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Question about small claims court
I posted back in Jan. about a girl that was uninsured who hit my car and it was her fault. Since then DH had put the pressure on her to pay us the deductible amount to get my car fixed. He basically told her that he would go to the cops and call an attorney if she didn't pay. She called back and it seemed promising that she would meet us and pay, but then she decided to call our car insurance company and supposedly go thru them to make payments. Since then my ins. company told me that they have sent her to collections and have not heard of payment arrangements on her end yet. I guess they keep it with one collection company for 8 months and then another one for 6 months and I may never see this money.
Anyways, I'm so mad that someone that is responsible enough to carry car insurance ends up being the one that has to pay for what the uninsured should. I just want to take a hammer to her car. I do have her address and phone number. LOL. In all seriousness though, do any of you have experience going to small claims court and had success doing so? My fear is that she wouldn't even show up and I would still not get my money. I just want to make her pay for what she did.
Re: Question about small claims court
You can take her to small claims court but we don't have debtors prisons. They can't make her physically pay. All they can do is order her to pay. Also, I doubt the amount of money owed is worth the hassle of trying to attach a lien to anything. How much money is it?
Basically, I think you need to chalk it up to the price of driving a car. If your insurance can get you the money, then great but my guess is that this woman is judgment proof and going to court will do nothing for you.
yep, i was kinda thinking the same thing. we have a friend who is an attorney and we have thought of having her write her a letter. She owes me $500 and she would owe my insurance company an extra $400. They will pay for the cost of repair after my I pay for my deductible. I have since moved my deductible down to $250 and the next time someone hits me I will not let them leave the scene until i call their insurance company to verify they are insured
I am an insurance agent, and the insurance company is correct in how they are doing this. Any money they receive back from her, will first go back to you to pay back the $500 deductible you paid. They likely are taking her to collections for the full $900 claim.
Just keep in mind that this goes on her criminal record, insurance reports, and damages her credit. So even though she was uninsured, it is going to damage her more through the company than if you just took her to small claims court.
The only time this is more damaging to you is if you never would have filed a claim for it. Then nothing goes back on her. This is also why you have the coverage on your policy called, "uninsured/underinsured motorists" coverage. So many people think they don't need it, because everyone should have insurance, but it's sad how many people out there do not.
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This does make me feel a bit better. State Farm did tell me that they basically report her to the state but I really had no idea what that mean. I went to the cops to see if I could get them to write her a ticket, but they don't do that because all she had to do was show proof of coverage even though she wasn't.
More then likely her license has been suspended also for driving w/o insurance. Every state requires auto insurance.
If you take her to small claims court if you can show the history of how she stiffed you & then isn't making payments to insurance company like agreed & is now in collections, you may be able to get her to payroll deduct the repayment. That is assuming that the individual has a job. Not sure if they can do that to someone that is on unemployement or welfare.
I took a client to small claims court once...it was a lesson in futility. Judgement was in my favor and the client was ordered to pay on his invoice and I still never saw a penny. I could have kept taking him to court and maybe eventually had them deduct money from his income taxes or payroll, but I would have had to go back to court another 1-2 times and I'd already LOST money skipping out on a day of work to attend the first time.
Sorry to say, but I think you'll just have to rely on your insurance company to do their job.
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small claims court is easy without an attorney. i would sue the person owing the money in the county ere she lives. the county court should e a website with free forms to fill out. file the forms at the court and they will tell you how to serve the lawsuit on your debtor. it should cost you bt $75-100. you can probably tack that on to what she owes, depending on your state rules.
when the court date comes, be sure to have your story organized and bring any documents to prove the debtor was liable and how you calculated your damages. your ins company might send a rep to assist you. if debtor does not show, you will most likely get a default judgment. this will protect your rights against the debtor for years.
collecting on a judgment might take some research...but it is not impossible. the law provides ways you can force a person to pay a court judgment. that is the whole purpose of getting one. look up your state statutes on bank and employer garnishments for info. google how to collect a judgment. don't be a victim, be proactive! if you are willing to put the time in to research, you can collect judgments.