Your company has been working with a number of deadbeat customers trying to collect outstanding invoices. Your efforts so far have failed, so you are considering civil court. Your hope is that obtaining civil judgments against these customers will finally result in you getting what you are owed. But how much do you really know about winning a judgment?
Winning does not guarantee payment. In fact, winning a judgment is just the first step in the long journey to get paid. You could win a judgment six months from now and still be waiting for your money five years down the road. We are here to help you collect what you are owed as quickly and hassle-free as possible. It is what we do.
An Uncooperative Debtor
We would never try to dissuade a company from taking deadbeat customers to court. Sometimes that is the only recourse for getting paid. But understand this one thing: if you are filing a civil lawsuit against a customer who hasn’t paid his bill, you are already dealing with an uncooperative debtor.
You could get lucky and discover that the debtor suddenly cooperates once there is an official judgment against him. But don’t place any big wagers on that being the outcome. More often than not, debtors are not waiting in the lobby outside the courthouse with checkbook in hand.
Reasons for Not Paying
Having to go to court is evidence that a customer has not paid his bill. Why is that? It is helpful to know the reasons because they can influence whether a debtor cooperates with collection efforts after a judgment is entered.
Debtors do not pay their bills for numerous reasons:
- They legitimately don’t have the money.
- They dispute the legitimacy of the bill.
- They have pressing bills to pay.
- They just want to be belligerent.
- They treat avoiding payment like a game.
Regardless of the reason, it’s reasonable to expect a debtor to continue avoiding payment even after a judgment is entered. Does that mean you should not file a lawsuit to begin with? Not necessarily. It just means that you need to be prepared for long-term collection efforts.
Letting Someone Else Collect
From our perspective, letting someone else collect on your behalf is the best way to go. We think your best option is a collection agency that specializes in judgments. That is exactly what we do here at Judgment Collectors. We collect on behalf of individuals, companies, and other entities that trust us to do the work for them.
We also recommend turning judgments over to a collection agency the minute the gavel falls. The sooner a collection agency can get to work, the more likely collection efforts will succeed. The opposite is also true. Waiting to turn an unpaid judgment over to a collection agency only reduces the chances of getting paid.
Collection Can Take Time
It is also important to bring a collection agency in as quickly as possible due to the fact that collection can take time. On rare occasions, judgment debtors are ready and willing to enter into voluntary payment plans immediately following litigation. But such circumstances are the exception to the rule.
In most cases, judgment creditors need to initiate contact with the debtor. They must maintain that contact as well. There are also property records to investigate, income and bank accounts to look at, and more. It’s a time-consuming process that can almost be a full-time job unto itself.
Winning a judgment doesn’t guarantee getting paid. In fact, it is just the first step on a potentially long journey.