Can a debt collector garnish wages even if I pay them every month?
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Can a debt collector garnish wages even if I pay them every month?
I owe the a state college tuition cost and we had court agreement to pay $20 a month. I have been paying the $20 every month, except for a couple of months. And when I couldn’t pay the $20, I paid something. So they started to garnish my wages and took all the money out of the bank account. Can they garnish my wages?
Asked on December 19, 2011 under Bankruptcy Law, Missouri
Answers:
MD, Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If you had an agreement for $20.00 per month and could not pay for a couple of months or paid less than $20.00, the school/collection authority can absolutely automatically garnish your wages. It most likely obtained a judgment against you or you signed off on wage garnishment as part of the contract initially and upon breach you basically agreed to the garnishment. At this point, you may need to consider other options in repayment or the garnishment will continue until you are paid off, you may need to consider options to ensure you maintain a bank account positive balance to keep bank account fees low.
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