Business Debt/Lein

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Expert: - 1/28/2009


Question
Your question was  First of all thank you for your help. I had a business in Massachusetts which was incorporated I closed the business in Oct.07 . At the time I had a piece of equipment which was leased I could not pay for it any longer so I turned it back into the lease company . I have now moved to PA. and have been contacted by a collections agency looking foe $42,000 which I do not have . We did sign a personal guaranty, my question is can they put a lein on my home? Do I have any legal grounds since all the paperwork was in the corp. name?    Thank You. George

Answer
George,
When you sign a personal guarantee you are committing to paying for a business expense personally if the business can't pay or goes out of business etc.  When you returned the equipment to the lease company, did you sign anything or get any paperwork?  There may have been a clause in your original contract advising as to what your options were if you returned the equipment, maybe you don't have to pay the balance or maybe you do have to pay the balance, maybe there is a penalty for returning the equipment or many other things. I would advise you check your original contracts and paperwork as well as the paperwork you have from when you returned the equipment and see what your options are.
If a judgment is obtained by the company that leased you the equipment and you do not fulfill the judgment, a lein can be placed upon any property you own including bank accounts and wages.

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Michelle Dunn

Expertise

As one of the Top 5 Women in Collections, one of the Top 50 Collection Professionals, and winner of the Business Excellence award, I can answer any questions about debt, debt collection, improving business credit, creating a credit policy, enforcing a credit policy and collecting on past due accounts. I can also answer questions in regards to starting a debt collection agency since I have been a bill collector for over 24 years, started and ran my own collection agency for 8 years, and maintain my 12 year old Credit & Collections Association for members of the credit & debt collection industry. I am also the author of the popular and award winning book "Starting a Collection Agency, how to make money collecting money" now on it's 3rd edition. This book has won a the Writers Digest self published award as well as the New York Book Festival Award. I am a repeat contributor to the Wall Street Journal, and have been featured on NPR, CNN, as well as many other national radio and television programs. I have also been featured in national publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Smart Money, MSNBC and much more. I have 17 published books to my name and am an accomplished speaker and consultant. I currently write 9 columns for newspapers, magazines and online portals worldwide.

Experience

I have over 24 years experience in debt collection, I started and ran my own collection agency for 8 years and I am the founder & owner of my Credit & Collections Association that I founded in 1998. www.credit-and-collections.com

Organizations
My Credit & Collections Association, I was also a member of the American Collectors Association and Plymouth Chamber of Commerce for 11 years. I am a member of many writing groups as well as my local Women Inspiring Women chapter. I am a member of Know More Media as an expert for their blog on business credit.

Publications
Business NH Magazine, Smart Money Magazine, MSNBC, CNN, Forbes.com, The Wall Street Journal, Home Business Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine and website, many books, newspapers and television programs as well.

Education/Credentials
I have written 17 books in my collecting money series and one for Entrepreneur Press called the Ultimate Credit and Collections Handbook. My newest book is being published by John Wiley & Sons in May titled, The Guide to Getting Paid, how to weed out bad paying customers, collect on past due balances and avoid bad debt. This book is also being sold to many colleges as a text book.

Awards and Honors
My book Starting a Collection Agency, how to make money collecting money won an award from Writers Digest and the 2007 New York Book Festival in the "How to" category. I have won 2 awards from Dun & Bradstreet and Governor Jean Shaheen. I was nominated as one of the Top 5 Women in Collections twice as well as having been selected as one of Collection Advisor's Top 50 Collection Professionals by my peers.

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