Question about wage garnishments

Of course yes! Everything should be notified by serving legal papers before the court hearing. It is after the legal hearing the judge fixes about garnishment. Financial situation of an individual is assessed and as per individual state laws, garnishment is fixed. However, most of them are guided by the federal laws that garnish up to 25% of the disposable income. To answer your question, the court paper is a must before legal actions are done and you get 20 days before appearing in the court. Go to this link for info in IL

http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/state-garnishment-laws-2.html#14

Actually, a small correction..Consumer debts are federally mandated, and you WILL be garnished exactly 25% of your disposable earnings.

Also, the CA does not have to notify you that they intend to seek a judgement, the court will send you that info, both by us mail and by court employee. If you have any other questions, or need any help, please feel free to pm me.

Thanks finsfan, I have the general information often heard, but you are in this field, so you have the specifics. Thanks for correcting me, though. I will remember it. :)

lol..You're welcome..You knew an awful lot about it for a "layman"!!! You must be a good studier.

Yep, thanks for the compliment, though.. :)

It amazes me when most collectors who often break the laws get the room of not notifying a person if they want to go for garnishment. If creditors are bound to inform the defaulter, why not a collector will!! Well, all I cam assume is that collectors don't have the rights to order judgments on people. If they are been hired by the credit company, they will pass on the file to them and the creditor will decide further actions after notifying people. Another possibility is when collector purchases the debt from the original creditor, they now become the current creditor, and thus notification becomes absolutely mandatory.

I guess they just expect us to pay. A reputable CA will usually start making noises, like "i've verified your employment" or "how many hours a week are you working and what's your supervisor's name". Most will also send a letter in the mail saying if you don't respond IMMEDIATELY leagl action will be taken. But they never seem to tell you when.

Back in May, I was e-mailed by the controller of our company that my paycheck would be garnished one time for over $500 (over half of my paycheck). I was shown nothing in writing and did not know where the garnishment was coming from (although I suspect it was from a PDL I defaulted on). I feel so stupid for not hacing asked any questions, as this was the first time I had ever had anything taken out of my wages. If I had known about this helpful site at the time, I would have been much more wise to what was going on!
Since this happened so long ago, is there ANYTHING I can do? Probably not, huh? :?

No, there is nothing you can do now. I don't understand why you got nothing..You should've gotten paperwork on this. The thing is, your payroll dept was not LEGALLY required to give you paperwork, because it is voluntary, not court ordered. It was not a garnishment, but a wage assignment. I'm so sorry about this..I'm willing to bet that assignment was illegal as heck, too.

Man, I didn't think there was anything I could do about it, with it being so long ago and all. I am so surprised my Controller just went through with it, without really letting me know any details. I mean, I know she meant well and everything, but still...that was a lot of money.

That is a lot of money, I'm really sorry about that. That would mess most people up. Wage assignments are a nasty, sneaky way to collect, and in my opinion a lot of unnecesary paperwork.

Be careful. Illinois recognizes a "Wage Assignemnt" that is given in consideration of a payday loan.

As of todays data, the only requirements are that if there is a judgment and a motion for garnishment filed by the Judgment Creditor, your employer will get a wage garnishment worksheet. You should be provided a copy of this. Although it is not state statute, Privacy Protection laws require that his information be given to you if your employer has any form of a privacy protection policy.

If you have signed a "Wage Assignment" document in Illinois, THE PAYDAY LOAN COMPANY CAN GARNISH WITHOUT COURT ORDER.

Hi Hess,

Thanks for that info...The thing is though..Are these companies using proper protocol? I have handled several of these in my job, and I know there is a procedure that the assignment MUST follow in order for it to be recognized. I have never handled an assignment from a PDL, but I do know what proper protocol is, and from what I've learned from other people on this board, the majority of PDLS are NOT following it.

Also, even though Illinois does allow wage assignments for PDLS, it is up to the individual employer as to whether to honor them or not. Many companies don't allow voluntary deductions other than 401k and such, and won't honor a writ that IS NOT court ordered.