Is it legal for a bill collector to go to court and garnish my wages without my knowledge?
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Is it legal for a bill collector to go to court and garnish my wages without my knowledge?
I have a collection agency that has garnished my wages twice for 2 differant credit cards. I was never served to appear in court on either one. Is that legal for a bill collector to go to court and garnish without my knowledge?
Asked on March 30, 2012 under Bankruptcy Law, Louisiana
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
The law is clear that you have to be served with the pleadings (the summons and complaint) in an action in order for the court to obtain what is known as personal jurisdiction over you in order to make a determination against you. What you need to do is to go down to the court houses where the actions were filed and see what happened. You may then need to seek to vacate the judgements based upon the failure of the court to have personal jurisdiction by their failure to properly serve you. You are going to need the court to grant a stay on the collection. Get help. Good luck.
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