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Old 07-17-2014, 07:23 PM
 
2,179 posts, read 4,987,854 times
Reputation: 996

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Hi. It's been awhile since I have been on this board. I lived briefly in Hilo and unfortunately was in a really bad accident. I ended up taking the driver (who was uninsured) to court and won a judgement against her. This was in 2012. Till this day, I haven't received a penny from her.

I ended up hiring in 2012 Frank Huff Agency who will take I believe 40-50% of the judgement if they get it from her which is really all I can do since I am not in Hawaii anymore. They have been difficult to work with and they aren't aggressive. They merely send letters and do phone calls to the woman. They also never call me with updates as I always have to be the one calling. At this point I want to go through another collection agency since they haven't been too helpful.

I do not have her social security number as she wouldn't give it to me so I cannot get the court to garnish wages. I'm also pretty sure she is on again off again welfare and government money and was told I cannot garnish that.


Does anyone know of any collection agency who does more than phone calls and letters? Last time they sent her a letter it was a return to sender. All they know is that she was arrested in December for possession of marijuana. The year before she was arrested for domestic violence. She's a lovely woman....

I'm assuming I will never get the $5,000 + fees (hiring a sheriff to serve her and court fees).
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Old 07-17-2014, 07:53 PM
 
Location: TOVCCA
8,452 posts, read 15,039,467 times
Reputation: 12532
Any detective agency can get anyone's social for a small fee.
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Old 07-17-2014, 08:01 PM
 
Location: Kahala
12,120 posts, read 17,903,402 times
Reputation: 6176
Perhaps if the agency isn't aggressive then that might be a sign the debt isn't collectable? If she's on again/off again welfare, how are you going to collect anything even with an aggressive agency?

Just harassing someone doesn't make money appear out of thin air.
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Old 07-17-2014, 08:13 PM
 
2,179 posts, read 4,987,854 times
Reputation: 996
Quote:
Originally Posted by nightlysparrow View Post
Any detective agency can get anyone's social for a small fee.
Is there one you would recommend?
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Old 07-17-2014, 08:14 PM
 
2,179 posts, read 4,987,854 times
Reputation: 996
Quote:
Originally Posted by whtviper1 View Post
Perhaps if the agency isn't aggressive then that might be a sign the debt isn't collectable? If she's on again/off again welfare, how are you going to collect anything even with an aggressive agency?

Just harassing someone doesn't make money appear out of thin air.

I suspect welfare by her address, being in and out of jail, her appearance, etc. I know that's judgmental but I think most would suspect that. You cannot garnish that from people but I want an aggressive agency to at least give me more information than Huff has been giving me.
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Old 07-17-2014, 09:26 PM
 
Location: Puna, Hawaii
4,412 posts, read 4,900,190 times
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Even with the best judgement and best collection agency in the world, you won't be able to collect from somebody who has no money, and if she had any vital assets to put a lien against, chances are that they would be protected if she filed bankruptcy.

You said she was uninsured, did you have insurance? AFAIK all insurance policies cover uninsured and under insured drivers (meaning if they don't have a policy, yours pays what theirs should have, up to policy limits).
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Old 07-17-2014, 09:58 PM
 
2,179 posts, read 4,987,854 times
Reputation: 996
Quote:
Originally Posted by terracore View Post
Even with the best judgement and best collection agency in the world, you won't be able to collect from somebody who has no money, and if she had any vital assets to put a lien against, chances are that they would be protected if she filed bankruptcy.

You said she was uninsured, did you have insurance? AFAIK all insurance policies cover uninsured and under insured drivers (meaning if they don't have a policy, yours pays what theirs should have, up to policy limits).


My insurance did not cover expenses caused by an uninsured driver.

And yes I know you cannot collect from someone with no money but I figure AT SOME POINT, this woman will get a job!
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Old 07-18-2014, 12:11 AM
 
Location: Moku Nui, Hawaii
11,050 posts, read 24,024,330 times
Reputation: 10911
Why would she do that?

Can you take this off your taxes as an unrecoverable debt or something? That might be the only way you'll get any use out of it.
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Old 07-18-2014, 04:31 AM
 
2,054 posts, read 3,342,281 times
Reputation: 3910
The old saying that you cannot get blood out of a turnip comes to mind. If the driver was uninsured and is on county public assistance or SSD/SSI, that income cannot be garnished to my knowledge, even if there is a court judgement against the person. As much as I understand the pain you may be going through over this, my suggestion is to let it go and move on. I have never heard of an attorney charging the rates you quoted, and there should be no vagueness of their potential cut. They WILL let you know their exact fee in concise, clear, printed language because they have to by law. Having the driver's social security number is not required in any of this, a court will act as needed, but again, if the driver's income is judgement protected.....
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Old 07-18-2014, 07:12 AM
 
Location: Hawaii-Puna District
3,752 posts, read 11,509,944 times
Reputation: 2488
Quote:
Originally Posted by smarino View Post
The old saying that you cannot get blood out of a turnip comes to mind. If the driver was uninsured and is on county public assistance or SSD/SSI, that income cannot be garnished to my knowledge, even if there is a court judgement against the person. As much as I understand the pain you may be going through over this, my suggestion is to let it go and move on. .....
I agree. Just let it go and move on with your life.
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