Q&A: How do I start a collections process? Colorado Real Estate Attorney Boyd Rolfson Answers
How do I start a collections process?
Starting a collection process can be difficult because there are various laws that govern the collection process along the way. The first thing is to determine who you are collecting from. Are you collecting from an individual who’s a consumer? Or you collecting from a business? Because the processes differ. If it is on an individual who’s a consumer, the collection process is guided not only by the Colorado collection statutes but also a federal collection statute.
That requires the collecting party to send out a thirty-day notice, which requires certain language to be in that notice, and to send out allowing the debtor, or the person they’re collecting from, to dispute the debt that you’re collecting, and offers them a way, gives them thirty days to dispute that debt. And if they do dispute it, then the collector must then provide the proof of debt, or validate that debt that they’re collecting before they can begin any collection process. If the thirty days pass, and the debtor does not dispute the debt, in any way after that time period has passed, if the debt has not been resolved, then the creditor, or person collecting the debt, may then go to court and file a collection action in the proper court, depending on the size of the debt, and seek a judgment. And once a judgment is obtained then there are various ways to collect on that judgment through wage garnishment through employment, garnish mints through credit checks and basically searching for ways to seek assets to collect on that judgment.
The collection process can be difficult to navigate. There’s a lot of traps, and if someone violates the collection statutes or the federal statutes, which you called the FDCPA, there could be penalties and damages that are assessed on the creditor trying to collect that debt. Therefore, it is highly advised to engage an attorney and to seek legal counsel. Robinson and Henry can help you to navigate the difficult statutes, the proper notices, and all that is required to collect on your debt. In addition, Robinson and Henry has the resources and the skills and the experience to, once you do obtain a judgment, to seek assets from the debtor and to be able to collect on those assets.
Call us today at 303-688-0944 to schedule your case assessment with one of Robinson & Henry’s Real Estate Attorneys.