Wage garnishment is a debt collection procedure that is initiated by a judgment against you, and a subsequent court process that results in a wage deduction order. This order is served on your employer, who is then required to withhold a statutory amount from your wages, until the court decides the final amount. There are only four states that do not allow wage deductions for credit card debt. One of them is Pennsylvania.
Debt Collection in Pennsylvania
Debt collection is a multi-billion-dollar business in the United States. In December 2010, statistics showed that consumers owed over $2.3 trillion in outstanding revolving and non-revolving debt. Though Pennsylvania does not allow wage garnishment for credit card debt or court judgments, it does allow creditors to collect their debt from you in other ways, such as through your assets or property. Debt collectors are within their rights to put a lien on your bank account. This lien would cover current deposits as well as future deposits. Though they can't directly attach to your wages, if you have direct deposit or deposit your paycheck into a bank account, they can take whatever is deposited up to the limit set by the court, if any.
Allowable Garnishments
Pennsylvania does have certain categories of debt that may be collected through wage garnishment: judgments for child or spousal support, obligations relating to final divorce distribution, Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency student loans, back rent on a residential lease and as restitution for criminal matters. These types of garnishments still require a court process and court order to be legally enforceable.
Taxes
Federal and state taxes you owe can be enforced through a wage garnishment, but different proceedings apply. For Pennsylvania state taxes owed, the state is not required to initiate court proceedings but can garnish your wages by notifying your employer you are in default. The state can garnish up to 2 percent of your wages. If you owe federal taxes, the IRS must take your case to a federal court and have a federal judge issue the garnishment order.
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Just because it is illegal to garnish your wages in Pennsylvania doesn't mean that you are never threatened by wage garnishment. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a debt collector cannot threaten you with a remedy that is not available to him. In Pennsylvania, that would include threatening to take you to court to garnish your wages. If a collector threatens you with this remedy, you may file a lawsuit against him under the FDCPA and recover any damages allowed under federal and Pennsylvania law. Some attorneys will sue for no upfront cost as attorney's fees are paid by the defendant, if he loses.
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