Ohio is like most other states when it comes to DIY judgment collection. If you want to pursue collection on your own, you certainly can. Ohio even offers a selection of self-help resources and services designed to make the job easier. But is going the self-help DIY route really a smart move?
We will ultimately leave you to decide that for yourself. We can say that DIY judgment collection has its challenges. So much so that we actively pursue unpaid judgments in Ohio on behalf of clients who have decided, for whatever reason, not to pursue collection on their own.
What DIY Collection Entails
DIY judgment collection in Ohio begins with the judgment itself. You take another party to civil court, win your case, and reap the benefits of a monetary award determined by the court. But now you need to collect that award.
A best-case scenario would involve the debtor immediately paying the full amount with no questions asked. You both go your separate ways and never see each other again. Unfortunately, that rarely happens. So, what do you do?
Without getting into all the details, you would have to know and understand all the rules surrounding Ohio judgment collection. There are waiting periods, deadlines, court documents to file, and so forth. In the absence of immediate and full payment, you basically have three options in Ohio:
- Working out a payment plan or lump sum arrangement
- Garnishing the debtor’s wages and/or bank accounts
- Asking the court for writs of execution against the debtor’s nonexempt property
Each option has its own details to pay attention to. And with the second and third options comes more time spent in court. You will invest additional money, resources, and time in both garnishment and writs of execution.
Your Time and Resources Are Valuable
Whether you are an individual attempting to collect or a business owner or manager, one thing is clear: your time and resources are valuable. You can invest in DIY, self-help judgment collection if you believe that it’s your best option. But you can also work with a judgment collection agency.
Judgment Collectors is one such agency. We are active in Ohio, Utah, and several other states. Our job is to come alongside clients to help them collect outstanding judgments. Most importantly, we do all the heavy lifting. We also do what we do on consignment. That means you do not pay us a penny until we collect. And if we cannot collect, you don’t owe us a thing.
What We Do on Your Behalf
Clients find our services invaluable because of what we actually do for them. Most of what we do clients could certainly do on their own, but they couldn’t do them as efficiently and thoroughly as we do. Collecting judgments is our bread and butter. We make it our business to do the best job possible on behalf of our clients.
If you were to turn your judgment over to us, here is a synopsis of what we would do for you:
- Attempt to contact the debtor to secure payment.
- Investigate debtor-provided details about employment, income, assets, etc.
- Conduct research into assets the debtor might try to hide.
- Employ skip tracing tools if the debtor has seemingly disappeared.
Judgment collection in Ohio is sometimes easy. But more often than not, it is difficult. We cannot say whether self-help DIY collection is in your best interests. But we can say that our agency works hard on behalf of Ohio judgment creditors attempting to collect.