If you’ve ever gotten behind on your credit card payments, you know why Darryl Bookman is a bit upset. “They made a lot of threatening phone calls and that’s when I came into the picture. I don’t take too kindly to somebody threatening my wife.”

They were bill collectors.

But the dispute didn’t end with the phone calls.

It ended in court.

And it was hardly the only such case says Judge Molly Maness-Barnes.

This justice of the peace says their caseload has increased dramatically.

Its a new way collection companies are turning up the pressure on people who owe money.

They’re suing them and taking their cases to court. But not just to any court.

They’re suing in little Justice of the Peace courts, 16 of which are spread across Harris County.

“They sue everybody whether they owe it or not,” said defense attorney Lee Giddens. “They think they’ll get something even if they can’t win. Somebody’ll pay up something.”

Giddens is a lawyer we found defending a couple at a Justice of the Peace Court in Pasadena.

Fehling: “Do you think its kind of intimidating that uhhh doesn’t smell right?”

Giddens: “Oh it’s absolutely intimidating.”

Its also fast.

The collection companies can push cases through these courts in a matter of a few months as opposed to a couple years in bigger courts.

What’s more, very few of the people getting sued bother to hire a lawyer or even show up.

“These are just faceless, run ‘em in, run ‘em out,” said Judge Maness-Barnes.

Here’s how they ran ‘em through in court with Judge Molly Maness-Barnes.

One lawyer, working for a firm out of Little Rock, represented six different banks and debt collection companies.

And in one afternoon he brought case after case against people who allegedly owed thousands of dollars.

“The attorney in that time probably did 24 cases,” said Judge Maness-Barnes.

In most of them, the judge had little choice but to find the debtors guilty even though she seldom heard their side of the story.

Judge Maness-Barnes says she used to hear cases of neighbor against neighbor.

But now some cases can involve debts of up to $10,000.

Outside court, Jason Rose, attorney for the debt collectors, told 11 News why he felt the cases needed to go to court. “Because usually the debtor doesn’t pay after numerous discussions and negotiations fall through and courts usually your last resort.”

Rose said going to court encourages a person to pay off the debt.

“That whole procedure is a way to sort of force people to pay money,” said Richard Tomlinson. He is a lawyer specializing in consumer rights. “Cause they’ll pay money to avoid hiring a lawyer to extricate themselves out of that entire process.”

There are ways, Tomlinson says, to win these cases.

But how?

“I make them prove their case,” said Giddens.

Defense lawyer Giddens won the case of that couple who allegedly owed $1,600.

He contended the debt was too old, falling outside a four year statute of limitations

The husband from that other couple vows to fight back against companies using tough new tactics on people with old debts.