Would you be surprised to learn that most money judgments in this country are never collected? It’s true. And unfortunately, far too many judgment creditors give up too easily. Giving up is the absolute worst option for enforcing a money judgment.

Giving up and walking away equals handing a victory to an uncooperative judgment debtor. In my opinion, a creditor should never even take the debtor to court if the chances of being paid are slim. Better to just forget the debt than go to court, win a judgment, and then fail to enforce it.

Why Creditors Give Up

All of this begs the question as to why judgment creditors give up. The experts at Salt Lake City’s Judgment Collectors explain that it’s not just one thing. A variety of factors add up to frustrate creditors until they no longer have the will to continue.

Here are just some of the challenges judgment creditors face:

• Inaccurate or incomplete information from debtors.
• Debtor delay tactics (often advised by attorneys).
• Lack of meaningful debtor assets and income.
• A debtor moving away and not leaving forwarding information.

The really sad thing is that experienced debtors know how to play the game. They purposely delay in hopes of frustrating creditors to the point of giving up. Some of their delay tactics are even enhanced by their attorneys.

Time Is the Enemy

Here is another important thing judgment debtors know: time is the creditor’s enemy. Every day an outstanding judgment is not paid is another day a debtor needs to employ their favorite delay tactics. As time goes on, judgments become harder to collect.

This also frustrates creditors. Working on a judgment for years is enough to make any creditor lose hope of ever being paid. But that is what debtors are counting on. They employ delay tactics for that very reason.

Not giving up can ultimately turn the tables on a debtor. Imagine a creditor in the sixth year of trying to enforce a judgment with a seven-year statute of limitations. The debtor has had to make some sacrifices to stay ahead of the creditor over the years. He figures he can wait just one more year and be in the clear.

The creditor can turn the tables by renewing the judgment for another seven years. It instantly tells the debtor that he is not going to win. Does he really want to spend the next seven years trying to avoid payment? Perhaps not.

The Judgment Proof Exception

Everything you have read so far assumes that judgment debtors purposely delay in hopes of eventually forcing creditors to give up and walk away. But there are exceptions to this scenario. Those exceptions are rooted in judgment proof debtors.

As a judgment collection agency, Judgment Collectors has dealt with this before. They say that judgment proof debtors have very little income and no assets of value. In addition, they do not appear to have any future prospects. They are judgment proof because getting money from them is like getting blood from a stone.

A Little Research Beforehand

A little research prior to going to court could reveal whether an individual is judgment proof. Should that be the case, going to court could be pointless. It is better to forget the issue than go to court, win, and never be able to collect.

After the fact, giving up is the worst option for enforcing a judgment. Not only does giving up cost the creditor dearly, but it also encourages the debtor to continue the behavior that led to the original court case.