I won a small claims case but have only received $50 in almost 4 months. I know people say it's hard to collect but I have a $1,600 flooring bill I'm trying to pay off. I've got a 5-month-old and I can't afford to shrug my shoulders and write this off.

The debtor claims to not have any bank accounts(savings or checking) and also claims to be on unemployment. I don't believe any of this to be true. I know that if you do not have an account with them, most banks will not cash your check or they'll charge a fee to cash it. This person is money hungry and I highly doubt that they would let money get taken out of their check every week rather than open an account and just deposit the money.

I know if they have a job, I can file a garnishment with their employer. If they don't have a job but I somehow found out that they DO have an account, how would I go about garnishing it? Would I need the account number? Under the Privacy Act, the bank won't be able to give me her information so I wouldn't know how to obtain it. I know I can file a contempt of court because they lied on the financial disclosure but they'd probably just close the account if I filed.

Does anyone have any advice? I've tried offering a payment plan that was well beyond reasonable for the debtor; they declined to sign it. I looked into property repossession and was told it's not worth it to try. I'm at my wits end!! :(

There are companies that buy judgments. Do a online search