Anonymous Posted January 5, 2003 Report Share Posted January 5, 2003 Help!! I've just been hit again by those nasty CA. My wages are already being garnished for another medical bill and a student loan, now a different CA wants to take me to court. First they called me at work and I told them not to call only to have them call back. I sent them a letter in Oct explaining my current financial situtation and offered to pay $10 a mth until the garnishments were done and not to call my work again. I guess this is their answer to me trying to work it out. Can I counter sue for the CA violating the FTC by calling me at work after I told them not to? Now, I'm barely making it and want to quit my job because I'm way behind on my utilities and such and am having a hard time feeding my family. Thanks for your input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan12909 Posted January 5, 2003 Report Share Posted January 5, 2003 well do relize that there is always one option i dont recommend it but if you had to a BK chapter 13 would stop the garnishments and lawsuits and collections but as i said i would use it for your only last option as it affects you for 7 years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bingo Posted January 5, 2003 Report Share Posted January 5, 2003 It won't stop the student loan garnishment. SL's are not dischargeable in bk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadynRed Posted January 6, 2003 Report Share Posted January 6, 2003 The Federal Labor laws prohibit multiple garnishments over and above the allowed level. If this law were NOT in place, then you could be garnsished to the point of having NO pay and not being able to survive, so the Federal Gov't PREVENTS that from happening. IF they sue and win a judgment, they would be forced to wait until the other garnishments were lifted/completed before they could start sticking their hands in your pocket !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronMan Posted January 6, 2003 Report Share Posted January 6, 2003 Garinshments suck. I'm not an attorney, but I've been to court many times and have played this game more than twice. I've been through the grind on getting the lein against my house released, levied funds returned, and a 10 year old, renewed judgment vacated. I wrote a helluva brief and rose some qualitive points and arguments which induced the judge to do his own homework and rule in my favor. But I lost alot of vacation and personal time in doing so. Hope this helps.....OK, here's the deal....I don't know what state you're from, but first off, TAKE A BREATH and CALM DOWN. I know you're anxious, but there's no need to panic. The first court fight is always the scariest. You're safe right now since you can't be garnished again until the first garnishment is satisfied. The C/A may not even be able to take you court anyway - READ ON.....You need to do prepare your defense in the event they do decide to file."Anticipate nothing, Prepare for Anything"First, you need to immediately research your State's Code of Civil Procedure to see if "assignees" (a$$-in-knees) are able to bring about any action in the court. Only the original creditor can bring about a court action. C/A's / Debt Collectors are not creditors! This will be your immediate defense to the suit. (Cal. Code of Civ. Proc. 116.420)Typically, (at least in my State of California) C/A's are designated as "assignees" ("assignee of record") and therefore lack standing in the court. They will have to file a paper stating that they are the assignee of record. Generally, they'll contract with some schmuck attorney to do these things. Secondly, gather all materials that you can to mount a good defense. If you feel that the C/A has violated the FCRA or FDCPA, you can mount a counter-suit within the original suit that was filed by the C/A.Third, prepare a brief on the case. Briefs are tough to do at first, but once you have the format down, it's easy. A good format can be found at the following: www.law.wfu.edu/lrwfrontpage/moot_court_brief.htmIf they do file, go to the court and make a copy of the entire file. You'll need to have that for proper preparation your case and see what's been filed.If you do go to court. MAKE SURE TO SHOW UP!!! DO NOT ALLOW A DEFAULT JUDGMENT!!! It's a pain in the a$$ to unwind through appeal.C/A's generally file anyway and get what they want because they bank on the fact that most people that are in financial straits can't get an attorney and don't know the law. I think it's BS that the (CA) courts allow this and people get screwed. However, all the courts do is listen (sometimes) and make decisions. It's up to the parties to raise issues and point things out to the court, unfortunately. Some judges are cool and will sort of help along, but those are rare cases.Good Luck! [Edit by IronMan on Monday, January 6, 2003 @ 12:45 PM] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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