Client received photos, disappeared, and hasn’t paid $1,200 - how do you handle this?

I’m a professional photographer and ran into a frustrating situation.

Delivered a full gallery to a client - everything done properly, high quality, on time. After delivery, the client just disappeared. No replies, no payment. There’s still about $1,200 outstanding.

I know I’m not the only one this has happened to.

For those in photography (or any service business):

• How often does this happen to you?
• How do you prevent it?
• What do you actually do when it happens - collections, small claims, just move on?

Trying to figure out the smartest way to handle this going forward, not just emotionally