January 9, 2009
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News: Can They Garnish Your Wages Over CC Debt?
Many Americans live in fear that ‘they're coming to take me away" over credit card debt. The little bit of news is that they can't do that. That doesn't mean, however, that they "can't get at you". It turns out that they can come and "take your means of livelihood away" – or, at least part of it. For the extreme cases where people completely ignore their credit card debt responsibility, the credit card industry has taken steps, as a last ditch effort, to garnish the wages of those people.
You can run but you can't hide. They will find you. So, be advised, if you're so laden with credit card debt that your can't pay for gas to get to work, feed your families and then pay necessary utility bills, you better still do something about it. You better call your credit card debtors early and arrange a repayment plan with them. You have much more negotiating leverage that way than simply ignoring them.
Once the plan is in place, it is very important to honor it. Otherwise, the credit card debtor may have recourse to seek court intervention and request a judgment that will require your employer to simply take part of your paycheck off the top, before you even get it. This could impact both you and your family in a very negative way. "Can they really do this?", you may ask. The answer is "Yes".
Designed to be a last resort, the courts have authorized garnishment as a legal remedy when all else fails. It's legal in almost every state. if a judgment for the collection of monies that are owed on a credit card has been established in the courts, then a debtor has the legal right to petition the courts to take action.