Assessment Result
Your claim is at or under HK$75,000, which is within the Small Claims Tribunal's jurisdiction. The Tribunal decides money only — it will not rule on service quality — and lawyers are not permitted, because the procedure is built for people representing themselves. The statutory filing fee is in the table below. But filing is not step one: the two free routes cost you nothing and do not consume your six-year limitation period.
Claims above HK$75,000 are outside the Small Claims Tribunal and generally belong to the District Court (HK$75,000 to HK$3,000,000). You may abandon the excess to bring the claim within the limit — but you may not split one claim across several cases. Before you decide, re-check your arithmetic: the refund is calculated on unused sessions, not on the contract total, and the two are often far apart.
Selected range: What this is likely to cost you
Statutory filing fees are banded under the Small Claims Tribunal (Fees) Rules (Cap. 338B). Forms 1 and 2 must be filed in person — no post, fax, email or online submission. Consumer Council mediation and a card chargeback are both free.
HK$5,000 or lessHK$20
HK$5,001 – 25,000HK$40
HK$25,001 – 50,000HK$70
HK$50,001 – 75,000HK$120
Filing supportfrom HK$499
Official filing fee billed separately at cost. Mediation and chargeback you can do yourself — we do not charge for that part. See filing support pricing
The free routes, and who runs them
Consumer Council complaints and mediation are free — hotline 2929 2222. A chargeback is handled by your own card issuer, also free. Both should be tried before you file.
Paid in full by card ⇒ chargeback is your fastest route. Call the issuer today and ask for the filing deadline and the documents they need — that window runs in weeks, far ahead of the six-year limitation period.
Instalments ⇒ chargeback generally does not apply. Under an instalment plan you hold a separate credit agreement with the bank, and you normally keep repaying it even if the trader never delivers or closes. Mediation and the Tribunal are your routes.
Cash, FPS or cheque ⇒ no chargeback, but mediation and the Tribunal are entirely unaffected. Keep the transfer records and receipts, and make sure the payee name is legible.
Already closed ⇒ reverse the order. Confirm the chargeback window first, then watch for the winding-up notice and register as a creditor. Be realistic: consumers rank as unsecured creditors, behind employee wages, government debts and secured creditors.
Branches closing, staff leaving ⇒ treat it as the eve of closure. The earlier you preserve evidence and query the chargeback, the better your odds. A trader that keeps taking large prepayments while knowing it is about to close may be wrongly accepting payment under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, which Customs enforces.
Still trading ⇒ this matters more than it looks: even if you end up filing, there is something to enforce against. A trader that has dissolved or has no assets can leave a judgment unenforceable.
Above HK$75,000 ⇒ recompute first: the refund is based on unused sessions, not the contract total. If it is still above the limit, it is generally District Court territory. Abandoning the excess to fit the limit is allowed; splitting the claim across cases is not.
This assessment covers procedure, routes and fees. It is not legal advice, and lawyers are not permitted to represent parties in the Small Claims Tribunal (Cap. 338 s.19(2)).
Hong Kong has no statutory cooling-off period for prepaid beauty or fitness contracts. A public consultation is under way, but it is not law — do not assume you have one.
