You don't need $50,000 in legal fees to be heard. You need to know which door is already unlocked.

United States — small-claims limits by state (selected)

The cap is the maximum dollar amount you can sue for in small claims. Above the cap you either reduce your claim, split it, or move up to regular civil court.

• California: $12,500 for individuals, $6,250 for businesses. Filing fee $30–$75. Code of Civil Procedure §116.221.
• Texas (Justice Court): $20,000. Filing fee ~$54. Rule 500, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
• New York (NYC Civil Court): $10,000. Filing fee $15–$20. NYC Civil Court Act §1801.
• Florida: $8,000 (excluding interest, costs, attorney's fees). Filing fee $55–$300. Fla. Sm. Cl. R. 7.010.
• Illinois: $10,000. Filing fee ~$89. 735 ILCS 5/2-101.
• Washington: $10,000 for individuals, $5,000 for entities. RCW 12.40.
• Massachusetts: $7,000. Filing fee $40. G.L. c. 218 §21.
• Georgia (Magistrate Court): $15,000. Filing fee $50–$80. O.C.G.A. §15-10-2.
• Tennessee (General Sessions): $25,000. Filing fee ~$152. T.C.A. §16-15-501.
• Other states: every state has small claims. Caps typically $5,000–$15,000. Search "[state] small claims limit" plus the state court website. Never use a third-party "small claims filer" — they take a fee for free forms.

Canada — small-claims limits by province

Same idea, higher caps in most provinces — Canadian small-claims courts handle real commercial disputes.

• Ontario (Small Claims Court): $35,000. Filing fee $108–$293. Courts of Justice Act, RSO 1990, c C.43, s 23.
• British Columbia (Provincial Court — Small Claims): $5,001–$35,000. Below $5,001 goes to the Civil Resolution Tribunal (online, ~$125, no lawyer needed). Small Claims Act, RSBC 1996, c 430.
• Alberta (Provincial Court — Civil): $100,000 — the highest in Canada. Filing fee $100–$200. Provincial Court Act, RSA 2000, c P-31.
• Quebec (Cour du Québec, Division des petites créances): $15,000. Filing fee $108–$321. No lawyers permitted — both sides represent themselves. Code of Civil Procedure, RLRQ c C-25.01, art 536.
• Saskatchewan: $30,000. Small Claims Act, 2016.
• Manitoba: $15,000. Court of King's Bench Small Claims Practices Act, CCSM c C285.
• Nova Scotia: $25,000. Small Claims Court Act, RSNS 1989, c 430.
• New Brunswick: $20,000 (Small Claims Court Act, SNB 2012, c 15).
• Federal — Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (telecom, SIM-swap, port-out): free. crtc.gc.ca.

What about online tribunals — even cheaper than small claims?

British Columbia's Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) handles disputes up to $5,000, plus all strata, society, and motor-vehicle injury matters, fully online for about $125 — no lawyer needed and decisions are legally binding. Ontario has a similar pilot through the Online Dispute Resolution stream. The UK's Money Claim Online handles up to £100,000. Australia's state Civil and Administrative Tribunals (NCAT, VCAT, QCAT, etc.) cap at $25k–$100k AUD and cost $50–$300 to file. Most consumer cases that platforms hope you'll abandon fit inside these.

United States — statutes with attorney-fee shifting (one-way, in favor of the consumer)

• California Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA) — actual damages, injunctive relief, punitive damages, and court shall award attorney's fees to prevailing plaintiff. Cal. Civ. Code §1780(e).
• California Unfair Competition Law (UCL) — §17200 et seq. Restitution + injunction; private AG fee-shifting via CCP §1021.5.
• New York GBL §349 — deceptive acts and practices. $50 minimum statutory damages, treble actual damages, court may award attorney's fees.
• Federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act — 15 USC §2310(d)(2). Breach of written or implied warranty; fees awarded to prevailing consumer.
• Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act — 15 USC §1681n/o. Actual or statutory damages + attorney's fees.
• Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act — 15 USC §1692k. Up to $1,000 statutory + fees.
• Federal Truth in Lending Act — 15 USC §1640(a). Statutory damages + fees.
• Federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act — 47 USC §227. $500 per violation, $1,500 if willful. The reason robocall cases are economical.
• Federal Electronic Funds Transfer Act / Reg E — 15 USC §1693m. Fees to prevailing consumer in unauthorized-transaction cases.
• State UDAP statutes — most states' Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices laws (Massachusetts G.L. c. 93A, Texas DTPA §17.50(d), Washington CPA RCW 19.86.090, etc.) include attorney-fee shifting and many have treble or statutory damages.

Canada — fee-shifting and costs awards

Canadian courts default to two-way costs: the losing side normally pays a portion of the winner's legal fees ("costs"). That alone changes the contingency math. On top of that, several statutes explicitly award full indemnity costs to consumers who win:

• Ontario Consumer Protection Act, 2002, s 100 — court may award damages, exemplary damages, and the consumer's reasonable expenses including legal costs in unfair-practice cases.
• Quebec Consumer Protection Act, RLRQ c P-40.1, art 272 — court can award punitive damages on top of actual damages, plus costs.
• BC Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act, SBC 2004, c 2, s 172 — Director or any person may seek injunctive relief; costs follow the event.
• Alberta Consumer Protection Act, RSA 2000, c C-26.3, s 13 — actual damages, exemplary damages, and "any other order the court considers just."
• Federal Competition Act, RSC 1985, c C-34, s 36 — private right of action with full cost recovery for false or misleading representations.
• Provincial class-proceedings acts — Ontario CPA 1992, BC CPA 1996. Most consumer class actions are taken purely on contingency by specialized firms; no upfront cost to class members.

How a consumer pitch sounds to a lawyer who can take it

A lawyer evaluating a contingency case looks at three numbers: likely damages, the multiplier or fee-shifting available, and the time-to-resolution. A clean fact pattern with a signed receipt, a documented refusal-to-respond, and a citation to (for example) CLRA §1780(e) or Ontario CPA s 100 turns a $5,000 dispute into a case worth $5,000 + treble + attorney's fees + costs — often $25k–$60k of total exposure for the defendant. That math is what gets the case taken. A messy ten-page complaint with no statute and no receipt is what gets it declined.

United States — legal aid and pro bono

• Legal Services Corporation — congressionally funded; finds the legal-aid org for your zip code. lsc.gov/find-legal-aid.
• LawHelp.org — state-by-state directory of free civil legal help. lawhelp.org.
• ABA Free Legal Answers — post a civil question, get a written answer from a volunteer lawyer in your state, free. Income-tested. abafreelegalanswers.org.
• State bar lawyer-referral services — most charge a $25–$45 flat fee for the first 30-minute consultation, regardless of practice area. Search "[state] bar lawyer referral."
• Law-school consumer clinics — Harvard, NYU, Stanford, Berkeley, Michigan, Georgetown, and many state-school law clinics take consumer-protection cases for free. They count toward the students' clinical credit and are supervised by licensed faculty.
• State attorneys general consumer divisions — file a complaint at no cost; the AG's office forwards it to the company. Platforms answer AG complaints faster than they answer anyone else.

Canada — legal aid and pro bono

• Pro Bono Ontario — free legal advice hotline 1-855-255-7256, plus civil legal advice clinics in Toronto, Ottawa. probonoontario.org.
• Access Pro Bono BC — free 30-minute summary advice across BC. accessprobono.ca.
• JusticeNet — sliding-scale fees with lawyers across Canada for people who exceed legal-aid income limits but can't afford full rates. justicenet.ca.
• Legal Aid Ontario, Legal Aid BC, Aide juridique Québec, Legal Aid Alberta — income-tested, typically free for consumer matters when funded.
• Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada — file a PIPEDA complaint at priv.gc.ca. Free. The OPC actually investigates and publishes findings.
• Provincial consumer-protection offices — every province operates a free consumer complaints line that forwards to the business and frequently produces a refund without going to court.
• Community legal clinics — Ontario alone funds 70+ neighbourhood clinics under Legal Aid Ontario. Most provinces have an equivalent network.

Breach of contract

A signed receipt is a contract. Non-delivery, non-performance, or material misrepresentation is breach. Damages are expectation (put the buyer where they would have been if the contract were performed). Foundational across all common-law jurisdictions.

Negligent misrepresentation

When a business makes a careless false statement on which the consumer reasonably relies and is harmed — the foundation for most "the platform promised a recoverable account" claims. Hedley Byrne & Co Ltd v Heller & Partners Ltd [1964] AC 465 (foundational UK case, adopted across the Commonwealth).

Unjust enrichment

When the defendant has been enriched at the plaintiff's expense, without juristic reason — paid for service never rendered, paid twice, kept funds after cancellation. Restitution available even without a contract. Pettkus v Becker, [1980] 2 SCR 834 (Canada); Lipkin Gorman v Karpnale Ltd [1991] 2 AC 548 (UK).

Conversion

Wrongful exercise of control over another's property — applicable when a platform takes and refuses to return user property (photos, files, contacts, paid digital goods). The damages are the property's value at the time of conversion.

Unconscionability

A contract term that is grossly one-sided and was imposed without meaningful negotiation can be voided. Most platform terms-of-service waiving substantive rights are vulnerable here — see /rights-vs-terms. Particularly strong against forced-arbitration clauses applied to consumers.