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Won A Small Claims Case, Defendant Refuses To Pay

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Location: Texas.

Backstory: A driver hit me that was exempt from her parents’ policy and was not insured on the vehicle. As such, insurance was not going to reimburse me for damages, but the claims adjuster said the family was willing to cover the costs. However, the driver refused to cover the costs ($2,200) I paid out of pocket on my vehicle, claiming that my car was not worth that much/the repairs were much cheaper elsewhere. After trying to compromise and going as low as $1,500 didn’t work, I filed a small claims case.

Defendant was served, didn’t show up to court, and I won a default judgment on the case. The window passed for her to appeal, and it’s clear that she won’t pay at this point. It’s been nearly 3 months since the judgment.

I don’t really know anything about the driver beyond their first/last name and their parents’ insurance information and address (and unfortunately I did not take a photo of her drivers license at the scene of the accident). As such, I can’t file for a writ of garnishment/enforcement since I don’t know their employment or bank info. I understand it’s possible to hire a PI to attempt to obtain that info, but since it’s only 2.2k, I imagine a lot of it would be eaten by those PI costs and it doesn’t seem worth it.

I’m unsure what options I have at this point. To even file this case with credit bureaus to have it on the driver’s credit report, I would need more of their information?

Would appreciate any advice or tips on further steps I can take to try and get the payment owed from that judgment.

submitted by /u/Spirited-Demand-4561
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