Debt Collection in SC? Anyone with experience?

HHI944 · 11-04-2009, 02:57 PM

OK, first the condensed back story:
Dry cleaner stains 2 of 3 silk shirts dropped off for cleaning.
Dry cleaner attempts to clean both and in process accrues new stains on shirts.
Dry cleaner again attempts to clean and in process starches the he!! out of one and stains the other yet again.
Dry cleaner offers me store credit for value of shirts.
I refuse.
Dry cleaners tells me to F off.
I fax small claims suit to Dry cleaner owner and owners brother, an attorney and additionally listed registered agent of the corporation.
They ignore my fax and demand letter.
I file suit.
Defendants '17 year old son' is served at address on file with secretary of state.
Defendant fails to respond in given 45 days.
I file affidavit for default hearing.
Judge says F it and grants default judgement instead of scheduling a hearing.

Bringing us to today. I don't expect that this clown is actually going to pay. Does anyone have any idea what recourse I have??

legion · 11-04-2009, 03:04 PM

Well, you won't see the money.

You can "gift" them the money. Send them (and the IRS) a 1099 that says you are relieving them of the debt. They now owe taxes on the "gift".

schamp · 11-04-2009, 03:32 PM

We use to have something called a tilltap (sp) where you could have the police serve the judgement and see what was in the cash register. Problem was you had to accept what they found. Could be all of it or just alittle. You might want to look into filing a lein. You are getting to the point you need either a lawyer or a collection agency.

McLovin · 11-04-2009, 04:51 PM

There are lots of things you can do to collect a judgment against an operational business, esp. one that takes in cash on a daily basis.

One issue to consider, though, is letting the judgment "season" a bit, depending on your state's laws. On an unopposed default judgment where the defendant never appeared, if you do grab something they will claim they were never served, or some other lame excuse.

In many states, the arguments available to them start to lessen after certain time periods have passed (like 6 months, a year, etc.)

I'd be a little concerned about your service of the complaint, since it was not directly served, but instead was subserved, and subserved on a minor.

The first step is to determine under your state laws if it strategically best (or required) to provide them with a notice of entry of judgment.

Then, if it is best to try to enforce right away or let it "season."

Once you decide to enforce it, there are many options (they are pretty much substantively the same in all states).

As long as they are operating and not in a bky, and your judgment survives any attack, you WILL be able to collect.

How much is the judgment for?

HHI944 · 11-04-2009, 04:59 PM

400+ court cost, so 486. I was actually a little concerned about the method of service. The business is small and local, and thankfully still operating rather lucratively it appears.
At this point I'd be just as happy causing the owner a little grief as I wouldwith the money. The guy jerked me around for way too damn long and abused my patience and understanding. Thanks fir the advice mclovin, I'll have to do some digging and figure out what to do next.

Gogar · 11-04-2009, 05:05 PM

I'll ignore the elephant and say congratulations, I hope you get get it resolved to your satisfaction.

McLovin · 11-04-2009, 05:07 PM

OK, for that small amount, it's not worth messing around with trying to season the judgment, etc.

If you want to go after them quickly and aggressively on this small amount, here's the 2 things I would consider first (not necessarily in this order):

1) Judgment debtor examination. This is great. You force them to appear at court, and bring a *****load of sensitive financial documents. Their banking records for the past year, their bills, etc. Generally you can get any documents that "aid in the enforcement" of the judgment. They have to show up and answer questions under oath. The main question you would want answered is the location of all their banks, and the numbers of all their bank accounts, including operating accounts, savings, payroll, etc.

Just serving a judgment debtor exam order and doc request is enough to bring many defendants to settle.

If you know their bank accounts, it's pretty easy to levy on them (get the sheriff to get the money from the banks). Yeah, they could close out accounts, try to hide money, etc., but no biz is going to go through all that trouble to evade a $400 judgment.

2) "Till tap." For this, the sheriff (or whoever does it in your state) will go in and sit in the business, usually for a period of several days, if necessary. They will physically take any cash that comes in. They will also open the mail and look for checks, if the checks are to the debtor the sheriff will take them. This is hugely disruptive to a business, and embarassing.

The procedures for doing the above vary from state to state, but you can probably figure it out by researching on the internet first, then physically going down to your courthouse and asking for help. They are usually very helpful. If you are willing to put the time and effort in, you could do this yourself.

HHI944 · 11-04-2009, 08:04 PM

Again, thanks for the info. It appears that for either I will have to go back to the Magistrate court. A tilltap appears to be pretty simple I would just need a Writ of Execution from the Judge and most likely she will want some proof that the defendant has refused to settle the judgement. I believe I will fax a copy of the judgement along with a demand letter to the owner and his brother tomorrow giving them a very clear deadline.

HHI944 · 11-04-2009, 08:05 PM

It also appears that in SC they won't go to the location multiple times, the SD will just seize property on the premises to sell off, give me the money owed and return any excess.

stomachmonkey · 11-05-2009, 04:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HHI944

Again, thanks for the info. It appears that for either I will have to go back to the Magistrate court. A tilltap appears to be pretty simple I would just need a Writ of Execution from the Judge and most likely she will want some proof that the defendant has refused to settle the judgement. I believe I will fax a copy of the judgement along with a demand letter to the owner and his brother tomorrow giving them a very clear deadline.

Send a copy return receipt or FedEx with signature required as well.

cashflyer · 11-05-2009, 06:31 AM

My experience in SC with a magistrates judgment is that it is worth less than the time it took you to get the judgment. Best wishes to you.

And stop doing any of this by fax.
Certified mail with return receipt, or FedEx with signature required.

Personally, since he jerked you around, I think you should return the favor. Take whichever course of action causes him the absolute most disruption to his business. Perhaps drop a dime on the issue to the local newspaper. "Local service provider damages customer's property and refuses to make restitution."