|
Your
local Small Claims Court provides a great service to your
community. At a very low cost the county court will help you
resolve your dispute, and even declare a dollar amount owed.
No attorneys are allowed. You have your say in front of the
judge, and then a judgment is rendered.
But then
you have the task of collecting the judgment. Your debtor
probably won't want to pay. And the court can't make him or
her pay. You are not a debt collector, so what can you do?
How can you figure out how to collect on your judgment? Here
are some choices.
1. You can contact a collection
agency and see if they will collect your civil judgment for
you. There may or may not be an up front cost. And the collection
agency will probably keep 25%-40% of what they collect. That
may seem like a lot to you, but the collection of civil judgments
is not easy.
If you
don't have the time to collect your own judgment, then consider
using a collection agency. But make sure they do more than
write nasty letters and make phone calls to the debtor. You
want a collection agency that is highly active. Call 5 or
6 different ones in your county and try to get a feel for
which one is most responsive to you.
2. You can also get help from
a Judgment Recovery Specialist. These are people specifically
trained in collecting judgments. They don't deal with credit
card debt or the myriad of other types of debt that a debt
collection company handles. A good judgment recovery professional
is much more active than a regular debt collection service.
They know the ins and outs of small claims courts and civil
courts, and all the tricks of the trade.
The percentage
that a judgment recovery specialist receives is probably more
than a collection agency. That's because they do more, in
my view. They also handle all additional court costs and sheriff
costs. It is not unusual for a judgment recovery person to
receive 50% of the judgment money. But 50% of something is
better than 100% of nothing.
Call
5 or 6 judgment recovery people in your area. See who is the
most competent and experienced. Then sit back and let the
person handle your court judgment for you. (If you want to
email me and tell me your area, I'll email you back with some
judgment recovery specialists in your vicinity.)
3. You can also collect
your judgment yourself. If your debtor is hiding or simply resistant,
then this may take some doing, but it certainly is doable in most cases.
The reason 80% of judgments are never collected is because people either
don't have the time or they don't know how. It may be that you already
know a lot about your debtor. Maybe you have an old check, a place of
business, a residence, and auto information. Then you are on your way.
But you still
may not be familiar with court procedures and collection methods. However,
if you do want to collect it yourself, I have prepared a pretty comprehensive
guide that will cover just about all the situations you will run into.
It's cheap and effective. Take a look at it here.
Good Luck! Collecting your own
judgment can be financially rewarding and very satisfying!
Best Wishes…..Peter Gilboy
|
