HELP! Someone just called my work number to ask for a wage garnishment address!

[kawgirl23]

Do you think I should worry?

I thought that for a wage garnishment, the company would have to take you to court to get it issued. Also, if they were looking for an address, do you think they would have called my personal work number or the corporate offices?

And the lady who called said her name was Lillie from ECR and to call her at 800-923-9079. Has anyone even heard of this company?

Please help!

[Flyingifr]

It's Pioneer Credit and they were just trying to scare you.

No, they cannot garnish without a Judgment and they have to go through the silliness of suing you first in order to get the Judgment.

[Robert Nashville/Savannah]

Relax and take a deep breath.

I called the number - the woman that answered said they were "Pioneer Credit".

This is a collection agency and unless they are collecting for a defaulted federally guaranteed student loan then yes, they must sue you, win, get a judgment, then try to garnish your wages assuming your state allows them to do so. (student loans do not have to do any of that, they just take your money).

What you just experiened is an all too typical, low-life collector tactic to intimidate you/scare you into paying them money.

Also, if there were ready to take you wages they wouldn't need to call YOU to get information.

If you can ignore their calls at work that's what I would do at least for now - hopefully you'll receive some written correspondence from them (called a dunning letter) within the next few days and then you can take the next step.

In the meantime, spend some time here reading; especially the "sticky" threads at the top of the sections.

[kawgirl23]

It may be for a student loan I have with Sallie Mae. I've been trying to pay on it and I just made 2 payments to Sallie Mae so I'm not sure who this Pioneer Credit place is.

Do I have any other options if the loan has defaulted to get it back in good standing?

[trueq]

If you have a judgment against you....

and

If you actually have a garnishment wage order against you....

NO ONE NEEDS TO CALL FOR THE EMPLOYERS ADDRESS!!!!

As an employer, we have Federal and State Employer ID numbers, and trust me..the court has all the employers address and phone number info to send any aleged garnishment order to the employee.

If you have neither a judgment or a court order for garnishment against you,(both need to happen first for any garnishment) what Pioneer Credit just did is illegal!

Call a NACA lawyer, draw up an affidavit of what happened, get the phone records and sue!

[Robert Nashville/Savannah]

It may be for a student loan I have with Sallie Mae. I've been trying to pay on it and I just made 2 payments to Sallie Mae so I'm not sure who this Pioneer Credit place is.

Do I have any other options if the loan has defaulted to get it back in good standing?

If you think this is or may be for a student loan; in that case I WOULD call Pioneer Credit and get some info (just don't let them intimidate you and try not to get flustered).

Only the IRS can screw up your life more easily than the DOE can when collecting for a defaulted student loan...they DO NOT have to follow due process procedures; they just go in and take money.

If it isn't a student loan then my earlier advice still stands.

[LynnInMN]

Pioneer Credit is a DOE and FFELP student loan CA. For admin wage garnishment they do not need to take you to court to garnish 15% of your disposable wages. It is normal procedure to call and get an address for the company and with larger companies, the wage garnishment desk contact name.

[trueq]

garnishment in this manner.

If an "administrative garnishment" can happen without any sort of due process, we live in one screwed up country!

[LynnInMN]

garnishment in this manner.

If an "administrative garnishment" can happen without any sort of due process, we live in one screwed up country!

The student is giving a 30 notice to appeal the garnishment. If they fail to appeal, Congress has authorized admin wage garnishment to recover the funds. There are many options to avoid default and to resolve default. If the borrower is not paying and is working, this is the option that is taken to recover tax payer funds.

[LeslieR]

If this is for SLs, as Lynn suggests it is, then you need to talk to Pioneer. You need to either rehab with them or get these loans consolidated. Don't bury your head in the sand about this!!!!!!