Small claims court

[Tori]

Grrrr!

Unfortunately I have come across the horror of being a home daycare. I'm taking a parent to small claims court and need some advice.

I'm in Ontario and have most of the documentation filled out and ready to go. I'm stumped in charging interest. Our contract states 1% daily for unpaid fees however the forms want it in annual rate not daily.

Wanted to ask here before I bite the bullet and call the court offices for a very long wait lol

[BlueRose]

I would do 8%

52 weeks in a yrs * 7 days per week = 7.48 Round up to 8

don't forget to also go after all fees you have to pay to go to small claims court as while in the total owing.

best of luck to you. please let us know how it goes.

[SillyGirl_C]

You need to stick to your contract. If you put anything in the claim that is not in keeping with the contract, you lose credibility. Small claims decisions are based on balance of probabilities and not 100% fact as opposed to criminal court cases. Per day translated into per annum is 365%. And I assume you are charging simple as opposed to compound. So....$10.00 @ 365%/annum, simple, for default of 45days would be: $10.00x365% per annum/365 days*45 days due = $4.50 interest.

[Suzie_Homemaker]

You cannot make up terms that don't exist in your contract. If your contract says 1% daily then that's what you have to state. It's more common for interest to be calculated in APR (annual percentage) which is likely why the court forms are asking for that but just cross out the words of the form that say annual interest and change it to daily interest. You probably have to submit the contract with court documents anyway so the clerk will see why you have done that.

Small Claim is pretty relaxed because it designed for people with no legal background. Just make sure every statement you make is credible and the easiest way to do that is with paperwork verifying your statements.