Credit guru Thea Dudley has spent more than 30 years in LBM credit management. Now she’s here to answer your credit and collection questions. Got a question for her mailbag? Contact Thea at theadudley@charter.net
Dear Thea,
I’ve enjoyed reading your recent collection columns. I was hoping you could steer me in the right direction on a collection issue. While I understand the controlled use of a judgment on stubborn customers, the issue for me has always become how do I actually collect on a judgment. I currently have an issue with a self-employed contractor, who I believe has several items I could collect on, such as trailers and equipment. He has no money in the checking account information I have. I’m curious in finding out if he does have the clear title to these items so I can give them to the sheriff with my judgment and collect through this method. Are you aware of any site, agency, or firm that will find out what property a person owns that I may collect from?
Signed, Judging in Joplin
Dear Judgy,
Thanks for the kind words and for reading the column. There are a lot of collection agencies that claim to do what you are asking. I have not used a ton of them as I am a confirmed, but recovering, do-it-yourselfer. I do have a few options I have used and am happy to share those with you.
Before we get there, let’s back up a moment. I usually start with going back to the attorney that helped me obtain the judgment and get him to proceed with a writ of execution for the sheriff. If you have a list of items you can collect on, you should include them at that time. If I obtained the judgment from small claims court, I go back to the website and petition for the writ and proceed as aforementioned.
Then, the sheriff goes out and collects your treasures. YEAH!!! Sounds like it should be a slam dunk. But, since we are dealing with the law, it never is. Just like employees and customers, all sheriffs are not created equal. Collection of said items can be dicey and frustrating. A top-notch sheriff will go the debtor and ask about said property on the list as well as inquire about other items he may see. The top-notch sheriff will ask if the items are “free and clear.” If the debtor responds they are not, said sheriff will ask to see proof or other documentation such as receipts, purchase agreements and proof of debt. If debtor cannot produce it, the sheriff will seize or impound it.
So, now you’re paid in the form of stuff, right?? NOPE. Not even close. Depending on your state, by law you may have to pay storage fees for the items for an allotted amount of time in which the debtor has the opportunity to buy his stuff back. That time is usually 30 days. If the debtor does not pay up then you may have to wait for the sheriff to auction off the items with the proceeds going to pay your debt once the fees for an auctioneer and such have been paid. I must admit, at this point it feels a little one-sided.
If the sheriff is not as excited about pursuing your judgment, the scenario will go much different. If the debtor responds to the sheriff’s inquiry that he “doesn’t own said items” or “doesn’t know where the items are” or “they are not paid for,” the sub-par sheriff accepts the answer and returns your writ stating there was nothing to collect. Now, the whole process is completely off the rails.
I had a lovely pontoon boat go “missing” after a sheriff went out to collect on my judgment. I had listed the boat as a seizable asset. The very large boat was sitting in the debtor’s driveway when the sheriff moseyed up to the door and asked the debtor about the boat. The debtor claimed it was not his. The sheriff accepted the answer with no further investigation. By the time I got the sheriff to go back out there, the boat, along with any chance I had at collecting, had disappeared, never to be seen again. I was livid as I watched my chances of recovery circle down the drain. Yes, I am aware the sheriff has more important things to do than help me collect a debt, but this is one of my only courses of action for collecting.
If the items have a registration or license (cars, boats, motorcycles, large heavy machinery), you may be able to track them using fee-based data gathering sites. My favorites are TLO and Accurint. These sites will give you a snapshot to what is registered or licensed and if there is a lien (in states that allow it). You may also check to see if the debtor/company has any UCCs filed and what the security is that’s attached to it.
My all-time favorite company for collecting on old judgments or judgments I am struggling with is MAK Collections. I have had success with them and they are upfront about what they can and can’t do. Give them a call, ask for Bryan, and tell him I said, “Hey.”
It may take some effort to collect on the judgment so, keep in mind that everything is a trigger point. Trigger points are the things you have to find in someone in order to get paid. Even if the sheriff comes back empty handed, the message to the debtor is that you’re still out there, still working to get paid and, like a stalker ex-girlfriend, will be around until you two reach an “amiable” resolution.
