Am I entitled to file a claim at the Small Tribunal Claims Court?

Question

Actually this happened to my parents, they rented a stall at a canteen in an industrial building and now the management of the building is buying back the canteen from the current owner of the canteen (the main drinks stall operator). My parents paid a $4K deposit several years back when they first started their biz, but the current owner did not issue any receipt. Other stall holders also paid the deposit, in deferring amounts. My question is, is there anyway I can get the deposit back? Can I file with the Small Claims Court? My parents have tried to ask from the current owner for it but he claims he's too poor to pay them back. Would bringing him to court subject him to declare bankruptcy?

to add further info, as mentioned above, no receipt = no contract. paid in cash.

Answer 1

+ Was there any contract written?
How did you pay for it? Cash, Check, Credit, Direct Deposit?

+ Well without a contract and Because you paid in cash
there is really no way to prove that you even gave him money for a deposit.
Unless you have ANY kind of documents from this business.
Without any documents you still can file with a small claims court
However it would be hard to prove your case.
In some states you can record the person saying that they do owe you the money back.
check to see if your state allows this, Cause if your state does it can help your case out alot!

I hope this helps!

Answer 2

Yes, your parent may file a claim with Small Claims Court. Since the amount is less than S$10,000, you can't file a bankruptcy petition against the current owner.

Answer 3

Serve a demand letter to current owner to reimburse the deposit. If there is no payment, file a collection case against the owner so that the court will order that party to pay.