GARNISHMENT

[YETEVIA JONES GRAY]

Jurisdiction

Alabama

MY WAGES ARE NOW BEING GARNISHED FOR A DEBT DATIN BACK TO 2004.. IS THAT LEGAL? THEY HAVE TAKEN 25% OF MY WAGES. I HAVE EXPLAINED THAT I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SURVIVE WITH THAT AMOUNT TAKEN FROM EACH PAY PERIOD. I WAS ALSO CONCERNED THAT I AM NOW BEING CONTACTED AFTER 12 YEARS OF INTEREST. PLEASE ADVISE.

 

[mightymoose]

Garnishment is legal and does not occur without anple notice to you in advance.
Did you ignore collections attempts? Were you ever served a summons to court or fail to appear?
If so, it is likely too late for you to do anything.
If not, you need to determine what court issued the garnishment order, obtain any proof of service document on file regarding that civil suit, and find out how to initiate an appeal of the order due to insufficient notice/service.
With some luck you might get a rehearing at which you could get the order removed or reduced.
Your employer will be able to provide a copy of the garnishment order to get you started.
Your employer is required to garnish your wages, so don't get mad at them and make things worse on yourself.

 

[army judge]

MY WAGES ARE NOW BEING GARNISHED FOR A DEBT DATIN BACK TO 2004.. IS THAT LEGAL? THEY HAVE TAKEN 25% OF MY WAGES. I HAVE EXPLAINED THAT I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SURVIVE WITH THAT AMOUNT TAKEN FROM EACH PAY PERIOD. I WAS ALSO CONCERNED THAT I AM NOW BEING CONTACTED AFTER 12 YEARS OF INTEREST. PLEASE ADVISE.

Ask a bankruptcy lawyer about filing chapter 7 bankruptcy.

 

[adjusterjack]

Yetevia, please turn off the caps. It's annoying and hard to read.

The statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit in Alabama is 6 years.

Judgments are enforceable for 20.

And, no, they have no obligation to "contact" you until they want to contact you which is usually when the balance is big enough to make it worth while to pay for court filings.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Just to add, garnishment amounts are limited by the law. Arguing that you are being garnished an excessive amount is unlikely to be successful.

Alabama Code - Section 5-19-15: GARNISHMENT
Prior to entry of judgment on a consumer credit transaction, the creditor may not attach unpaid earnings of the debtor by garnishment. Notwithstanding the garnishment procedure otherwise applicable after judgment, with respect to a consumer credit transaction, the amount of unpaid earnings of the debtor subject to garnishment shall not exceed the lesser of:

(1) Twenty-five percent of the debtor's disposable earnings for that week; or

(2) The amount by which the debtor's disposable earnings for that week exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage in effect when payable.

"Disposable earnings" means that part of the earnings of a debtor remaining after deduction of amounts required by law to be withheld, and disposable earnings shall not include periodic payments pursuant to a pension, retirement, or disability program.