Arizona Bad Debt Collection Lawyer

What Makes a Good Lawsuit as an Arizona bad debt collection lawyer?

Before you send an account for suit, here are a few things to keep in mind as professional Arizona bad debt collection lawyers:

• The account balance
• The age of the account
• The service address and a debtor who is a "fixed target." (Illegal aliens operating under assumed names do not make for rapid recovery.)
• Available assets or bank accounts to attach or wages to garnish. Arizona is a Community Property State. If the debt is arguably a "Community Debt," we would also want to name the spouse as a Co-Respondent so that we can execute upon her assets, wages, etc.

Some people get confused about when to send an account to a Arizona bad debt collection lawyer or as Arizona Debt Collection Attorneys versus when to send it to a collection agency. You should use a collection agency to track down your customer and any assets they may have, or when the account is small. Use an attorney when you already know where the debtor can be located, when the balance is at least $500, and you have an asset to attach.

The average lawsuit costs at least $100.00 to file and serve, regardless of whether the balance is $100.00 or $9,999.99. Trust us as Arizona Bad Debt Collection Attorneys.

You need to know a good "service address" for the debtor. In order to sue someone, we must have a physical address so we can have our process server deliver the lawsuit to your debtor in person. It doesn't matter if the address you have is their residence or place of business, but we will need a service address for all debtors listed.

Lastly, you need to have an asset that you want us to attach once we get Judgment. Attachable assets include items such as wages, bank accounts, and property owned (e.g. the debtor owns a home). If the only asset they have is a home, we will file a lien and Arizona Collection Letter against it. This doesn't mean we will take their house from them, it just gives notice to a title company that, if the debtor sells or refinances their home, your debt may get paid.

The age of the account is important. In Arizona, if you do not have a written promise to pay (i.e. a signed financial agreement), you only have 3 years from the date of service to file suit. If you have a signed agreement to pay, that time limit jumps up to 6 years from the date they signed the agreement. Once that time has passed, you've lost your ability to file any legal action to collect your account. Getting the debtor to make a payment on the account does not necessarily "restart the clock" for you, but getting them to sign a new financial agreement does. Please read more about Arizona Commercial Collection.

Most debtors don't just voluntarily start paying once you have sued them. A large portion of the accounts we receive are collected involuntarily through the attachment of an asset, the most common of which is a garnishment. Let one of our Arizona bad debt collection lawyers assist you with your case.