Small claims filing fee creep, someone pinch me

Filed a small claim back in 2021 for 900 bucks against a contractor who ghosted me, and the paperwork was 17 pages of pure confusion. Last month I helped my cousin file a similar one in Edmonton and it's all online now, took maybe 40 minutes, but the fee went from 100 to 150. Has anyone else noticed the process getting smoother but the price tag getting steeper?

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lisa9762mo ago

You said "17 pages of pure confusion" and honestly that part hit home for me. I gotta push back on the fee thing though, you said it went from 100 to 150 but where I'm at it was already 125 back in 2020, so that 150 might not be as crazy as it looks. The online system is way better, I'll give you that, last time I helped a buddy file it took us maybe an hour with all the pauses for reading stuff twice. But the fee creep is real, it's like they make it easier to use so you don't notice the extra 50 bucks they're pinching out of you. Still cheaper than a lawyer and faster than waiting on the old paper shuffle, so I'm not gonna lose sleep over it. Just wish they'd freeze the price for a couple years instead of bumping it every time they update the website.

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lisat602mo ago

Fee was 135 in my state back in 2019, so 150 now is barely above inflation, not some money grab. They did jack it up two years ago though, right before the online portal launched.

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