I hired a judgment recovery company to collect monies owed to me, what can I do when they refuse to return my calls

Most likely they collected nothing and gave up. Some of them, maybe most of them, are in the business of collecting on the easy ones and dropping all the rest. There are several things you can do. First, depending on the circumstances, it might be practical to ask the defendant/debtor whether anyone has ever collected. Second, you can check the case file in the clerk's office to see if anyone has filed an acknowledgement of satisfaction of judgment. Although the absence of that document doesn't prove anything, the presence of the document is good proof.. Third, you can give the case to a different judgment recovery company and let them run with it. Fourth, you can do your own collection efforts, attaching assets and whatever, and see if the debtor objects. If you have evidence that they collected, send them a certified mail letter demanding the money and sue them if you don't get it.

This answer must not be relied on as legal advice for the reasons posted here: http://davidphipps.com/docs/Disclaimer.doc . And I am not your attorney.

David

This is a difficult question to answer since there is really no regulatory or oversight agency involving judgment recovery firms. In other words, it is difficult to enlist a third party to obtain a simple answer to your question. I do not know what contract you signed with the firm (this would need to be reviewed) but if you have not sold or assigned the debt or if the contract does not prohibit you from contacting the judgment debtor directly and simply collecting the judgment yourself, I would advise doing so. I think your instincts are incorrect, your calls are not being returned most likely because nothing has been accomplished.

The company must complete a satisfaction of judgment notice and provide it to the court where the judgement was entered. I would first check with the court to see if they already did that. If they did it will also list the amount collected. I would send them a copy of it and demand payment. if they have not filed the satisfaction letter with the court yet, you can have someone contact the debtor and ask if they have already issued payment and to provide you with copy. I will tell you that in my state of Florida you must by law file the satisfaction of judgment notice with the court when you collect. Ask your court clerk if they must file it in your area, if they do let them know you are going to report them to the court. I hope this helps. Good luck

If you sign an agreement with their judgment recovery company you can use this to your advantage and file a lawsuit against their firm.