A few hundred dollars sounds like it would be worth filing a small claims suit. I do not know what the filing fees are in Penna. Here in Connecticut it is $35.00, and the suit is served via certified mail. If the defendant refuses to accept the letter it is necessary to have in hand service made. The filing fee and cost of process server/sheriff are added to your judgment as part of the damages in Connecticut. Most small claims courts have instruction booklets to tell you how to file a suit because most people do not hire attorneys for small claims actions. In most cases you just appear in court, tell your side of the story, answer some questions on cross examination, enter you bills and any relevant paper as evidence and cross examine the defendant after he tells his side of the story. It is a lot like "People's Court"  or "Judge Judy" on TV. The instructions should tell you the costs involved and the possibility of their recovery.

Very often sending the defendant a certified letter attached to a copy of the suit informing him that if you are not in receipt of payment within 10 days you will be filing the suit is enough to force him to pay you. This has worked every time for me. I have never been stiffed with the exception of the Bridgespan bankruptcy. If the defendant goes bankrupt there is little you can do except file your proof of claim with the court.

If you are located in the same state as the defendant it is an easy matter to proceed with litigation. If you are not located in the same state you may need to consider filing in the defendant's state of residence, and traveling there to testify on the day of trial. In most cases the defendant defaults, and a trial and your appearance in court is not necessary.

If the defendant is not located in your state of residence you might consider assigning the debt to another SOT abstractor located in the defendant's state of residence. Let the other abstractor prosecute the suit, and keep a portion of the judgment as his fee for the assignment of the debt. In these difficult times some of the abstractors may welcome the opportunity to make a few bucks, and you get a portion of the debt owed to you cutting your losses.