Every day in this country, civil lawsuits are resolved by way of court ordered judgments. In so many cases, some sort of monetary award is involved. Enter the concept of judgment collection. Case winners, known as judgment creditors, have a challenging task of collecting from the losing party, now known as the judgment creditor.
It is not unusual for judgment creditors to attempt collection on their own. So many do just that but ultimately fail. And when failure comes, they have but three options:
- Throw up their hands and walk away.
- Turn collection over to an attorney.
- Bring in a collection agency.
Judgment Collectors is a Salt Lake City collection agency that recommends the third option. They say that trying to collect on your own can cost you big time.
You Could Spend a Ton of Money
The first thing collecting on your own could cost you is money. This is not just theoretical. Tracking down debtors and getting them to pay requires a financial investment. It may not be cheap either.
You need to pay for the labor involved. You might pay someone on your own staff or hire an attorney or collection agency. Based on skills and experience, you are likely to pay a lot less by going with a collection agency.
Collecting on Your Own Could Cost Valuable Time
Trying to collect a judgment on your own could cost you valuable time, as well. How valuable is your time? Can you afford to spend it pursuing bad debts in hopes that someday you will get paid?
A lot of clients turn to Judgment Collectors for this very reason. They spend years trying to collect but to no avail. Finally, it dawns on someone with decision-making authority that all the previous time spent has been wasted.
It Could Cost You Your Reputation
Attempting to collect a judgment on your own could even cost you your reputation. How so? By forcing you to take a tough stand against deadbeats who do not pay their bills. You could be perceived as being mean and uncaring. You could be perceived as being greedy or unfair.
Few things are as bad for business as a damaged reputation. A good reputation is probably what brings new customers to your business. Once you have proved you are worthy of that reputation, giving customers any reason to change their minds about your company is not smart.
On the other hand, a judgment collection agency wants a reputation for being tough. They want consumers to know that they don’t take ‘no’ for an answer. They want them to know that their staff has the knowledge, skills, and tools to track down deadbeats no matter where they go.
It’s Probably Not Worth It
Money, time, and your reputation are all important to you. That being the case, trying to collect a judgment in-house is probably not worth it. You can get a much better result in a shorter amount of time by turning the judgment over to a collection agency.
Just remember that all collection agencies are not the same. They can differ in terms of size, scope, procedures, targeted industries, and more. Best of all, there is more than one easy way to successfully collect a bad debt.
If you ever win a civil court case involving a monetary award, don’t try to be a hero by collecting on your own. Turn the job over to professionals who know how to do it right. The eventual outcome will almost certainly be better then what you could achieve as a DIY debt collector.
