Your experience with process servers?

[NewPage]

This lady today was my first one. I had an officer serve me years ago for something similar, but that was different from this in that he was more official/"all-business". Today's server had attitude just rolling off of her. Clearly she thought herself better than me.

It also bothered me that the papers weren't more private. What right does she have to know anything more than my name and address to do her job? She knows everything about my Discover account, etc. I think that's crap.

ETA: Oh, guess this answers that question -- "In California, and most other states, the documents must be visible to the person being served, i.e. not in a sealed envelope. If the individual refuses to accept service, flees, closes the door, etc., and the individual has been positively identified as the person to be served, documents may be "drop" served and it is considered a valid service."

[treehugger1]

Well, it depends upon what is allowed and filed with your local court. Generally, once a suit is filed, the file is a matter of public record. I have been served in Oregon many times for debt I could not pay. I expected such actions to become a matter of public record. Why don't you go down to your local circuit court and see what was filed? It will cost you nothing to look.

On another note, Discover will fight until the death for the money you owe them. They used to use local (Portland, etc) attorneys as hired guns for Mann-Bracken. I'm not sure who they currently use, but I see many, many Discover suits filed even in the remote county I live in. You are not alone.

[enginegirl]

I was served by Amex in July.. It was 11pm on a sunday night during a tropical downpour....... somehow she was able to get into my gated parking lot.... (she sat in her brand new BMW 6 for about an hour trying to get out!). She was rude and ignorant..... and karma will get her one day.....

From the time the papers were filed until I was served it was about 3 weeks.......

[Freddy03]

Well the first time I was served (in FL) it was by a process server who looked like she was dressed for the strip club and had all my personal info attached to it. No enevelope with cc statements attached to it. She actually joked about it and said she was served herself by same company a few months before me....LOL!!!

A few months later she served me again for my 3rd cases....LOL

[ryan]

The ONLY successful service on me was about one year ago. It was in the evening and the Process Server was carrying a pizza box....threw me off a little!...in my state servers are to carry the papers in the open and to note a description of the person they serve, ie, sex, age, race.

[GoingDown]

I was served by certified mail with a "Warrant in Debt" from Virginia for a $300 CrapOne debt, eventhough I never lived in Virginia, never stepped foot in Virginia, never been east of New Mexico in my entire life. Of course, I did not attend the court hearing, and they received a default judgment against me. They then called me and said they were going to take my house (I'm a renter), they were going to take my boat (I have never owned a boat), they were going to garnish my wages (I asked them where I worked and they couldn't answer my question), they were going to seize my checking account (I don't have a checking account), etc.

As of this date, they have yet to receive a penny from me. They no longer call me. They no longer write to me. They have never domesticated the judgment in Arizona, and if they try, I will fight them. As for Arizona law, the 5 year statute of limitations for judgments has expired on their judgment. So, it is now as worthless as the piece of paper it is printed on.

My point is this, you should not be as afraid of judgments as most people are. If you take the necessary steps-- either file BK or make yourself judgment proof-- judgments are not a big deal. Debt collectors rely on them being very scary, but they are not really scary to me.

[tobee43]

when we were served...(3 times altogether)...we were surprised each person was very professional. all very different....one drove a pick up truck all rusted out...one drove a lexus and one just a regular type of car. all dressed well...polite and just handed us papers and we signed.

LOL!!! about the lady servers....maybe they think people are more likely to answer the door...???

[pavlikclan]

I am guessing these are law suit papers you are being sued for money you owe. A deputy serves them here or someone that works for the sheriff's office. They are always very polite.

[papie]

They're just doing their job. Being a process server actually pays pretty good IF you can find the person you need to serve, most process servers also have skiptracing abilities. They do quite a bit more than just dump papers in your lap. They also have to have your information to locate you.....lots of people (especially those in deep debt) bounce around between different residences and jobs. Your personal information.....social security number, date of birth, etc. allow them to search for you using various means that most regular people know nothing about. You probably wouldn't be very happy and polite if you got doors slammed in your face all day and people yelling at you. A lot of people get downright hostile when they get served. It's generally good money though, if you can tough through that part of it. It's kind of like working in collections, it pays off if you can stand to deal with the people on a daily basis. I don't mean anything against you at all, just that a lot of people pretty much make a living evading servers and collections and lawsuits. It makes their job super difficult.

[tobee43]

I am guessing these are law suit papers you are being sued for money you owe. A deputy serves them here or someone that works for the sheriff's office. They are always very polite.

yes, here as well...but i do think it depends on where you live....some areas ONLY have the sheriff depts while others hire "servers"...for a few bucks an hour. most likely the ones you and i had were from deputies from the sheriff's dept. and were professional.

[GoingDown]

They're just doing their job. Being a process server actually pays pretty good IF you can find the person you need to serve, most process servers also have skiptracing abilities. They do quite a bit more than just dump papers in your lap. They also have to have your information to locate you.....lots of people (especially those in deep debt) bounce around between different residences and jobs. Your personal information.....social security number, date of birth, etc. allow them to search for you using various means that most regular people know nothing about. You probably wouldn't be very happy and polite if you got doors slammed in your face all day and people yelling at you. A lot of people get downright hostile when they get served. It's generally good money though, if you can tough through that part of it. It's kind of like working in collections, it pays off if you can stand to deal with the people on a daily basis. I don't mean anything against you at all, just that a lot of people pretty much make a living evading servers and collections and lawsuits. It makes their job super difficult.

Make a living? How do we make a living doing that?

[tobee43]

i was thinking about the woman servers?????...pizza boxes...woman dressed up....could be some bucks to be made? LOL!!!


i know some places pay by the service while others pay by the hour.....really what could it possibly pay? not much.

[shark66]

In this neck of the woods, it's the Sheriff's Deputy that serves any type of legal papers...and all of them have been above and beyond nice and pleasant in our somewhat limited experience.

My zip code has a 62% rate of vacant houses...yes, you read it correctly and no, I'm not kidding...so I guess that each and every one of these kids (they're all very young) must be praying that at least some of us "newcomers" end up staying here so they'll still have a job a year from now...

Good luck to both them and us, we'll all need it...

[tobee43]

62%...unbelievable... and just downright terrible....

so they say things are getting better....guess "they" should take a picture of your area...so sorry to hear that!

[ryan]

Make a living? How do we make a living doing that?

Yeh, I was going to ask the same question. Does avoiding the process server pay better than BEING a process server?