[bigwavedave]

> Gotcha. I mean even here in the United States, if someone won a court judgement for $300 there's probably no way that they could enforce it.

If they're at the point where they've won the judgment, they've got a fairly easy way to enforce it: wage garnishment. Since they've won the judgment but you still refuse to pay, the next (very easy) step is to get a court order for wage garnishment, after which your employer's payroll processor (like ADP for example) will simply start taking the money before your checks even get deposited. <insert obligatory IANAL statement here>

[hash872]

Despite what you may read online, this is basically never going to happen for a small claims court judgement these days. You're left on your own to collect a judgement there, the court doesn't get involved, the magistrates who hear those cases typically don't have that level of power, etc. Also they no longer show up on your credit report.

'Real' court and not small claims is a completely different story, the court will help you enforce a judgement with an order and wage garnishment is possible

[bigwavedave]

Having been garnished for an amount (thanks to fraud that went unnoticed for too long) that many would consider to be too small, I have to disagree with you.