It depends on the scenario. I had an issue with a notorious tow service in my city, won a few thousand dollars, and placed a lien on one of his trucks. After a diligent search, the only truck I could absolutely identity was a $150k recovery vehicle that printed money for him.
When we showed up with his competitor to tow his truck, he appeared with an envelope containing the full judgement in cash.
The guy was such an asshole, I would have gladly spent a few thousand dollars just to inflict pain and disruption upon him.
As a counter example, San Diego County Sheriff charges $2500 to levy a vehicle[1] - and I'm certain there's more fees involved since there will be a title involved somewhere, possibly a bank/lienholder, etc.
So if you were owed a couple thousand, this would not be worth paying to enforce. Unless you're made of money and highly principled (as a fellow pot-stirrer, my hat would be off to you).
Totally get it… ymmv! This was several years ago, but where I lived the cost was around $500, plus a 5% fee on the sale.
It cost me only the $500 because they had a change of heart when the hook arrived. I was really disappointed, selling the vehicle would’ve been very satisfying.
I don't know of any state or jurisdiction where you would be legally allowed to just show up and tow away someone's property without involving law enforcement in some capacity.
Ignoring a court order to pay is a little more serious than ignoring an invoice. The latter is a civil claim, I would guess the former might be criminal.
Enforcement of Small Claims decisions are very often left up to you... and by virtue of being Small Claims, often are not worth the cost to collect anyway.
Check your state laws. Here, there are a variety of liens available to enforce a small claims judgement. While foreclosing a real-estate lien requires an attorney, the process begins with a debtor's examination. Being called in to court to explain your finances convinces many people to pay up.
So what's the point of it then? If ignoring the order is not criminal, I'd think at least it opens you up to having a lien filed on your assets or something?
Say the landscaping contractor screws up your yard, and you want a refund of the $2500 you paid. They refuse so you take them to Small Claims.
Let's say you win... what happens next? Usually nothing. You have a judgement you can rightfully enforce, but every path of enforcement is going to cost you more time and more money (wage garnishment, etc).
For such a relatively small amount of money, it can quickly become not worth while to collect.
For your county, you can look up what your local Sheriff Office charges to provide these services. Fees vary by location. Fees tend to stack as you have to file paperwork with multiple entities, etc. This all takes a lot of time as well, and you are not going to recover any of the enforcement expenses either.
The math is different in each situation - but you can see where it can often become not worth enforcement.
Collection costs would be added to what the person owes, I would think. In the OP's case at least, I'd ask the judge to include that in the judgement, given that the customer has already demonstrated a reluctance to pay.
You would have to sue again, in small claims court, for recovery of the fees.
The court will not preemptively award estimated collection fees since you have not yet been burdened by them and they are unknown. It's not like a regular civil case where attorney's fees are known by time you are receiving judgement.
It's an open and shut case to get a judgement in your favor on recovery of the fees. Just anticipate two small claims court appearances (or maybe recursive appearances if they don't pay the recovery fees) and it will be fine. Eventually they will just pay.
