Two Judgments - Should I Hire Someone to Collect

[WayneFen]

My question involves judgment recovery in the State of: Pennsylvania.

We have 2 judgments against a contractor who worked on our home. He had us sign 2 contracts (one each for separate parts of the work) -- so, we pursued against each and were awarded the max in each - $8k + costs.

This was 4 years ago last month. So, he now owes us a total of more than $19k with interest added in.

He has called me a few times each year, to tell me he's feeling bad about owing the money, but hasn't ponied up a single dime yet. Even $50 here and $100 there would mean more than a guilt-ridden phone call.

He has some equipment he's had for years that might have value and I'm thinking he might even have a bank account as well. He lives 40 miles away and I'm not familiar with the area, but I do have his cell phone # and his old address, etc.

From your experience and knowledge, how would you proceed to collect on the judgments?

1) Hire someone to locate his assets - then go to the local DJ and file the appropriate paperwork to have them attached, etc.?
2) Hire someone to take over the judgment and let them do the asset search and collect? (This one can be costly, but 1/2 of $19k is better than 100% of nothing.)

Does anyone have any recommendations as to how you'd proceed? Is there anywhere I can research what I need to know?

I've consulted with an attorney friend who - of course - recommended against even getting the judgments because they are rarely satisfied - but I needed someone to validate the torture he put us through.

I'm looking for the most effective way to get whatever I can out of him now - without jeopardizing all that he owes us.

I look forward to your replies.

[Betty3]

The easy part is getting the judgment. Many times it is not so easy to collect. If you believe it is worth it, having someone collect it for you can work best.

[WayneFen]

Does anyone have a recommendation of either a respectable judgment collection firm or would you recommend looking for a local?

Are there such things?

[MSGB]

My recommendation would be to determine if the contractor owns any assets. Any reputable private investigator can do this, for a fee, of course. If you would like a recommendation, PM me and I will give you a referral to a company I have used in the past. Once you determine what the assets are, then you can go after them.