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Child Support Collection Agencies

I spent a morning a while ago with a fellow who collected child support for a living, on the staff of a national child support collection agency. I was suprised at the matter-of-fact way in which he described his collection methods. "I   just call him up (let's face it: most child support payors are men) and tell him what's going on," he said. I talk through with him what we're prepared to do and what his life's going to be like until we get our money, and usually he decides to start sending it to us."

I can see how he is probably right. Most child support payors sort of expect that they're going to be paying eventually; they're just hoping to put it off as long as possible. And when someone calls who seems to have the resources to make them pay, I can see how they would decide, "Okay, I guess this is it. I guess I don't have any choice any more."

Child support collection agencies are extraordinarily effective. One of them advertises that it successfully collects child support from more than 90% of the parents whose files it takes on, and I can believe it. These agencies often have location departments as part of their organization, so even if you've lost touch with the other parent, they can often find them and get to where they are working.

One of the most significant problems with these agencies is that they take a percentage of everything they collect, usually from 25 to 33 percent. When you're getting nothing, though, 65-75% of what you're owed can sound pretty inviting. Another thing you need to understand about these agencies: their fee typically doesn't include the legal fee, so if they use a lawyer, the fee for that comes off the top of whatever will get paid to you eventually.