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Process Servers and Post-Judgment Collection Efforts

Sometimes life happens, so let us say that a plaintiff in a lawsuit has successfully secured a financial judgment against you. Many times, when this happens, the petitioners were right, the defendant was wrong, and the defendant should pay out money to the other party to compensate them for their losses. But what if you as the defendant do not wish to pay it out or cannot afford to do so? The owners of our private investigation agency mostly help customers locate these kinds of people, but today our legal team will help explain how defendants with judgments can avoid them.

Key Components for Avoiding Post-Judgment Collections:

For the misanthropes who wish to avoid paying out their money and giving away their property to winners of lawsuits, there are a few steps by which to do so. Our process servers near me know how to avoid using these tactics, because we have seen so many defendants our clients have hired us to find use them over the decades we have been chasing them. Some of the best evasive tactics include, but are not limited to, the following:

Change Jobs Frequently to Avoid Detection:

One of the options that plaintiffs in civil cases have at their disposal to collect judgments is to garnish a debtor’s wages or salary. But each time a defendant changes her/his/their place of employment, the defendant must file a new garnishment affidavit and hire a process server to deliver it to the new employer. This costs money and steals valuable time from the individual, and it also requires that they find a private investigator to do a skip trace or surveillance investigations to find out where the garnishee is working. Defendants who change jobs often enough can help wear down a collection agency’s resolve and financial ability to continue to pursue collection of the judgment.

Request the Deletion of Your Publicly Available Data Private Investigators Can Find Via Skip Traces:

Different websites offer services to make it more difficult for the best skip tracers and process servers to locate missing people. This is a vital step for those not wishing for others to find them. This is because skip trace databases are a primary source of location information for evasive defendants. By removing their information, garnishees make it more difficult for debt collectors to find out where they live and work.

Strictly Limit or Erase Your Social Media Profiles & Other Websites:

All social media profiles have settings where the users can change their privacy preferences. It is not a good idea to post too much public information about yourself out there anyway, note our private investigators in Altus, OK. This is because scammers, potential employers, vengeful ex-romantic partners, and others can use the information people put out there publicly about themselves to find, harass, scam, and otherwise harm the person.

By removing this information for the purpose of debt collection avoidance, it makes it much more difficult for small claims private detectives to locate you. Thus, sneaky defendants who do not wish for others to find them heed this crucial advice from our private investigation agency.

Obtain a Post Office Box at UPS and Use it as Your Address:

Whenever our PI agency tries to locate an evasive defendant who is fleeing from debt collectors, attorneys, and process servers, the savvy ones get a post office box at UPS, not the United States Post Office (USPS). While hiding behind a post office box at the government’s post office and using it as their address does make it more difficult for process servers and private eyes to locate elusive defendants who are avoiding debt collection, it comes with severe limitations because a process server or private detective can go to the post office and fill out a special form. Then the postal worker will provide the physical address associated with that PO box.

To successfully use a post office box as the address they want to show up on a skip trace, the individual will either need to put the post office box in someone else’s name, put the wrong address down for the PO box, or get one at a corporation like UPS that does not have those special forms and which would not release the person’s information without a subpoena. UPS or a similar company would probably do so if a process server in Enid delivered a subpoena to them, so even if an evasive defendant gets one there, it is still better to put it in the name of a trusted friend and use a fictitious address to have the best chance of avoiding detection through a skip trace and post office box check.

Hire a Civil Attorney to File Defensive Motions in Court:

If a process server in Oklahoma does find and serve an evasive defendant, the situation for that person becomes more dire but is not yet critical. It is vital in this situation to immediately hire the best civil attorney in Oklahoma to help file discovery motions to beat back these kinds of civil allegations which could harm the reputation and credit score of the defendants in these cases. Choose an attorney quickly to serve as part of your team and to make a special appearance once or twice to beat back the charges. This will help frustrate and complicate the process, both buying time and extending the case.

Post False Location Information & Profile Photos on Your Public Social Media Posts:

Yet another tactic that some elusive defendants use to avoid detection and location is to intentionally post false information on their social media. People avoid debt collectors and process servers in Broken Arrow, OK can have increased chances of success by adding the wrong city, state, and/or country of residence and fake photos of themselves on their social media profiles. That way, when lawyers or other plaintiffs overseeing the lawsuit and garnishments hire a private detective and/or find a process server to locate and serve the garnishee, it becomes much more difficult for them because it intentionally feeds them the wrong information.

Instead of Buying Properties, Choose the Lease-to-Own Option:

Another tactic some people use to hide from process servers is to choose a lease-to-own or rent option in a business name. Putting the rental agreement in a company name that is not linked back to the garnishee also helps, because that way there is no purchase, and nothing comes back to the person avoiding debt collection.

Put Utilities and Purchases in Business Trusts:

It is also wise for those who are avoiding collection agencies and process servers in El Reno, Oklahoma to put all utilities for their new residence in the name of a business or trust that is difficult to link back to them. That way when skip tracers use special databases to locate them, it will become even more difficult to find the missing person because there will be no record of the purchase or utilities in the garnishee’s name.

Move to States That Offer the Best Protections from Judgments:

Some states’ laws are also much more favorable to garnishee and people with debts than to the debt collectors and vice versa. Thus, when trying to avoid service of process and the entire debt collection endeavor, look at this list and move your residence, businesses, and assets here to states like Texas and Pennsylvania. Do not get caught in a state where plaintiffs and debt collectors have many years to collect unpaid debts and many avenues through which to collect them.

Become Self-Employed or Work Under the Table for Cash:

Another way for debtors to avoid employment garnishments is for them to work for cash under the table. That way there is no official employer from which to garnish the wages. This is a sneaky tactic some debtors use to avoid paying judgments that petitioners have secure against them.

Self-employment can also work well, because small business owners can underreport income – illegal, but it happens – and use tax deductions as business expenses to significantly reduce the amount of their net income. Thus, if a defendant earns $500,000 a year but deducts $450,000 in legitimate business expenses, if a process server serves them with a garnishment they must respond to, they can legally claim that they only earn $50,000 a year. This happens much more than one might think with people who owe debts, and under the table employment and self-employment make debt collection process significantly more difficult.

Change Jobs Frequently, if Needed:

Since process servers in Midwest City must serve a brand-new filed garnishment for each place of employment that they wish to garnish a person’s wages from, garnishees who change jobs frequently or do odd jobs/day laborer jobs can help frustrate the process for those seeking to collect a monetary judgement against someone. It is not illegal, and some debtors do it all the time.

Wear the Other Side Out by Attrition:

Just as with a live, bloody war, civil lawsuits and the post-judgment collection process can also wear down all sides. Thus, if the defendant can outlast the plaintiff just like ignorant and unintelligent people do against intelligent individuals, then they might be able to get the collection agency or petitioner with a judgment to throw up their hands in frustration. They will also run out of money to continue to pursue the fight, opting not to throw anymore good money at bad money they no longer believe they are likely to receive. Whatever the case, trying to outlast the other party can sometimes work, so debtors should use the advice the owners of our Oklahoma private investigation agency have offered in these other subsections.

Claim Income Exemptions:

There are so many things that debtors can claim income exemptions for when answering a garnishment. The list is quite extensive, one seasoned debt evaders know all about. Some of these many items include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:

Social Security Benefits
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Unemployment Benefits
Workmen’s Compensation Benefits
Welfare Benefits
Veteran’s Benefits
Monies in Possession of Police Pensions
Monies in Possession of Fireman’s Relief and Pension Funds
Monies in Possession of County Employee’s System
Monies in Possession of Public Employee’s Retirement Fund
Teacher’s Annuities or Retirement Allowance
Annuities and Pension Payments Under Railroad Retirement Act
United States Civil Service Retirement and Disability Pension Fund Payments
United States Civil Service Survival Annuities
Interest in Retirement, Pension and Profit-Sharing Plans
The Wages of Masters and Seamen
Funds Vested in the Alien Property Custodian
Prepaid Burial Benefits
Proceeds of Group Life Insurance Policy
Alimony, Support, Separate Maintenance, or Child Support Necessary for Support for Judgment Debtor or Dependent
Personal Wage Exemption Because of Undue Hardship

See how many different types of exemptions there are? While these usually do not apply for alimony and child support judgments and garnishments, debtors seeking to exclude their assets from judgments have a wide variety of options to choose from.

Put Utilities in Other People’s Names:

Another way for judgment debtors to hide from collection agencies and the skip tracers and process servers they employ is for the individual to move and put all the utilities in another person’s name. Indeed, skip trace services often trigger new addresses whenever a person registers utilities, buys a home or automobile, gets new cell phone service, etc. Thus, if you are a debtor reading this and want to hide from a process server who is trying to deliver court papers to you, then please follow our private detective agency’s advice and do not put any utilities in your own name when you move.

Put Assets into Trusts and Other People’s Names:

Another great way for debtors to hide their assets is to put them into other people’s names and into irrevocable trusts. When an individual can hide their assets, making comprehensive civil reports and social media scans unable to detect the titled property an individual owns. Otherwise, a collection agency can find a skip trace service to help them pull up all titled properties someone owns, if it remains in the name of the debtor. While this comes with limitations and can certainly cross the legal line and run afoul of the federal fraudulent transfer laws (11 U.S.C. § 548) that could end in contempt citations, criminal charges, and even prison time, it can also be truly effective.

Put a Fake “For Sale” Sign on Your Front Lawn:

Some debtors will put fake “for sale” signs as a red herring for would-be collectors who send process servers as a deceptive deterrent. Indeed, many process servers in Shawnee, OK will simply take a photo of the sign in the yard and send it to the client as proof the person moved, choosing to write up the affidavit of service as the legal professional moves on to the next serve.

The best process servers might look up the county’s tax records, run a skip trace on the property to find the current owner, or ask the defendant’s neighbor to ascertain the ownership of the home in question. Most simply do not take the time to conduct these due diligence private investigations and simply move on. Debtors benefit when process servers are unskilled and/or lazy.

Make Friends with and/or Employ Process Servers, Civil Lawyers, Collection Agencies, Neighbors, and Deputies:

Life is not always about what you know but about who you know. People who truly wish to avoid repercussions from post-judgment collection must make friends with and, if possible, even hire the civil lawyers who file the lawsuits and the process servers, private eyes sheriff’s deputies, and collection agency owners who help in locating and serving the garnishee. If these people all know you, like you, like you, and, if possible, work for you, then they are less likely to help serve you the court documents and enforce the petitioner’s case.

Creating loyalty and a significant conflict of interest among those who can help protect the debtors they know, love, and work for. Make friends with these individuals; turn them into employees. Marry and/or adopt some of them. Turn them into your friends, allies, and family members. Most people in these positions will not want to pursue legal action against someone they care about or whose place of employment feeds their families.

Also, do not forget to make good friends with your neighbors, The best process server might just go next door to talk with them to ask who lives at your home, if they do not find you answering the door right away. A vengeful or even nosey neighbor might just rat out her/his/their debtor neighbor, but if they like you hopefully they will not. A little kindness and generosity can sometimes go a long way!

File Bankruptcy:

Another option open to debtors is to say, “Screw it” and file bankruptcy on all the people they owe money to. For some individuals and businesses, this is their only option. Their debts may be so significant and their financial resources so few that they have no option but to start over. Others, like Donald Trump, declare bankruptcy as often as a serial killer murders his/her/their innocent victims and enjoy inflicting the damage.

Whatever the situation you find yourself in, just remember that a fresh start is usually an option, but only once every ten years. Please remember that filing for bankruptcy will have long term implications on your overall credit score and the ability to secure certain restricted jobs. This nuclear option is best reserved as a last resort.

Have Mail in Someone Else’s Name Build Up in Your Mailbox:

To help avoid a process server, another trick of the trade is to have mail sent to your home that has a completely different first and last name. Debtors can then have their mail sent elsewhere, so it does not implicate them if a process server in Choctaw, Oklahoma ever goes to check the mailbox to see whose mail the postal workers bring there. This happens more often than one might think.

For an extra boost of sneakiness, debtors trying to hide from a process server can also leave the mailbox open and exposed to the Oklahoma process server, so the legal professional has easy access to see the misleading mail. By letting the mail pile up, it might even fool the process server into thinking the debtor moved or is on vacation.

Live with Someone Else and Let the Rental Agreement/Purchase and Utilities Be in That Individual’s Name:

Living with another person instead of getting a home in one’s own name is also great for hiding. Utilities only make debtors susceptible to skip tracers, process servers, and private detectives who wish to locate and serve people with court papers. So, hiding behind another person is extremely helpful.

Deny Your Identity to the Process Server & Say You Left Your Identity Elsewhere:

If a process server in Edmond does catch up with you, the option of denying your identity is always an option. Have a decent cover story and identity in mind well before a process server ever reaches your door and rehearse it often to sound convincing. This will not always work, especially if the process server has a confirmed photo of you or has found out what you look like from social media or the petitioner. However, this is one of many arrows in the defendant’s quiver that remain in the arsenal of tactics to avoid process servers and collection agencies.

Bribe the Process Server, if One Comes to Serve You with Court Papers – WARNING – THIS IS CRIMINAL ACTIVITY:

Some people who are avoiding service of process try to offer process servers money off record to not serve the documents. This is illegal, but some people nonetheless attempt it anyway. Whether you as the person reading this right now choose to do so or not is up to you. No one at our private investigation agency in Woodward, Oklahoma will ever ask any questions.

Inform Your Coworkers and Bosses; Ask Them to Cover for You and/or Introduce/Present Yourself Via a Preferred Nickname at Work:

If you have been wise enough to have an excellent working relationship with your boss and colleagues at work – assuming you did not take the advice to work under the table or find self-employment – it can help a debtor avoid process servers. If the people that debtors work with know them by a name that is different than their legal name that will be on court papers, it will help avoid detection. Likewise, loyal coworkers and employers can also help hide defendants in civil cases, assisting them by shielding their favorite colleagues from detection by lying for them and even blocking access to the debtor.

Adopt Security Vicious Dogs Guard Your Property and Post Warning Signs About Your Intent to Shoot Intruders:

Many defendants in civil cases who wish to hide from process servers also take initiative-taking steps to adopt vicious guard dogs to stand watch over their property. Dogs’ keen sense of hearing and smell will help provide early detection of incoming process servers. If they look mean, have vicious-looking teeth, bark loudly, and chase people, then the process server in Duncan, Oklahoma may decide that the money is simply not worth the risk to her/his/their life and limb. The legal professional may just turn around and go home or might ask the client to reassign the job to someone else.

One important caveat to note about this tactic is the importance of the simultaneous use of a locked gate, secure fence that surrounds the debtor’s property, and the “NO TRESPASSING” sign that the owners of our PI agency discussed in another subsection of this informational page. That way if someone trespasses onto the property anyway, the person does so at her/his/their own peril if the dogs do attack – assuming a judge and jury do not find the homeowner liable anyway because the individual “knew” the dogs were dangerous.

Hopefully, having these security items in place will in and of themselves be enough to deter the process server from even stepping foot onto the property in the first place, canines or not. Debtors certainly do not need additional lawsuits for civil liability like from pain and suffering coming their way, nor should they want to choose activities which misalign morally and result in harming others.

Install Ring/CCTV Cameras at Home and Work:

One vital move that defendants in civil cases must do to protect themselves from private eyes and process servers is to install video cameras all around their homes and places of work whenever possible. This counterintelligence is a form of initiative-taking reconnaissance that can help alert the evasive defendant about incoming visitors who may be bearing bad news. Ring doorbell cameras and other countersurveillance devices are a debtor’s best friend.

Screen All Your Phone Calls & Remain Vigilant:

Debtors must also screen their phone calls and remain vigilant whenever someone calls. Stay purposely suspicious of all unknown callers. One of process servers’ favorite tricks to get elusive defendants who are trying to avoid a process server to come to them is to pretend to be a FedEx or UPS delivery worker with a “package” for the individual. The name they will give the debtor who is on the phone with them trying to find the defendant’s real address or to go to their current/live location is likely to be generic sounding. DO NOT FALL FOR THIS TRICK! Avoid these people like the plague, until the conclusion of your legal case.

Consider Relocating to Another Country:

A big power move that can help debtors avoid civil justice in the courts is when they simply uproot and move to another country. Most people and companies seeking to collect a judgment will not attempt to serve someone overseas. They realize that even if they get someone served there, it is unlikely they will collect any money or property. This is not always the case, but for most post-judgment collection actions it is. Distance can provide safety for debtors.

Avoid Unknown Visitors, Especially Food Delivery Personnel, Amazon Delivery Workers, & Missionaries:

Another sneaky move by process servers in Piedmont, Oklahoma is to pretend to be a DoorDash driver, Amazon delivery worker, missionary, or even a person seeking to locate a missing dog or beloved cat. The best process servers may even wear concomitant clothing, may carry boxes or food containers, or could sport a Bible or other religious tome in hand. Some legal professionals will go to significant lengths to complete the serve.

When the defendant opens the door to an unsuspecting/naïve debtor, the process server in Mustang can deliver the papers to the individual. If they do not have a photo of a person of interest (POI) and does not know what they look like, they may even strike up a casual conversation and subtly work in a question about the POI’s name/identity as part of the ploy. Savvy debtors who want to hide from a process server will see through this charade by refusing to open the door or respond in any way.

Move Into a Gated Community or Live in a Home with a Locked Gate, Secure Fence, a Posted “Do Not Trespass” Sign, and a Private Road:

Another tricky tactic that some people running from court judgments use is to move into a gated community. This is especially effective if the gated community has a guard posted at the front. While more expensive than a gated community without one, having a guard there can help prevent process servers from entering and will often even call the owners of the property to alert them about the process server’s presence.

The home of a fleeing debtor should also have a locked gate, a secure fence that goes around the entire property, and clearly posted signs that state that trespassing is not allowed. If a process server enters your property, the homeowner can then ask police to issue a ticket for trespassing. Additionally, if the process server tries to serve the defendant while trespassing, the courts might throw out the service as bad. Most local ordinances require both the locked gate and presence of the “NO TRESPASSING” sign. Without both, trespassing will not have occurred.

A private road is also useful in deterring and frustrating process servers in Durant, Oklahoma, and deputies from accessing your home or office setting. These are especially effective when coupled with living in a gated community with a security guard posted upfront. Private roads are private property, and as such neither a process server nor sheriff’s deputy is allowed to sit in a car down the road from the defendant’s property, lying in wait for the garnishee to enter or leave. This tactic can frustrate the siege serve tactic.

Hopefully, debtors who are reading this have learned how to hide from a process server, while process servers who are viewing this material know what tricks savvy, experienced defendants in civil cases might use to avoid them. This list, while certainly extensive and well-written, is not meant as a complete list of evasive methods for avoiding process servers, attorneys, civil private investigators, deputies, and collection agencies. If those reading this need more tips and ideas or wish to hire a process server to help them locate and serve an elusive defendant, they know where to find us and how to contact the best process serving company in the entire United States of America.

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Keefe@PrivateInvestigatorOKC.com