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In fact, starting the process of taking someone to court is comparatively painless. Before you even start, you need to send the seller a 'letter before action', which outlines your grievance - including details of the claim and any previous communication between the two parties - and makes clear your intention to begin legal proceedings. You should also provide a deadline of at least two weeks for the recipient to resolve the matter.

If this fails you can begin your claim online at www.moneyclaim.gov.uk, as long as the defendant is a resident of England or Wales. Charges depend on the amount you're looking to recover (contact your local county court for details), and what happens next is governed by the defendant's response. Receiving official notification from the court may well be enough to scare them into action. You can read more about the small claims process in our feature, Shopper's Guide to the Small Claims Court, which is included as a PDF on this month's cover disc.

If you're in dispute with a business trader rather than an individual, there are alternatives to court action. Indeed, the court will expect you to investigate alternative dispute resolutions (ADRs), perhaps in the form of mediation or arbitration. If the company belongs to some kind of professional organisation or institute, contact it and explain your situation. There may also be an ombudsman to complain to. If the transaction is on eBay you could use an online dispute resolution service such as Square

The hunt begins

The key problem in my case was finding the seller. As I paid electronically he never provided his address, and eBay refused requests to relinquish it in accordance with its privacy policy. The auction site does provide a Find Contact Information feature, which allows you to input any user ID and access the user's contact name and phone number. If they're not answering the phone, however, you're stuck. EBay will also share information with the police if a fraud investigation demands it (http://tinyurl.com/2huw4g). This isn't much help if the police aren't interested in your case.

Determined to have my day in court, I sent eBay one last email explaining my intention to pursue the matter through the small claims court and practically begging for the seller's address. The company relented - in a way. An email from its Trust and Safety office promised that I would be provided with the information I needed if my solicitor contacted its legal department in Bern, Switzerland. Unfortunately, employing a solicitor would be pointless, as the fees would swallow up most, if not all, of the amount I was owed.

This is probably the point at which many people give up, writing off the whole thing as an expensive learning experience. But several avenues of investigation are open from here and it's worth persevering. First, check the user's feedback to see if they've bought anything through eBay. The seller in that transaction will probably have their address - a polite email may be enough to secure it from them. If they're a trader they are obliged under the Data Protection Act to take care with customer details, but passing on an address in this context is not a criminal offence.