To be honest, I'm not sure it does come across as professional. This is a very small world and pugzi has identified his real name. Some operators may respect him for what he's done but others may not. I'm not talking about the act of taking a school to the Small Claims Court (which, without knowing the full facts, without prejudice etc, was the right thing to do) but publicly announcing it on this forum. I know of a couple of Chief Pilots who read but don't post so you never know who's looking.
Just to play Devil's Advocaat here, we only have pugzi's word that that was the verbatim e-mails sent and received. We haven't heard Dragon's side and there may be a dispute so we none of us should be quick to judge.
I do think the course of action is correct and Pugzi, when you get a cheque from them, take a photocopy so that if they do it again, you can ask the courts for a Garnishee Order (great fun they are!) whereby the courts can take the money out of the acocunt - if they have it.
This operator is a new outfit so appropriate checks such as Companies House filing of Statutory Accounts will not yield much. But, for future, it is worth checking out Companies House for any new customer. You will need the full name and/or number which should be on the bottom of their letterhead (if they are a Limited Company). If it isn't, that's breaking Companies Act 85. Online this only costs about a fiver compared with Dun & Bradstreet or Experian reports which are upwards of £30 a pop. If you are serious about dealing with a particular organisation, then I would recommend D&B.
Cheers
Whirls