Posted by James Miller on 8/22/07 1:19pm
Msg #207010

Small Claims Court to Collect?

Has anyone ever had to go to small claims court to collect a notary fee? If so, what was your experience? I did a closing on 4/30 and have not been able to collect yet, although I was promised a check last week after no return of phone messages and e-mails. However, still nothing!

Jim in MI

Reply by OR on 8/22/07 1:25pm
Msg #207014

Why not contact to LO they are always a lot of help.

Reply by KKinNoCal on 8/22/07 2:35pm
Msg #207027

Find out the laws in your state. a handy book is" Everybody's guide to small claims court" published by Nolo. The first requirement is a demand letter. I find 9 times out of 10. if you say, this is your demand letter, and i am going to file in small claims court by XXX date. That will usually gets you paid. Be sure to add a " late charge' not a court charge which is not allowed in my State. This will cover your filing charges if it goes that far. If you don't get a check after your demand letter. File in court--- Getting served will most likely get you paid!

Reply by Leonard Texas Mobile Notary Services on 8/22/07 4:15pm
Msg #207053

As part of our Notary services we a Civil Process Servers. Once a person is served to appear they almost always look for a way out of going to court BUT remember it will cost you to have service. We charge between $55 and $95 depending on the type of service, so subtract that from your money owed because odds are you will not get that back in court. Some people try to serve process themselves but it is not a good idea, let someone who is trained give the papers so the service is done correctly.

Reply by KKinNoCal on 8/22/07 5:04pm
Msg #207069

In California you can serve the papers by cetified mail..so that is under ten bucks, I got a guy served for 35.00. That is why I said add a late charge to cover costs and be familiar with your state laws. I also was awarded 150.00 in court costs, so that covered all my expenses.

Reply by BrendaTx on 8/22/07 7:52pm
Msg #207092

**As part of our Notary services we a Civil Process Servers. Once a person is served to appear they almost always look for a way out of going to court BUT remember it will cost you to have service. We charge between $55 and $95 depending on the type of service, so subtract that from your money owed because odds are you will not get that back in court. Some people try to serve process themselves but it is not a good idea, let someone who is trained give the papers so the service is done correctly.**

Aside from a private process server, in Texas the sheriff's department personnel are able to do it.

Just pay the fee and request service at the time you file the petition. Usually around $45 per person.

If you win the case you don't lose the money for the service. With good records and a clear petition setting out the problem and requesting costs of suit and court your settlement should be equitable. Your fee can be collected from the entity who owes you money as judgment for pushing it to that limit. Otherwise, what would be the incentive to go ahead and pay before court. Court is there to give you what you are owed, not what you want to collect.

If you have to spend money to get the people to court then you are likely going to collect that as well as what they owe you.

But back to the Sheriff's dept...these days they send a certified letter and let the party know they have a petition to pick up at the Sheriff's dept. You go and pick it up and "boom" you are served. If you don't pick it up, the Sheriff's office will deliver it to you.

If you are suing someone in small claim's court, the JP's staff/court can tell you how to perfect service on the respondent/defendant.

It's not rocket science and is easily learned from checking with your county government.

I don't serve process any more because I work full time but at the small claim's court level you should be able to get assistance online.

Here's an overview of how to go through the small claim court procedure in Texas.
http://texnotary.com/tooltime/small_claims_court_procedure.htm

Reply by Leonard Texas Mobile Notary Services on 8/23/07 3:43am
Msg #207161

Service through the Sheriff's Department can take weeks (if it's served at all). $45 is about right from that method but you get what you pay for. It sure sounds easy on paper but proper service is required to make it binding. We have four people that keep pretty busy with all types of paperwork as notaries, signing agents and servers.

Reply by BrendaTx on 8/23/07 5:44am
Msg #207163

**Service through the Sheriff's Department can take weeks (if it's served at all). $45 is about right from that method but you get what you pay for.**

That's the truth. When I was a litigation legal secretary years ago I always had a favorite process server to get the job done asap and not when the SO got to it. That was about the time the SO started using the certified mail method.

However, we are talking about people who have never dealt with the court here...they need the simplest route possible to get the job done. And we are also talking about small claims, not TROs or divorce suits where there's a hearing on the TRO tomorrow morning. Leonard, to me and you it's quite simple to file a petition, request the service, have the citation issued, picked up and served by a private service, however, to a person who is a novice in the court system the court clerk's assistance can be your best friend. And, we are talking about business people on the receiving end (not deadbeat parents) who just might pick up their mail and realize that they need to get business taken care of before costs continue to mount up.

The point is that the people here need to know where to start and they need not be afraid to jump in and start the process of suing in small claims court. The JP court is the route to go in Texas in order to get hands on assistance.

Perhaps if the curious here don't know how to perfect service you can guide them through the part in their petition where they need to request citation issue and be prepared so that a private process server can pick it up and get it delivered...or how to locate process service out of town.

It's easy if you have knowledge of these things but difficult if you have not been through the process.

Reply by Sandy_MD on 8/22/07 5:49pm
Msg #207076

This only works if you can find the company. I did a closing for No-Doze on 4/12, and I can not get a line thru to them, I sent a register letter to Christopher Warren who is listed as the Agent for service Process but the letter came back undeliverable. Anyone have any ideas on how to collect form them or is it a lost cause?

Reply by Leonard Texas Mobile Notary Services on 8/22/07 7:19pm
Msg #207088

If you have their phone number do a reverse number search to get an address. Or try public utility records and also check with the county clearks office for a DBA record and get an address off that.