How do you take someone to collections or force them to repay?

[fuzzybabybunny]

About 3/4 of a year ago my family made a large purchase from a person living in Florida. He never delivered, and said he couldn't repay us because he was bankrupt (he got scammed by someone at around the same time).

3/4 of a year later, after many unfulfilled promises of repayment, this guy has yet to send back even a single partial payment, and my family's getting fed up. We contacted our state's attorney general, but all they did was send the guy emails, which he never replied to. When he was receiving these emails he contacted me and told me to "call off the dogs" so that we may work this out informally, or else my family and I would be forced to take him to court and probably spend a lot of money doing so. We agreed to try to do this informally, and half a year later, we haven't gotten anything back.

During this time the guy claimed that he was going to file a lawsuit against Stormpay because it was refusing him access to his money or something. That was two months ago.

We've decided to just take this to court. The amount of money involved is $20,000. How should we go about doing this? What kind (what field) of attorney should we hire? Are there policies where a person can't pay where they start to auction off his stuff?

 

[Rastus]

For that amount of money, sue him.

If he filed bankruptcy and listed you, you will have to take what the bankruptcy judge has designated for you (sometimes nothing).

If he didn't list you, go for the full amount.

It sounds like he's a contractor. Those guys are good at playing the game. The shady one's usually have everything in someone else's name, so you can't go after their assets.

Get a judgement, then go to a collection agency.

edit: The Florida thing is a red flag too. A lot of people live in Florida because their property is protected. (O. J. Simpson)

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: Rastus
For that amount of money, sue him.

If he filed bankruptcy and listed you, you will have to take what the bankruptcy judge has designated for you (sometimes nothing).

If he didn't list you, go for the full amount.

It sounds like he's a contractor. Those guys are good at playing the game. The shady one's usually have everything in someone else's name, so you can't go after their assets.

Get a judgement, then go to a collection agency.

edit: The Florida thing is a red flag too. A lot of people live in Florida because their property is protected. (O. J. Simpson)

How do I go about sueing? We have absolutely no legal experience so we are completely new at this

How do we "get a judgement" and what does it mean if he "lists" us?

 

[Rastus]

Hire a lawyer. This can't be done by most people without one. If you are in another state, look for one that is licensed in Florida. If you can't find a Florida licensed lawyer, your lawyer will then hire one, increasing the legal bills.

Unfortunately, you might not have recourse. But the only way to tell is to lawyer up.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: Rastus
Hire a lawyer. This can't be done by most people without one. If you are in another state, look for one that is licensed in Florida. If you can't find a Florida licensed lawyer, your lawyer will then hire one, increasing the legal bills.

Unfortunately, you might not have recourse. But the only way to tell is to lawyer up.

Ok. What kind of lawyer should we hire? Criminal? Business?

 

[jlbenedict]

First off: Was there any sort of contract, paperwork, etc, that outlined the details of the transaction? Anything stating what you were to recieve for your $20,000 purchase?

This would pretty much seal the deal in court, so its pretty important to have this documented.

I hope for a $20k transaction, it wasn't verbal or hearsay

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: jlbenedict
First off: Was there any sort of contract, paperwork, etc, that outlined the details of the transaction? Anything stating what you were to recieve for your $20,000 purchase?

This would pretty much seal the deal in court, so its pretty important to have this documented.

I hope for a $20k transaction, it wasn't verbal or hearsay

Yes, there was an invoice and the guy was operating under a business. Not sure what kind of business, whether it be an LLC, sole proprietership, etc.

 

[Rastus]

Get a lawyer that specializes in civil law.

Look up lawyer referal in your phone book. They are usually run by the bar association. They will steer you to the proper type of lawyer.

Usually, a lawyer will listen to your case without charging you, but after you hire him, he will charge you from $150 to $450 per hour every time you talk to him, or if he looks at anything related to your case.

 

[EagleKeeper]

If he filed bankruptcy after he owed you money, he may have listed you on the forms as someone that he owes money to and wants to either repay it partially, or not at all.

If you were listed, then you should have received a notice on the filing and shown up at the hearing.

If you were not listed, you still can go after him for the full amount.

If the debt was after he filed, then you also can go after him.

That amount exceed the small claims court.

The clerk of court could provide you with advice; however, the papers would have to be filed.

As stated above, Fla can be very protective about lawsuits with respect to bankruptcy.

But from what you stated; bankrupt was used as a figure of speech rather than the actual item.

The leagle judgement will come from filing a lawsuit in court for the amount owed. You may be able to do that yourself. The paperwork is not much different than small claims court.

You will have to have the papers served on the perp and you will have to show up in court to state your case.

If the perp shows; then the court will decide guilt and penalty - you will have to have all the evidence air tight with you to present to the court.

The court may also award you court costs that you incurred if the defendant (perp) is found liable.

Getting a judgement is different than getting the money. Once you get a judgement, then you have a legal basis to chase the $$$.

A collection agency could be used; wage/bank account garnishments, etc.
Some of the ways can be identified by the court (time and paperwork, costs), others by professionals in the business.