Here’s the context of that question.
I was on a discussion group for folks interested in operating Collection Agencies. The founder of the group had actually started her own agency from home and now helps others do that.
Someone posed the question… “What about collecting child support?”
I happen to know the county deputy assigned to the district attorney’s child support division here so I am answering this question based on information “straight from the horse’s mouth”…
1. You must realize that enforcing child support orders is now a well funded government bureacracy complete with a district attorney assigned to this one specific task in each county or region. Why? It’s a way for the government to reduce welfare expenditures… for folks wanting “family assistance” here in TN, one’s required to let the D.A. collect child support. No child support enforcement, no “family assistance”.
2. The penalty for not paying is jail time. And it’s used so frequently here one judge called the child support law “a life sentance served 6 months at a time” for some who fall hopelessly behind. They assume that all folks behind on child support really have wads of cash and 6 months’ jail time will drag it out of them. Many times it doesn’t. It’s America’s last vestige of the debtor’s prison.
3. Professionals and others who can avoid the jail time face the inability to renew professional and business licenses and the inability to renew their passports until they pay up. Probably commercial driver’s licenses are up for grabs too… anything that bites at the other person’s ability to move or make a living are fair game.
State and federal tax refunds are regularly intercepted and wage and unemployment benefits garnishments are routine.
So my question is… what debt collection agency can really apply more leverage than this (legally)? Nobody.
But there’s more that makes this an insane proposition in my estimation.
Once a child support order of enforcement has been filed, the person paying MUST pay through the local state office. There are no exceptions.
If a person owing child support tries to get around this provison and pays the other person cash (even if they get a receipt from them) or pays by check, the district attorney’s office is allowed to consider these GIFTS and prosecute the person for the full amount!
Now, how do child support collection agencies work?
On commission… usually 25% to 50%.
So – at least in my state and I’ll bet YOUR STATE soon if not already – someone paying a collection agency a past due child support payment will
1. Not have ANY part of their payment credited
2. May be able to SUE the collection agency for presuming to collect on this debt when in the cases outlined above the only entity entitled to collect is a government agency.
One person on the list said they ran an ad for this service, got a lot of calls, and then asked “what do I do now?”
Please, check with your local district attorney before you get yourself in big trouble and expose yourself to liability for collecting a payment that cannot be legally credited for purposes of absolving the debtor and for which the state will likely resent your commission being subtracted.
No comments yet.