Judgement/Garnishment

[GoldDustWoman]

Washington State

I have a problem that I am not sure which way to proceed.
I have been fighting a towing company when our 22 yr old car finally exploded into flames in I-5 on afternoon summer of 2014 . We were talking to the highway patrol and a close friend was coming to tow it to the junkyard While the trooper took us home to call our friend ( this was a BAD fast fire that burned everything including our phones and we had to use daughters phone ) . A well known towing co picked the thing up and took it to impound while we'd gone to call the friend . I surrendered it, I couldn't pay for it . They sold it and were not happy with what they got for it so they sued us for approx triple it's blue book value had it been in showroom condition.
We went to small claims and lost. They had a great atty we had none this was Aug 2015.
October we became homeless all of our hours got cut back and they raised the rent , ended up living in the car with a 14 year old .
Finally got stable housing in around jan 15th. trying to get enough money together we could not pay anyone not to mention getting any mail and the collections is out of state. We just got notice they are going to garnish , what wages we managed to have in about 30 days . This will make us homeless again .
I am considering bankruptcy . We have no furniture and just got beds after a month here .

Not sure whether to call their lawyer , try to get legal aid ( we managed to find housing out of that county but remain employed) or what so we do not end up homeless again . IDK at this point this has been a nitemare since the day the car burned .

 

[single317dad]

What state is the original judgment in?

Who is the named creditor in the judgment? (name of the state department, or just "towing company", you don't have to name them specifically)

Do you currently reside in Washington? (I believe this to be the case, but I don't want to assume)

What court issued the garnishment order?

Here is a general overview of garnishment exemptions, with links to more specific information relevant to your state. Please review it and begin the process immediately. Laws vary by state, but all states have some form of exemption from garnishment to allow a debtor basic sustenance.

As to the original judgment, what you've encountered is a state-sponsored racket. Towing companies impound the maximum possible number of vehicles, as this maximizes their revenue. You are charged an initial towing fee, as well as a daily storage fee. This is done with no regard for the actual value of your vehicle. The fee total increases daily (duh), so when you're quoted a total price on Monday (say, $500) to retrieve your vehicle, by the time you get paid Friday the amount is now $900. Here's a hint: it costs the tow yard hardly anything to store your vehicle. Their total costs of property, tax, insurance, payroll, and overhead are minuscule compared to the massive fees they reap from impounded vehicles.

When someone can't pay the exorbitant fees, their vehicle is eventually sent to auction. Since the vehicle likely wasn't worth much anyway, its auction value is next to nothing. Whatever small amount is recovered via auction is now subtracted from the total due, but other fees (such as transport to the auction) are added. Now there's a final total that you owe the company, and your car is gone forever.

Many states will suspend your driver's license if you have impound shortages you haven't paid. I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn that the registered owner of the car is currently ineligible for a license.

All this amounts to a poor tax, which isn't at all uncommon in today's system. Law enforcement agencies (including the DMV, not picking on the police here) are set up at a bureaucratic level to extract the bulk of funds from the people who can least afford to pay them. The guy whose license gets suspended because he couldn't pay the speeding ticket tries to get to work to pay his fines and is arrested. License suspended further, more fines, attorney fees, rinse and repeat. Then there are many people like you who no longer have their car but owe exorbitant amounts either to the state or a private company. Don't even get me started on bank NSF fees and state lotteries!

All that said (rant accomplished!), all you really can do is try to stop the garnishment via exemption, unless some of your answers to my questions lead to other strategies. You'll absolutely have to pay these fees eventually, as state governments are quite the aggressive creditors, but you might get some breathing room for now.

Good luck.

 

[GoldDustWoman]

Yes my license is suspended my husband has to drive even though he as driving the day of the fire ( a fuel injector blew out) I was the registered owner of the car we did make it way onto the shoulder and were NOT ticketed . The troopers and firemen were just glad we weren't killed and got out in time.

I meant to mention earlier that of all the places on I-5 it went up in a ball of flames near the entry ramp FROM this towing company so it was like they just helped themselves .The place was Dick's Towing Service -aptly named . This happened in Everett, Snohomish co Washington . Car was registered in Wasington, Snohomish county and was given VERY quickly to this collection company next door to the towing company called the Everett Assn of Credit Men .

Sounds like a fraternal organization but they were very vicious and I am saying that as a Texas native , they were scary .

I do still live in Wa although one county away from Snohomish ( Pierce) . The court that issued the judgement was the Snohomish county court in the city of Everett We tried very had to fight these people but couldn't afford an atty but answered back in small claims when this Everett assn of Credit men summoned us to court . We took every bit of paper work and the friend who went with us to pick it up . The amount now is astronomical. They won in court and I was forced to sign or garnish . I told the judge and the people we were very close to homelessness them .

After looking at the papers again we are now back with the Everett Assn of Credit me Vs us with my husbands employer as the garnishee. My husband gets paud a per diem so I cannot tell if the 50% they are going to garnish comes from the taxable earning or BOTH the taxable earnings and the non taxable perdiem