Small claims court is very easy; if you are in the right. But as we've learned from the People's Court- you should always keep your receipts; or in this case your copy of the contract. Hopefully they do indeed send you another copy.
I also found Calgary's legal community easy to deal with for a little free advice. I called a law firm where the lawyer had the same last name as me. He spend 30 minutes on the phone with me on my case, and another 15 comparing family trees to see if we were related. In my closing statement I thanked the Calgary legal community, and the judge asked me what lawyer I talked to. Apparently the judge called him.
But document everything. Even if it means email or letter correspondence. Anything you can do to get them to admit any wrong doing. If you are sending an email compose it in Word and send it the next day; keep it professional and not personal.
Tips on preventing this from happening again? Keep your contract, make sure you pre-pay, and take out their insurance policy. (Not that any of that helps you now.)
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