Winning a monetary judgment in a civil case is certainly an accomplishment. But a bigger accomplishment is getting paid. It has been said that collecting a monetary award is often harder than winning one. Unfortunately, courts do not get involved in collection efforts. Winning parties, also known as judgment creditors, are left to their own devices as far as collecting is concerned. Enter the collection agency.
There are collection agencies specializing in judgments. They don’t worry about general debts. They do not chase down unpaid utility bills and rental payments. Their sole focus is helping judgment creditors get the money legally owed to them. Salt Lake City-based Judgment Collectors is one such agency.
My personal recommendation is to bring in an agency like Judgment Collectors as soon as possible. A collection agency should be involved in the earliest stages of debt collection. Why? Because an experienced collection agency can do things a judgment creditor cannot.
Give 100% Effort
Judgment collection agencies, especially those working on consignment, are highly motivated to succeed. Their livelihood depends on collecting as much as possible from each debtor. For that reason alone, they give 100% effort to every case. At least they should.
Judgment creditors might not be able to give maximum effort. Think of a small business with an outstanding judgment against one of its former customs. The business owner has other things to do. Her billing department has other customers to pay attention to. Limited time and resources could mean very little effort being put into collection. What are the chances the debt will ever be paid?
Search for Hidden Assets
A judgment creditor is unlikely to search for hidden assets. Whether that means real property, collectibles, boats and cars, etc., most creditors won’t look for them because they don’t know to do it. And even among those that do, they do not know how to go about it.
Judgment collection agencies make asset searches part of their daily routines. It is something they do all the time. Better yet, they know where and how to search. The professionals are skilled at searching public property records. They know how to hunt for clues on social media. They even have access to proprietary databases that are a veritable gold mine of information.
Employ Skip Tracing
If you think finding hidden assets is impressive, think about tracking down judgment debtors who are purposely trying to hide themselves. Judgment collection agencies employ something known as skip tracing to do just that. What is skip tracing? It is a very impressive skill.
Without giving away the details, skip tracing is the practice of using a variety of public and private resources to find people. It is a practice debt collectors and private investigators have been using for decades. And thanks to the availability of modern digital resources, skip tracing in the 2020s is not nearly as labor-intense as it was in the 1980s.
Play the Long Game
Finally, judgment collection agencies are not likely to throw up their hands in frustration and walk away. They know how the game is played. Not only that, but they are also willing to play the long game. Judgment collection agencies are usually willing to pursue efforts for as long as it takes to win. Left to their own devices, many creditors are not.
If you are looking at an outstanding judgment you’ve had no luck collecting, you now know how a collection agency can help you. If you are serious about getting paid, start looking around for an agency that specializes in judgments. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.