In most civil cases in the USA, each party is responsible for his own attorney's fees and costs. As I sadly know from personal experience trying to recover money from an insurance company.

In most cases, any amount under $10,000 is not going to be worth going to court over. You will pay lawyers that much just to get the case to trial.

[redrobot5050]

Most debt collections agencies have a lawyer or lawyers on retainer for going to court. They can, and will, go to court for judgments as small as $1,000. The hearing is often the local magistrate, and unless there is something atypical complicating your case, the ruling will happen in 30 minutes or less. Having proof that you own a debt is a binary thing -- either you have it or you don't.

[zavulon]

That's why there's Small Claims court, where you can represent yourself for cases under 10K