How to serve someone? service to a p.o. box??

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by babystink, Jan 26, 2008.

  1. babystink

    babystink Active Member

    I intend to file a claim in scc against a person who owes me several hundred dollars and refuses to pay or work out a settlement or payment plan. She knows I intend to do this as I have mailed a "demand for payment" letter via cmrrr. My next step will be to proceed with paperwork to file a claim. The problem is on how to get the summons served. I think she either has moved or will move soon, to an unknown address, to stay with a friend to avoid service. I do have a p.o. box address that she uses. How can I make sure the service part of this process works? Can I have her served at her work location? If I serve her at her previous address, and she has moved and is not there to accept the summons, then will that work in that she never provided me with a forwarding street address? Do I absolutely need to find out where she physically is located in order to make this work?

    We both reside in GA and in the same county. Thanks.
     
  2. Dumb Bob

    Dumb Bob Well-Known Member

    She is skipping over a couple of hundred dollars and you are giving chase? Dumb Bob is dumbfounded.

    I suspect you should look at the court rules to see how you are supposed to serve someone in the court that you are using.
     
  3. jlynn

    jlynn Well-Known Member

    Exactly right.
     
  4. apexcrsrv

    apexcrsrv Well-Known Member

    You can serve her where she works. That is probably the easiest way given the circumstances.
     
  5. babystink

    babystink Active Member

    The amount is $493.91 - right at $500. I wouldn't bother with a $200 matter but $500 is another matter altogether. This person owes me additional money for other things but the vet bills are the only ones I think I can rpove in court. So it is also a matter of "principle."
     
  6. Dumb Bob

    Dumb Bob Well-Known Member

    I don't oppose you suing to get paid $2 if you want to. The part I couldn't figure out is that you made it seem like she was skipping over a few hundred dollars. That seemed unlikely.

    Keep in mind that the judgment might be the easy part. She probably won't just pay, given that she's not already just paid. Does she have defenses, for example, does she think that the quality of the service was susect or something like that.

    As a general rule, YOU can't personally do the serving, but read the rules. I would think you just have to find her, and at work seems to be a good place to do that. Later you can garnish her pay or just remove money from her bank account. Of course don't make a mistake doing this stuff as it tends to make people mad and they can sue you back. And remember that you are involving a bank or an employer and they probably really would rather not be involved. They are also likely to have access to their own lawyers.

    No one here can help you as much as you reading the rules can help you. Even if someone here is a lawyer, they probably aren't a lawyer that knows exactly what your court rules mean. If you read the rules, you could start out with questions that could be built on.

    Good luck to the extent you are the person who is right in this action.
     
  7. babystink

    babystink Active Member

    her defense...

    her "defense" would be that she thought I was "giving" her the money for the vet bills. She may claim it was a gift. Fact: we never discussed repayment at the time due to the stress and emergency nature of the situation. The dog was sick and needed medical care. She was borke- someone had to take the dog to the vet. I honestly thought she would come through and pay me back later. Later turned into 6 months with not even a mention of repaying. I've asked for it directly, verbally and in a letter - and she refuses all communication with me at this point. I realize I will have to prove in court that it wasn't a gift. But the fact is that it wasn't.
     
  8. Hedwig

    Hedwig Well-Known Member

    It's going to be hard to prove that if you didn't have her sign a promissory note or something. It will be a case of "he said, she said" and I would expect the judge to throw it out.

    But I could be wrong.
     
  9. enigma

    enigma Well-Known Member

    Actually, the OP might be in a better position since it was an emergency.

    Some thoughts:

    Besides the vet bill, what are your filing and service of process fees going to cost you? After you get your judgment there will be fess to record, certify, etc.

    After all of that, are you able to garnish her wages or bank account? Is that allowed in your state if she were to meet certain exceptions?

    One thought is to write her again and tell her that you are going to write it off as a bad debt and 1099-Misc her and let her and the IRS sort it out.

    That might shake her a little.
     
  10. Dumb Bob

    Dumb Bob Well-Known Member

    I think that if it is a family member, the presumption is gift and if there is no relation, the presumption is that you'll be paying them back. That's probably only a guildline, if I'm even right. If Ms "Babystink" paid the vet bill with a check, she's got a record. Can person she loaned it to show it was paid back?
     
  11. babystink

    babystink Active Member

    I have my receipts and canceled checks showing I paid for the vet bills. The dog owner cannot show proof she re-paid me because that hasn't happened. I can garnish her bank and/or wages here in GA. I have her bank info, employment info and her ssn#. The IRS 1099 angle is a good one- I'll have to research that in case the judge throws out the scc claim. It will cost $74 to file and $25 for service. But it is worth it to me because this person has failed to pay me for a few other things that I'll never recover- again, it is the principle of her decision to just ignore it that drives me crazy. She makes good money, lives well - yet has refused to repay me for helping her out during a time when she was broke. I honestly want to follow thru even if I recover only $50. Thanks for the advice.
     
  12. enigma

    enigma Well-Known Member

    Based on the circumstances, then I wish you well.
     
  13. apexcrsrv

    apexcrsrv Well-Known Member

    I can't blame you Babystink . . . we've done what you're contemplating a few times. Sometimes it was worth it however, we usually regretted it.

    If the other person doesn't file an Answer, it will be worth it for you. If they fight it, not so much.
     

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