small claims costs
oh well if it is London then I'll travel down by train etc and have a day out as you say.
In Small Claims the Judge decides for the plaintiff or the defendent. There is no concept of costs, so the little guy like me if I lose cannot be asked to pay the, say, £15K legal bill of the other side. This isn't true in big court, which is why lots of small people don't decide to sue large companies cos it basically ends up in a blink first game, as opposed to a fair legal trial as it should be. A case in point is the kid in Shropshire or thereabouts who has beaten by an Asian gang at school sued the school for not providing a safe work environment. The school won the case and is now persuing the kids family for £100K of their legal costs, and of course the parents have to pay their side's legal costs as well. It's brinkmanship.
G