Jen, I know how you feel because this has happened twice before to me. One for over $10,000 and another for $50. Why didn't I sue (even after consulting a lawyer) on the $10,000 case who told me I had an excellent chance of winning? I had to file in THEIR jurisdiction which was over 4 hours away. I would spend a full day driving to file. Cost to file was around $50. Then spend countless hours putting my case together. The lawyer said that I would have to show up in court even when it could be put off countless times. He said even 3 times being put off would now mean 32 hrs invested and zero return. He also pointed out even if I won the case I would still have to collect. All this time and energy and there was a high possibility I would not collect? It wasn't worth the gamble. Did I want to sue? You have no idea how bad I wanted to sue. Personal satisfaction would mean a lot to me. This was the first from the Hard Knocks of Business lessons learned in my business years. This $10,000 lesson probably saved me from more costly business mistakes. Now the $50 one I tacked on business administrative fees to boost it over the $500 mark and turned it over to a collection agent. Will I ever get my money? Nope. However, I hope the collection agent makes their life hell. (It's had to find a collection agent to take anything under $500)