Wage garnishments and collections

There is no such thing as debtor's prison here.🙂

Quincy:

Brian Edwards6 As specified by hollowmason64: There is absolutely no such thing as debtor's prison in this country.🙂

What exactly happens if I fail to settle the debt within the designated timeframe?

Quincy

fadedcobra5 said:Quincy:

Brian Edwards6 As specified by hollowmason64: There is absolutely no such thing as debtor's prison in this country.🙂

What exactly happens if I fail to settle the debt within the designated timeframe?

Look, you’re going to be climbing an uphill battle forever because of those interest rates—just waiting around for the collectors to come knocking. Your creditors are absolutely going to sue you, and since you don't have a job or any assets to speak of right now, the whole enforcement process is basically just going to sit in limbo. It stays frozen until the day you actually land a job or register something in your name—be it a house, a car, or even a boat. Now, under normal circumstances, there is a statute of limitations, but let's be real—a big bank like Chase isn't exactly some charity. They aren't just going to forget about you. Every few years, they’ll simply renew the lawsuit just to make sure it doesn't hit that expiration date. And honestly? That's an easy trick for them to pull, especially since the debt has ballooned by then. On the bright side—if you can even call it that—they can only garnish about a third of your paycheck once you finally get back on your feet and find work.

Brian Edwards6 said:There is no such thing as debtor's prison here.🙂

Theoretically, this only applies to people who aren't paying child support—but let’s be real, even if they're completely unemployed, they still have that legal obligation to pay. It doesn't just vanish because you lost your job.

Here is my situation—please let me know what I should do!
My bank went ahead and wiped out my entire overdraft because they noticed my paycheck stopped hitting the account, even though I’m still technically employed, just retired.
I’ve been living abroad for the whole year, and honestly, there was no way for me to settle the debt—who can afford anything in times like these? No one!
Anyway, I called them several times, explaining that I’ll be back this summer to clear the balance in one go, or that my tax refund might land in the meantime to cover it.
They promised they would reach out if necessary.
Of course, nobody ever contacted me—not via email, not by phone. Not a single word.
Now I suspect things have already moved toward legal collection because they recently blocked my security token, so I can't even check if that tax refund actually hit.
The point is, I never received any notice regarding legal action; if it was sent to my home address, I obviously couldn't see it since I'm not in the States.
My husband's family mentioned some certified mail arrived, but they weren't able to pick it up.
So, what I want to know is: will I be forced to pay all those extra fees they mention when I finally show up at the bank to settle the debt?
I stumbled upon some info suggesting that if you never officially received the notice, you shouldn't have to pay the penalties—just the original debt. Is that actually true, and what is my best move here?
Thanks in advance for any advice!

Look, you’re going to have to cough up the whole thing. That means the principal, the interest, and if things have already gone south and hit the collection stage, all those extra legal fees too. The longer you sit on your hands, the more this pile of debt just grows.
And don't give me that excuse about being out of the country—you can wire money from anywhere. Just call Chase or whatever bank you use, get the exact payoff amount, and settle it. I'm assuming since you're abroad you've actually got a job and some kind of income coming in.

redhawk76 said:Am I legally obligated to settle these alleged debts/invoices owed to ZG-Holding (for utility fees and water management fees) for which I have received a pre-foreclosure notice, given that the supposed arrears date back to 2001, 2004, 2005, 2010, and 2011?

I am receiving this exact same notice for the same debt for the second time now. When the first notice arrived (roughly a year ago), I responded by refusing payment, citing the following:

Consumer Protection Act - II
- Part II - Sale of goods and provision of services,
- Chapter IV – Public services provided to consumers,
- Article 24,
- point 9, which explicitly states:
- Claims for compensation for public services, as well as all household expenses paid at regular intervals, expire after one year.

The total amount is relatively minor ($117 everything, including interest), yet I find myself entirely disinclined to pay off debts that are 12, 10, or 8 years old. (It isn't as if I have any practical way to verify whether these charges are even legitimate, or...) If possible, I would much rather lean on the statute that grants me the right to simply ignore such a demand.

Should I send them another "refusal" while once again citing that specific legal provision...?
Am I in the right here, or am I mistaken? 🤷

I actually dealt with something similar not too long ago—I basically just wrote them off because the whole thing had already hit the statute of limitations. 🤷

Benjamin Taylor6 said:Does anyone have any ideas on how I can help a friend out? He went and signed for several loans, and now the banks are basically trying to seize his entire paycheck.
In the meantime, the Consumer Protection Act - II was passed, which is supposed to protect two-thirds of a person's wages. Right now, he's left with $167 of his pay, but things just got worse because his company hit a temporary shutdown, meaning he’s also losing another $0.00. To top it all off, the leasing company just announced they’re going after his wages through his guarantors—and guess who the guarantor is? Him. At this rate, it looks like he'll be living with absolutely ZERO income for the next decade!

He’s actually considering quitting his job entirely to move out to the countryside and just work under the table. He’d probably make about $333, mostly in trade or goods, and a bit less in actual cash. Plus, he could pull in around $167 in social security benefits. Honestly, there's no way anyone would hire him for a steady gig given he's already 57. If he goes through the unemployment office, he might get around $333 for about a year and a half!

Does anyone happen to know if a signature authorizing a full wage garnishment also applies to the pension he's set to receive in eight years?

It doesn't matter what the source of the income is; once the garnishment is active, it hits everything.
My brain is a little fried at the moment so I can't pin down the exact date, but I'm pretty sure anything signed from mid-2008 onwards wouldn't hold up regarding that clause about seizing an entire salary.

Benjamin Taylor6 said:Quincy

Look, you’re going to be climbing an uphill battle forever because of those interest rates—just waiting around for the collectors to come knocking. Your creditors are absolutely going to sue you, and since you don't have a job or any assets to speak of right now, the whole enforcement process is basically just going to sit in limbo. It stays frozen until the day you actually land a job or register something in your name—be it a house, a car, or even a boat. Now, under normal circumstances, there is a statute of limitations, but let's be real—a big bank like Chase isn't exactly some charity. They aren't just going to forget about you. Every few years, they’ll simply renew the lawsuit just to make sure it doesn't hit that expiration date. And honestly? That's an easy trick for them to pull, especially since the debt has ballooned by then. On the bright side—if you can even call it that—they can only garnish about a third of your paycheck once you finally get back on your feet and find work.

Theoretically, this only applies to people who aren't paying child support—but let’s be real, even if they're completely unemployed, they still have that legal obligation to pay. It doesn't just vanish because you lost your job.

In all honesty, you can only restart a garnishment for a debt that already has an existing judgment if you're changing the method of collection.
Courts have been shutting down those kinds of loopholes for a while now—I know some friends of mine had a big firm try to pull that exact stunt on them. 😁

I have a quick question for anyone who might know how this works. I’m just a regular guy working for a paycheck, and I made a mistake regarding a debt to Verizon. Because of that, they’ve been taking a third of my wages for three months now, which I accept—it’s my fault. However, during the first month this started, I was left with absolutely nothing. While I was busy realizing my account was frozen and trying to set up a protected account, there was a delay while the info moved between the IRS and my employer. In the meantime, my company deposited my full check into my regular account. I went back and forth between my company, the bank, and the tax authorities with paperwork proving exactly what my 2/3 and 1/3 splits should be, but I just got the runaround. They kept sending me from one office to another, only to eventually tell me that the money had already been sent to Verizon and there was nothing they could do about it. Does anyone actually know if that's how it works?

I am looking for some guidance here,
A few years back, an "execution proceeding" was initiated against a property due to unpaid loans. Is it actually possible for the current "legal owner"—the debtor in this case—to legally rent out that property, or even just a portion of it, without any prior knowledge or consent from the person handling the seizure?
I would appreciate any insight you all might have.

Hey guys, I could really use some advice here,

Is there such a thing as an absolute statute of limitations on a business debt from back in 2005 or 2006? It’s a debt for my small business, and just so you know, we’ve been chipping away at it by making occasional payments here and there over the years.
I really want to get this cleared up and paid off, but things are just super tight right now and I can't swing it, so I'm low-key stressing about a potential collection action or a lawsuit. If they actually try to come after me, can I legally argue that the debt has expired?

Thanks a bunch!

I honestly feel like by making these occasional payments, you've managed to pause the statute of limitations and basically acknowledged the debt...

Hi everyone! I was wondering if anyone might be able to lend me some advice here—I just received a pre-foreclosure notice regarding utility fees from Berkshire Hathaway. Most of these charges seem to be way past the statute of limitations. I went ahead and filed a formal objection with them, but their response was essentially that they don't have the authority to write off the debt themselves; they claimed I can only invoke the statute of limitations during a forced collection proceeding. This actually happened to me once before where my wages were garnished without any warning because they didn't even bother mailing me anything—they just posted the notice on the court's bulletin board. I’m honestly terrified it’ll happen again, leaving me with zero chance to even bring up the statute of limitations. It feels like they know perfectly well the debt is expired, yet when I submit my objection, they just brush me off saying they aren't authorized to cancel it and that I should wait until the actual collection phase to argue it... is this just them playing games with me? Should I be sending my grievance directly to New York City instead? Their reply claims the city is responsible for the utility fees, while they are supposedly just handling the collections per their contract.
Thanks 🙂

redhawk76 said:Am I legally obligated to settle these alleged debts/invoices owed to ZG-Holding (for utility fees and water management fees) for which I have received a pre-foreclosure notice, given that the supposed arrears date back to 2001, 2004, 2005, 2010, and 2011?

I am receiving this exact same notice for the same debt for the second time now. When the first notice arrived (roughly a year ago), I responded by refusing payment, citing the following:

Consumer Protection Act - II
- Part II - Sale of goods and provision of services,
- Chapter IV – Public services provided to consumers,
- Article 24,
- point 9, which explicitly states:
- Claims for compensation for public services, as well as all household expenses paid at regular intervals, expire after one year.

The total amount is relatively minor ($117 everything, including interest), yet I find myself entirely disinclined to pay off debts that are 12, 10, or 8 years old. (It isn't as if I have any practical way to verify whether these charges are even legitimate, or...) If possible, I would much rather lean on the statute that grants me the right to simply ignore such a demand.

Should I send them another "refusal" while once again citing that specific legal provision...?
Am I in the right here, or am I mistaken? 🤷

This happened to me too, honestly. I ended up asking the same question, and now I see I'm definitely not alone in this. I filed an objection to my pre-foreclosure notice, but they basically told me that I can only raise those objections once the forced collection process actually begins. Now I'm a little worried that—just like they did to me before—they might fail to post the notice on the court's bulletin board, causing me to miss that 8-day window to object. If that happens, the seizure order becomes final and I'll be stuck, even though I know for a fact it's all past the statute of limitations. They told me they have a contract with New York City and aren't authorized to write off the debt; they can only collect it, and they aren't backing down from the claim. Now I'm thinking maybe I should send a formal grievance regarding the notice directly to the City? By the way, I think the statute of limitations for local utility fees is three years. It wasn't listed under the San Diego Zoo regulations. Maybe I'm wrong, though—if there's a lawyer here, you'd certainly know better... and if anyone has some advice, I would be so grateful because I'm really not sure what my next move should be. 🤷

Look, three years have passed, and honestly, they gave you the right advice—you really can't even start making a claim based on the statute of limitations until you actually receive a formal judgment for enforcement. So, I'd say just make sure your residential address is properly updated and filed correctly in the system.

But what if they’re running double books?

I’ve dealt with this personally—my father keeps getting these aggressive collection notices for "unpaid" bills, even though at the exact same time, they’re sending us payment slips for those very same charges, which we then pay through my mother or myself without any issues. It’s happened several times now, but it's honestly useless to fight it. Just last year, they had the nerve to send yet another demand for debts dating all the way back to 2006, 2008, and 2009.

Jesse Sanchez90 said:But what if they’re running double books?

I’ve dealt with this personally—my father keeps getting these aggressive collection notices for "unpaid" bills, even though at the exact same time, they’re sending us payment slips for those very same charges, which we then pay through my mother or myself without any issues. It’s happened several times now, but it's honestly useless to fight it. Just last year, they had the nerve to send yet another demand for debts dating all the way back to 2006, 2008, and 2009.

In that case, I don't think you should just sit there twiddling your thumbs—maybe take some initiative! You really ought to go down to their office and see exactly whose name is on what, just so you can get any mistakes straightened out immediately.

John Clark6 said:I honestly feel like by making these occasional payments, you've managed to pause the statute of limitations and basically acknowledged the debt...

So wait, does that mean there’s no such thing as an absolute expiration date here?

mistycanyon77 said:So wait, does that mean there’s no such thing as an absolute expiration date here?

No, actually—the Obligations Act doesn't really recognize it that way. By making a payment, you essentially "reset" things, which basically extends the statute of limitations by another 10 years... but even then, that window isn't necessarily set in stone.

John Clark6 said:In that case, I don't think you should just sit there twiddling your thumbs—maybe take some initiative! You really ought to go down to their office and see exactly whose name is on what, just so you can get any mistakes straightened out immediately.

Making people mindless isn't going to prevent consequences like you seem to think—I've been through this process three times now, and it's always the exact same thing: "We hear you, we'll get on it." How many times am I supposed to repeat the same cycle?
Maybe sticking your finger up your own backside would solve your problems if you had any, but that wasn't really the point of my question.

I'm currently a student working through a campus job service. I just had a garnishment hit my account, and I was wondering—is there any way I can still have my earnings from the student service deposited into my own account without the garnishment grabbing it?

Thanks

Yeah, just pay the damn debt already.