Parent Owes over $300, What Can I do?

[momma2girls]

I've also had to take families to small claims court...even won...but that doesn't guarantee payment. The two families I took to court got judgments against them but both are lower income so no one collects....both judgments are at collection agencies and no one has collected a dime because the parents don't have the money. The collection agency can't garnish their checks either because one switches jobs like toilet paper rolls in a public restroom and another is low income and you can't collect from people who are below the poverty level. This was 12 years ago and I ended up just writing it off as a loss. Now I am pre-paid ONLY! I also know a fellow provider who uses a pretty aggressive collection agency instead of small claims court and it seems to have good results.

This must be a state thing. One of my families, we had to garnish her wages, I eventually got paid, it too awhile though.

[Unregistered]

I have had to do this as well. Once you take them to court as long as you have a signed contract you will win. If she does not show, you automatically win everything asked for. If she does show the judge may ask for a compromise like deducting late fees or similar from the total. She will then have 30 days to pay for the fees. If she does not you can start proceedings to have the money garnished by her employer or taxes.

This is not true not all states garnish wages or taxes it varies by state. Also there is limitions in some states as far as you suing her for the money dont wait to long. I would also send her a letter telling her the money is owed by (date) and if she doesnt comply you will be taking her to court.

[boysx5]

I also get prepaid and if I don't get the money the child cannot stay I do have great families now so not a problem but I still inforce it otherwise they will walk all over you

[MyAngels]

This is some general information for anyone who is having trouble getting paid by a former client. I used to work for an attorney's office that handled collection matters, so my experience there is where this comes from.

The first thing that all providers who use a contract should do is add to the section involving your payment policies that, should you have to pursue payment, you will add attorneys fees and collection costs to the amount due.

There are many ways to collect if you can get a judgment against someone.

You can garnish wages, which is probably the easiest, but in most states there are some limitations on how much you can get if they are low income.

You can levy a bank account, which is a better choice if you have an idea of when there will be funds in the account (maybe on or the first day after payday). You can do this multiple times if you need to, to collect the amount in full. Once is normally enough, though, to get their attention. I always make a note of the banking information of all of my clients periodically just in case I should ever need this information later. Fortunately I've never had to use it.

You can also record a copy of the judgment at the recorder's office in any county that they might own property. In order to sell the property they will have to satisfy the judgment (pay you), so this is more of a long term solution. This is also picked up by the credit bureaus, so it will damage their credit.

I live in Illinois, so some of these may be specific to my state, but I would imagine that most states have similar laws.

I would consult an attorney, find out what you can and cannot do, then send a letter, certified mail return receipt requested, outlining what you plan to do to enforce your contract. If they think you are serious about collection they may be more willing to work with you. If they do not respond, sue them, get the judgment and proceed to collect in any way necessary.

Again, as a disclaimer, I'm not an attorney (nor do I play one on TV : so it would be a good idea, for all providers really, to sit down with an attorney when you are drafting or reviewing your contracts, so that you will be prepared with what you can and can't do to collect in the event you need to.

ETA: Illinois also allows you to add interest to a judgment amount as well. I'm not sure what the current rate is, but it used to be 9%.

[Blackcat31]

Once, loooong ago before I had my own childcare business, I worked at a childcare where the owner had a problem with a parent that owed her like $200. This provider would call and leave hundreds of messages with no response. She even drove over to parents house (parent lived in a huge apartment complex) and knocked and knocked. She knew parent was home but she refused to answer the door because she knew who was there and what she wanted. After this went on for a few months, the provider went out and bought a large neon green poster board. On the poster board she wrote:
DEAR JILL;
I WAS HERE TODAY TO COLLECT THE $200 YOU OWE ME FOR CHILDCARE. I AM HAVING TROUBLE GETTING A HOLD OF YOU SO I HOPE THIS HELPS! SIGNED,
LISA
She posted this "note" on her apartment door and well, wouldn't you know Jill was at her house the next day and paid in full!!!
She said she had only done that twice (once to Jill) and another time she left a hot pink "note" on a daycare dad's truck and both times the parent paid up rather QUICKLY!!! ::

[SandeeAR]

[QUOTE=MyAngels;62229] I always make a note of the banking information of all of my clients periodically just in case I should ever need this information later. QUOTE]


I make a copy of each check when paid, for my file. I even copy the cash one client uses to pay me each week. Note the childs name and date paid on it.