How do I collect on a small claims court debt without the other party's SSN? (money, agency)
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In addition to wage garnishment, with a valid court judgment you can also seize bank accounts, put liens on real assets (houses, cars), etc. Some localities will issue an arrest warrant with a judgment (ask the sheriff in the deadbeats' jurisdiction).
No, they cannot arrest someone for an unPaid judgement. Debtors prisons have been long outlawed. Except for maybe Child Support, people cannot be arrested for non-Payment of private debt.
Thanks, westender and Blue Biker, for your replies.
The problem with the bank account route (which otherwise would have been a good option) is that I don't have them. They always paid in cash or made a deposit to my bank to pay rent. An arrest warrant is something I was unaware of, but I doubt my municipality (Hudson County) does it; I've already done research on it and I never saw that option. I will definitely investigate further though, so thanks for the suggestion.
The reason I don't want to go through a collection agency is two-fold: first, from what I understand, the collection agency takes a large portion of the debt, which, I simply don't want to give up. I don't know how large, but this just scares me as I need the money. Second, I'm planning on being a landlord for the long-haul, so ultimately, it's going to be to my benefit to find out what it takes to complete this process. I expect that at some point I'll have to go after another tenant, so having done the entire process (hopefully) successfully once will make it easier subsequent times.
LOL, dude, you dont want to give up A Part to a collection agency? U do realize you're probably going to get nothing. It is extremely difficult to get a garnishment on someone who probably doesn't have a bank account, and probably owns nothing of Any Real Value. Credit Card companies routinely Charge off Hundreds of $1000's that they can't collect. You'll be Lucky if u get Anything at all, just being realistic. Those people could be halfway across the country, or working off the books for Cash. These kind of debts are next to impossible to collect on.
You were right, jaymoney. After a little bit more investigating I went ahead and paid for an SSN search via Docusearch. It was super easy and only took about 10 minutes. Not a scam.
So now I'm just hoping he still works there, AND doesn't decide to quit once he sees the wage garnishment. *fingers crossed*
You were right, jaymoney. After a little bit more investigating I went ahead and paid for an SSN search via Docusearch. It was super easy and only took about 10 minutes. Not a scam.
So now I'm just hoping he still works there, AND doesn't decide to quit once he sees the wage garnishment. *fingers crossed*
If I were him (just doing devils advocate), I'd quit and work off the books. That's what I advise friends who owe Credit Card companies, etc.. Why WOULDN'T he quit once he saw it?
And by the way, ANY AND ALL DEBTS or negative information is wiped off his 3 Credit report files in 7 Years (except bankruptcy which takes 10).
Just Saying....
That's also helpful information, so thank you Dodge Rams. I'm not as worried about him working off the books...those jobs are harder to find than you might think base on my own experience, and my former tenant has some lofty aspirations (long story), so I don't think those are the jobs he'd tend to gravitate towrads. My problem is even if he does find another job ON the books, I don't know how exactly I'd find that other job.
However a friend of mine suggested putting a lien on him, which I believe will follow him indefinitely. More of an anchor weighing him down than a gun to his head forcing him to pay, but definitely something I would do as a last resort.
That's also helpful information, so thank you Dodge Rams. I'm not as worried about him working off the books...those jobs are harder to find than you might think base on my own experience, and my former tenant has some lofty aspirations (long story), so I don't think those are the jobs he'd tend to gravitate towards. My problem is even if he does find another job ON the books, I don't know how exactly I'd find that other job.
However a friend of mine suggested putting a lien on him, which I believe will follow him indefinitely. More of an anchor weighing him down than a gun to his head forcing him to pay, but definitely something I would do as a last resort.
Thanks. You could do that, but i think all debts are wiped out in 7 Years. I guess he has other aspirations, but I have worked off the books, for LOTS OF MONEY, so those jobs are out there if someone wants them. Even if he got a job ON the books, it is extremely hard to get a garnishment, even for major Credit Card companies with their teams of high-powered lawyers. I have friends who owed, and I advised them to just eat the bad Credit report for 7 Years, call it A Day, and start over.
And even if u did manage to get a garnishment, i don't think they can take more than 10% of his Pay-Check at A Time anyway. And if I ever was hit with a garnishment like that (which I never have been), I'd quit and go off the books, or find a way for my Checks to go to a "family member" to avoid the garnishment anyway. I have friends that have worked out "arrangements" like this.
I guess my point is the ship has probably left the port. Good Luck though, buddy. Take care.
Quitting one's job to avoid a 10-25% garnishment seems pretty extreme. To each his own, I guess.
Debts are not wiped out after 7 years, they just can no longer be reported by credit bureaus after 7 years. The unpaid debt is still valid. The statute of limitations doesn't matter in this case either, as the OP already has a judgment. The only thing that "wipes out" debts, other than paying them or the creditor forgiving them, is bankruptcy.
OP, you should see about having your judgment docketed in Trenton, as this creates a statutory lien on all the debtor's property in NJ. That lasts for 20 years, and you can renew it for another 20. I believe this would also protect your judgment if the debtor does file bankruptcy, but that is definitely something you'd need to talk to a lawyer about.
Personally, I wouldn't bother with a collection agency at this point. If this guy isn't intimidated by a judgment a CA bugging him will mean nothing, and all he has to do is send them a letter telling them to leave him alone and they can't contact him again, but they'd still want their fee from you if he later pays you.
Quitting one's job to avoid a 10-25% garnishment seems pretty extreme. To each his own, I guess.
Debts are not wiped out after 7 years, they just can no longer be reported by credit bureaus after 7 years. The unpaid debt is still valid. The statute of limitations doesn't matter in this case either, as the OP already has a judgment. The only thing that "wipes out" debts, other than paying them or the creditor forgiving them, is bankruptcy.
OP, you should see about having your judgment docketed in Trenton, as this creates a statutory lien on all the debtor's property in NJ. That lasts for 20 years, and you can renew it for another 20. I believe this would also protect your judgment if the debtor does file bankruptcy, but that is definitely something you'd need to talk to a lawyer about.
Personally, I wouldn't bother with a collection agency at this point. If this guy isn't intimidated by a judgment a CA bugging him will mean nothing, and all he has to do is send them a letter telling them to leave him alone and they can't contact him again, but they'd still want their fee from you if he later pays you.
Talking to a lawyer is probably a good idea.
This being Said, I think OP has about 5% chance of ever being Paid in Full, on this debt. In 7 Years, his tenant's Credit report is clear. Garnishments, on regular folks (as opposed to large businesses) are hard to obtain and harder yet to collect on. But have at it, OP. I guess u have not much to lose at this point regardless.
I would advise my friends who have the prospect of a lien, to immediately empty their bank account and move their Cash to a safety deposit box, or such. I have no liens against me, but just being non-trusting of banks, government, etc., in general, I keep my Savings in a S.D. box, personally. I keep Just Enough to cover Monthly Expenses in my Checking account. Keep your Cash "off the grid", and if you have a large potential garnishment, work "off the grid" too. Cumbersome, maybe, but much better than being hit by a big surprise, where big brother reaches in and snatches your Loot!
And yes, if a collection agency ever bugs ya, Tell them to stop contacting you, and they are done. Change your phone no., if need be. They are pests who are easily dispatched.
Thank you for the replies, johnp292 and DodgeRams! Very helpful information from you both, which I appreciate!
The latest development in this saga is that I heard back from the court officer's office whose charge it was to collect the fee on my behalf, and was told that they were informed by the debtor's employer that they were under no legal obligation to garnish his wages as he was an independent contractor with them. The court officer's office advised me to either pursue other avenues, or drop the matter, as they could do nothing more with it (at least with that employer, I'm assuming). Shocked and frustrated is certainly the way I was feeling after that.
One possible upside is that I was able to find out his current address, so my next step is to serve him with an information subpoena, which if he ignores, I can pursue further. I'm wondering if I am entitled/required to collect the additional 10% that would have gone to the court officer from him. After all, the original court officer has nothing more to do with it, but I don't want him to come after me for his fee down the line. This is all assuming that he eventually pays me in the end.
More to follow.
P.S. I don't know why city-data.com stops letting me know about new posts on my thread after a certain amount of time, but such is the reason for the delay in my replies. Apologies.
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