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Illegal Wage Garnishment!

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Thalovely1

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?Arizona
I have just found out that 10% of my wages have been garnished. My employer never even notified me. My wages were taken by some scam company that made a bogus claim that I owed them money. They sent a letter in the mail stating that they would garnish my wages in the amount of 10% if I didn't agree to pay them. I figured they were bluffing so I ignored the notice. I have never talked to anyone from their company. They have called my home up to 5 times in one day, they leave messages telling me to call them back with some bogus account number. The last call I received from them was a couple of days ago and someone just laughed on the phone. I am really sick of being harrassed at my home and I want to know what I can do about all of this. I have no obligation to pay this company anything. We have no agreements. How is it that this company was able to take my money? What can I do to get it back?
 


Beth3

Senior Member
Presumably your employer was served with what they believed to have been a valid court order to garnish your wages. Have you asked your employer to show you the "garnishment" that was served on them?
 

JETX

Senior Member
Thalovely1How is it that this company was able to take my money?[/quote said:
Presumably because your employer was served with a court order telling them to garnish your wages.
Other than child support, garnishment can ONLY be done after the creditor/claimant has obtained a judgment against you

What can I do to get it back?
Depends. Get a copy of the garnishment order from your employer. Then contact the court that issued it. Get a copy of the complaint and the notice of service.
After you have all that... return here for step 2.
 

Thalovely1

Junior Member
Beth

I get direct deposit and I just found this out at midnight. I am going to my job this afternoon to find out who is responsible for agreeing to this. I am very upset because my job has done a lot of management changes and I am afraid that the person who authorized this no longer works for the company. This person was just fired last week and since they have been gone many employees have found their complaints unanswered.
 

pattytx

Senior Member
So, did you get a copy of the order?

BTW, there is no legal requirement that the employer notify you before they begin deducting for the garnishment.
 

Thalovely1

Junior Member
Patty
I got a copy of BS. It is not really an order because this is a fraudulent company. All the info looks official. So I started to look up all the public laws and section codes they used to justify their actions and they used the same code and said it meant 4 different things. The main thing is that it only applies to California students. I LIVE IN ARIZONA! Now I am pissed at the human resources person at my job for giving all of my personal information out and willingly handing over my money. It is not an order from any court. This company conjured up the whole thing on its on.
 

Beth3

Senior Member
1. Have you been assured by your employer that any further "garnishments" they receive will not be acted upon until they have contacted you?

2. Have you reported the fraudulent garnishment to the police, your State's consumer protection agency, and the FTC?
 

Thalovely1

Junior Member
Beth

I did everything you suggested. The police dept told me to make sure I do not owe this company any money, which I don't. I asked this company in writing to provide me with written documentation showing that I have financial obligations to pay them. They didn't respond. I made a complaint with the FTC. I have the complaint form to send the Attorney General's office. Could you break this law down for me and tell me if this is correct usage of the law.
Public Law 102-164; 20 U.S.C. 1095a et seq.
This is what I found:
D. EARNINGS WITHHOLDING ORDER FOR PAYMENT OF A DEFAULTED STUDENT LOAN

Under the administrative Wage Garnishment Program, a California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) Order of Withholding from Earnings requires an employer to withhold income from Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) borrowers who have defaulted on the repayment of their student loans. Under Federal law (Public Law 102-164; 20 U.S.C. 1095a), the CSAC is not required to obtain a court order since the law specifically authorizes an administrative action. Consequently, the University must honor such withholding orders, including those issued by guarantee agencies from other states. A copy of the order must be furnished to the employee.
The employer is required to begin withholding from the employee's disposable pay beginning with the first pay period after the issuance of the withholding order. The amount withheld cannot exceed ten percent (10%) of the employee's disposable pay for each pay period.
 

Beth3

Senior Member
Thalovely, we're getting outside of my area of expertise which is employment law, not laws regarding credit and collections.

Just a thought but do you have ANY outstanding student loans? If you do, I'm wondering if the school "sold" your loan to a collection agency.
 

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