A Magistrate earned kudos in the courtroom on Friday when he slammed a local furniture company's claim for more than $8,500 in back-payments from a customer.

Acting Senior Magistrate Edward King passed judgment on a civil case between Mayne's Furniture Company and Troy Franklin in Magistrates' Court, awarding the company only $933.35 of their $8,687.89 suit.

And he blasted the practices of companies who attempted to take advantage of "the little man''.

"The practice of gouging collection fees out of debtor defendants must be halted,'' Mr. King stated, provoking muted applause from the crowded courtroom.

Mr. Franklin bought a bedroom set and a mattress from Mayne's Furniture at a total sale price of $1,079 on June 20, 1997. The regular price of the goods was $6,698.

Mr. Franklin agreed to pay monthly instalments on his balance. But the fine print in the sale invoice stated that if he missed any payments, the company would charge him regular price for the goods.

After making a few payments, Mr. Franklin stopped paying and the matter was sent to debt collectors in January, 1998.

Mayne's Furniture eventually sued Mr. Franklin for upward of $8,500 -- adding on the original cost of the furniture plus more than $2,000 of debt collection charges.

Mr. King called the attempt to charge Mr. Franklin full price -- six times the sale price which he originally agreed to pay -- an "unconscionable penalty'' which would not be enforced.

"This is what I call the astounding explosion of a peanut-sized debt into an astronomical claim,'' he said.

And he said Mayne's Furniture's actions to sue Mr. Franklin for $2,000 in debt collection charges was "nothing less than inequitable''.

"Any claims for such awards, whether concealed as debt or damages or otherwise, must be struck down,'' said Mr. King.

He ordered Mr. Franklin to pay $933.35 to Mayne's Furniture -- which was the amount of the remaining sale-priced balance and seven percent interest on the debt.

After Mr. King gave his judgment, lawyer Marc Telemaque suggested to Mr. King that he should have said "struck out'' instead of "struck down''.

But Mr. King responded: "Struck out, struck down, however you want to call it, it's out the door.''