Wisconsin County Hires Collector for Broad Collection Effort

Pierce County, Wisconsin, has hired Professional Placement Services to collect close to $1 million in court fees folks “forgot” to pay – along with debt owed to the clerk of courts office and the human services, public health and sheriff’s departments.

The collection fee will be 19 percent. PPS President Craig Johnson told the Pierce County Herald that his company would charge a rate of 22 percent if it worked with only court debts, but offered the lower rate to work with all county departments.

“I think it’s a good thing to try, and I think it’s time to do something,” said Clerk of Court Peg Feuerhelm.

Johnson said PPS has recovered 36 percent of the bad debt placed by Chippewa, Buffalo and Sheboygan counties. He predicted a recovery rate of at least 34 percent for Pierce County.