When a debtor is seriously behind on payments to a creditor, the creditor may choose to hire a professional debt collector to collect on the debt, or simply sell the debt to the collector. Debt collectors use a variety of methods to compel debtors to pay the money they owe, ranging from phone calls to wage garnishments. Although the debt many not have been issued by the debt collector, the collector is still empowered to use all legal means to receive payment, including garnishment.
Garnishment
To legally garnish a debtor's wages, a debt collector must first receive a judgment from a court that legally certifies that the debtor owes money to the collector or the creditor for whom the debt collector is working. The debtor will then be given a chance to pay what he owes. If he fails to do so, the collector may petition to allow the collector to garnish the debtor's wages, an action requiring a court order.
Financial Viability of Garnishment
Seeking a garnishment order is an expensive process. Unless the debt collector is especially skilled in the law, he will likely have to procure the services of an attorney to seek a legal judgment for the debt and to receive a petition order. While a debtor may be ordered by a judge to pay the creditor's court costs, it may be difficult to force him to pay the debt, let alone additional costs. For this reason, a collector may not bother to garnish a debtor's wages.
Exemptions
While a debt collector is legally allowed to seek a garnishment, this does mean that a judge will grant it. Each state has its own laws about who can legally have wages garnished. Many states have means tests for garnishment, in which a debtor must earn more than a certain amount of money or have a certain amount of assets in order to be eligible to have his wages garnished. Ineligible debtors are exempt from garnishment.
Considerations
A debt collector can only garnish a debtor's wages after he has petitioned for and received a court order. A debt collector who attempts to garnish wages without this order is acting in contravention of federal law and can be sued by the debtor for damages. In addition, as soon as a debtor files for bankruptcy, all garnishment orders are nullified and debt collectors must immediately cease all collection actions, including all forms of garnishment.
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