Enforcement of civil debt

Suzanne McAllen asks:
(updated on Wednesday, October 04th 2006)

Hi. I had a Property Manager who worked for a local real estate managing my rental properties. She moved a tenant in, who paid no rent, did some damage and then skipped town. The Tenancy Tribunal ruled in our (the Real Estates) favour something around $600. About a month later that real estate closed down and I went to another company's Property Manager, who also offered to try to track down this debtor - nothing happened, and now there's been several staff changes, so I took all the paperwork back to look into it myself. I have a current address for the debtor which I believe to be correct. So I supplied it to the Court Bailiff and never heard anything back despite leaving several messages. When I did get the clerk, she said the Order was in favour of LJ Hookers (now closed), not my name so I had to apply for another court hearing (which I assume costs) and then have an 'examination' (which I think is another $140). Can you tell me if this is the procedure I have to follow, or could I take it to a debt collector to collect on my behalf, even though Order is in the real estate's name. Also do I have to foot the bill, or can the costs be passed on to the debtor. I'm just trying to find the easiest, most cost-effective way to collect the money the Tribunal Tenancy said I (or rather a defunct real estate property managers) was entitled to. Hope you can advise. Many thanks, Suzanne McAllen.