How to Negotiate the Full or Partial Release of a Wage Garnishment

Wage garnishment allows a debt collector to receive a percentage of your paycheck for an unpaid debt. By law, your employer must comply with wage garnishment. The only way out of the situation is to pay off the debt, negotiate with the debt collector or file for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy immediately stops wage garnishment through a powerful legal injunction called the automatic stay. A debt collector receiving payments through garnishment usually has little reason to negotiate, but there are options for making a deal.

Instructions

1

Garnishment guarantees payments to the debt collector. You must offer something of value in exchange for ending or reducing the garnishment. Simply asking for help will not work. Save money for a lump sum payment on the debt equal to four monthly payments. Get the money for the lump sum by working overtime, working a second job or selling items in garage sales.

2

Contact the debt collector by telephone to open negotiations. Conducting the talks by phone usually leads to faster results than sending a letter. Tell the debt collector you are seeking full release of the garnishment in exchange for an immediate lump sum payment equaling four monthly payments. Tell the debt collector that you are also willing to pay a fee for the arrangement equaling 10 percent of the current balance. Instruct the debt collector to add the fee to your balance after receiving the lump payment and promise to continue making regular monthly payments by money order or cashier's check. Inform the debt collector that if you miss two consecutive payments, garnishment can resume.

3

Tell the debt collector that you must reach an agreement. Continue by saying you will file for bankruptcy if an agreement is impossible. Remind the debt collector that the garnishment will end the day that you file for bankruptcy, and there is a chance bankruptcy may eliminate the entire balance, with the debt collector receiving nothing.

4

Inform the debt collector that you will not answer questions about your finances if the debt collector steers the conversation in that direction. Simply acknowledge that you're having a tough time financially and that the wage garnishment limits your flexibility to manage your money.

5

Ask the debt collector for his mailing address and direct telephone number if he continues to refuse to negotiate. Tell the debt collector that you're turning the matter over to a bankruptcy attorney and that the attorney will make one last effort to negotiate an agreement.

6

Hire a consumer affairs attorney with bankruptcy experience to send a letter, if necessary. Continue negotiating with the debt collector on your own and through the attorney until you reach an agreement.