Evening star., 1948-07-10
Easy Credit Victims
Urged 10 Use Court 10
Avoid Garnishments
By Crosby Noyes

By Crosby Noyes
The charge that Washington
courts are being used as "collec-
tion agencies by unscrupulous
business establishments that ex-
tend credit to low-income fam
lilies would be groundless If
debtors would take advantage OF
their rights, a court official said
yesterday.
Wallace Cummins, chief clerk in
the Municipal Courts small claims
division, which handles an average
of 1,40O merchandise cases each
month, said the poor mans court"
is still giving relief and protection
to harassed debtors. But not enough
of them, 1t was clear from his state
ment, request it.
The trouble is, he said, nine out OF
10 people do not take advantage OF
what the court offers. The court
cannot protect any one against his
own irresponsibility, nor can it do
much about the businessman who
uses high pressure salesmanship on
persons known to be bad credit
risks.
Justice Department interested.
In the interest OF these debtors,
and in the hope OF putting g. stop
TO unscrupulous practices by certain
Mores here, the Justice Department
has started consultations with
Municipal Court judges and the
United States Attorneys Office.
The Department is acting on
charges by former assistant to
the Attorney General, now private
lawyer here, that these storekeepers
are extending credit to persons in
low-income groups and are using
unsupported courts as a collection
agency when the customers fail in
their payments.
Here is how the process works,
according to Mr.. Cummins:
Joe Doakes, who has a wife and
two children, is a sucker for any
kind of a business deal where he
can get something without paying
for it right away.
Shop on easy Credit"
Joe goes to any of a number of
"easy credit" shops around town
and buys, say, a radio marked from
$40. He could buy the same radio
at another shop for maybe $25, but
there he would have to pay tor it
then. Under the "easy payment
plan," Joe can have his radio right
now and often pay nothing at all
down. He can take as long as two
years to pay, he is told, in trifling
monthly or weekly installments.
Maybe Joe keeps up his payments
for awhile, or maybe he never had
any intention of meeting them in
the first place. At any rate, some
time later, the stores lawyer appears
in the clerks Office in the Small
Claims Court carrying between Is
and so claims against defaulting
customers. Joe's Is among them.
The clerks Office sends out a
notice by registered mail, advising
Joe that hearing will be held in
the case in two weeks. He is ordered
to be there. If Joe gets the letter,
the hearing is held. If he cannot be
found, it is not. Mr.. Cummins says
that certain business aplishments
have a regular department whose
business it is to locate defaultlng
debtors.
Few Show Up.
Even if Joe does get the letter
advising him of the hearing, he will
not show up fyg it nine times out
of 10, Mr.. Cummins says. In that
case, the court must enter a default
judgment against him at the request
of the storekeeper.
The attorney for the store then
returns to the clerks office and
draws up garnishment papers
against Joe's salary. The papers
are served on Joe's employer. Next
payday, when Joe goes to pick up
his envelope he is told that his pay
check has been handed over to the
storekeeper in payment for the ra-
dio. If that check does not cover
the balance that is owed, the next
check is similarly confiscated. The
"easy payment plan" has backfired
IN his face and Joe, his wife and
children spend hungry two weeks.
If, on the other hand, Joe is
among the smart one-tenth who
show up for the Small Claims Court
hearing, the story is different, Mr..
Cummins said. In nearly every
case, the court orders him to pay
off the balance in small monthly in
stallments, after going carefully into
his salary status and his ability to
pay. In some cases, the rate is set
as low as so cents every two weeks.
More Protection Asked.
The only persons who are i'm
mune from the threat Of having
their salaries conflscated after a
default Judgment by the court are
those who earn less than 500 a.
month, according to the present
law.
When the law was framed it
served as protection to large
class of wage earners, which in
cluded most of the group now being
made the victims OF the easy credit
systems, according to court and
Justice Department officials. The
law today, they feel is obsolete in