Private Child Support Collection Companies: Read the Fee Clause First

Companies promising to collect your support charge 25 to 35 percent of everything recovered — including money DCSS tools would have intercepted free. Know exactly what you are buying before signing years of your children’s support away.

What California Law Says

Private support collectors operate under contracts taking substantial contingency percentages, sometimes from all payments received regardless of source, with California imposing registration and conduct requirements on the industry. Every tool they use — and several they cannot — is available through DCSS at no charge or through your own court filings.

How to Collect, Step by Step

1. Read the fee base: percentage of what they collect, or of everything you receive from any source — the difference is enormous.
2. Compare against the free stack: DCSS intercepts, license actions, and your own RFOs cost nothing.
3. Check the company’s registration and complaint history before signing anything.
4. Negotiate carve-outs: agency intercepts and wage withholding already in place should never pay their percentage.
5. Reserve private collectors for genuinely stuck cases — and even then, price a private attorney with fee-shifting first.

Common Questions

They say they succeed where the government fails. True?

Occasionally, on asset-hiding cases needing aggressive private discovery — but audit their contract against what DCSS was already doing before crediting them a third of your children’s support.

I signed one of these contracts years ago and regret it. Options?

Contract review is worth an attorney consult — fee bases, termination clauses, and registration compliance all offer exit angles.