Wrong amount being garnished -- how can this be corrected?

[loofah]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Indiana

A final order in garnishment has been entered against me for a surgery my husband had done. We made many payments on this account, but it seems like the amount they are attempting to collect keeps going up and up. I understand they are adding some interest on, but over the past 6 months, the amount has gone up over $1K. I know this cannot be right. I don't think they have applied any of the payments we made. What do I do to have this corrected? Would a simple phone call with the law office be worthwhile, or do I have to file a counterclaim to have them come to court and prove that their documentation is correct? Surely there is something I can do to sort this out and keep them from just garnishing an arbitrary amount.

Thank you in advance.

 

[RRevak]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Indiana

A final order in garnishment has been entered against me for a surgery my husband had done. We made many payments on this account, but it seems like the amount they are attempting to collect keeps going up and up. I understand they are adding some interest on, but over the past 6 months, the amount has gone up over $1K. I know this cannot be right. I don't think they have applied any of the payments we made. What do I do to have this corrected? Would a simple phone call with the law office be worthwhile, or do I have to file a counterclaim to have them come to court and prove that their documentation is correct? Surely there is something I can do to sort this out and keep them from just garnishing an arbitrary amount.

Thank you in advance.

Have you been making payments high enough to actually affect the balance owed? Many times people assume that any amount is payable when in fact, if one is only paying say $10 a month on a several hundred dollar balance, of course the balance isn't going to reflect much activity in a short time. What was the original amount and how much have you been paying? Do you have receipts or bank statements proving when and how much was paid? Are the payments regular and on time?

 

[loofah]

The original amount was around $4000, of which I have paid right under $1600. I was sending $150/month, in addition to my husband's wages already being garnished, and all payments were regular and timely except for the last, which is what prompted the garnishment. So I would think it would have made a pretty significant dent. Right now they say I owe $3800. And that just doesn't seem right at all!

Yes, I do have documentation of all bank records showing cleared checks, as well as a list from the clerk showing all garnishments from my husband's check.

 

[Proserpina]

The original amount was around $4000, of which I have paid right under $1600. I was sending $150/month, in addition to my husband's wages already being garnished, and all payments were regular and timely except for the last, which is what prompted the garnishment. So I would think it would have made a pretty significant dent. Right now they say I owe $3800. And that just doesn't seem right at all!

Yes, I do have documentation of all bank records showing cleared checks, as well as a list from the clerk showing all garnishments from my husband's check.

Have you called the creditor and actually asked?

 

[loofah]

I've been dealing with the law office and have not yet called the original creditor. You think that's my best move right now? I can certainly try that.

 

[Proserpina]

I've been dealing with the law office and have not yet called the original creditor. You think that's my best move right now? I can certainly try that.

No, sorry - I misspoke.

Ask the law office for an accounting.

 

[sandyclaus]

Perhaps the outstanding balance didn't include the attorney's fees and/or collection costs? Many people forget that those are additional costs that the creditor can collect on top of the actual judgment amount.

 

[loofah]

Thank you, Prosperina. I will start there. In the event that our figures don't match, what do I do? Just want to get an idea of where to go from there should I need to.

Sandyclaus, it appears that all fees had been added on before, with the exception of whatever court cost was most recently added when the garnishment was entered. Hopefully I can eventually make some sense of this.