Garnishments

[BD33]

Hi,

I have a questions on wage garnishments. I have read some horror stories on here about this subject, but was wondering how do they find out where you work? I started a new job in Feb of 08' and I have not applied for any credit in two years, nor did my employer pull a credit report on me. So how does a collection agency find out where you work, if you haven't applied for credit?

Thank you,

[treehugger1]

I'll assume you have already been sued in small claims (or other court) and have a judgment against you. If such is the case, they can have a written debtor questionaire sent to you in which you would have to be honest. If you refuse to answer the questions, they can compel you into a courtroom and engage in a debtor exam. In such a case, you have to lay it all out. I'm not exactly sure how the details work on a state-by-state basis, but that is the "summary."

How common our debtor exams? They don't appear too common in my county, but my county is quite small.

In general, CA's and creditors can look at your credit reports and get a sense of what assets you might have (cars, house, etc.) If they really know you have no hard assets other than bank accounts and wages, I would hazzard a guess that they will definitely want to find this information.

Again, the CA/Creditor has to have a judgment against you in order to garnish your wages. Some states recognize pre-summary judgments, but I think you can hold these off if you are not a flight risk and truly have no hard assets that you might dispose of.

Knowledge of a garnishment should not be a "horror story" unless you were blind-sided or ignored past summons that led to judgment.

I have yet to be sued for any substantial debt, but I occassionally get letters from creditors stating that "failure to pay the amount demanded can lead to wage garnishment." While this is true, they first need a judgment. Which first means they have to sue me in some court. Which means they have to serve me. Which means I should expect the potential judgment and bank/wage garnishment.

[magyar123]

Well, two ways - if they know where you bank, and you have automatic payroll deposit, the bank will probably divulge the information about who automatically deposits your pay. Another way is for the CA is to contact your state employment office to run your name and SS # through their system and tell them where you work.

[treehugger1]

And, if they eventually get a payroll stub and your bank account is listed on it for direct deposit, they can probably now find your bank account.

[BD33]

I have not been sued and I do not even have any late payments yet. I am though on the verge of getting ready to miss payments and finding info before all this happens. I am closing my bank account, which I opened in 2006, before this new job and I do not have direct deposit, so I guess the only way if this ever happens is for them to contact the state and run my SS#, otherwise I do not see how they would know.

[AngelinaCatHub]

BD33, why are you worrying about garnishment now? No Judgment? BK will stop any action of suits both going and coming. It stops garnishments if they are in place. You are likely going to be fine. It does not take much to find a person. I can usually find a person anywhere in the U.S. I helped a person who needed to find former tenants. I skip traced them in five minutes, had all their account numbers what checks they bounced and a map to their new residence with info on the owner of that property. FIVE MINUTES. How? They left a bag of garbage in their can. My advice to any and all, is shred all paperwork you get including those junk credit card offers. Then burn the shredding. ‘Hub