Wage garnishments and collections

Carl Nguyen5 said:So—following those garnishments I mentioned earlier regarding two car lifts from 2001—here is how things unfolded. I headed over to see a lawyer at a firm here in New York City—she’s actually a friend, so she’s helping me out pro bono—but since I am in ST and she is based in NYC, she sent me down to the clerk's office first.

First, I went to the IRS to pay $543 of the total $600 they quoted me—that includes the principal, interest, and IRS fees—because it seems like they pulled $57 out of my account from $600 almost immediately. I noticed they already took about $167, leaving my balance sitting there; I was honestly baffled because I've never dealt with anything like this before.

Then, I hit the clerk's office—total chaos, really—and even the lady working the desk wasn't sure about a case that's thirteen years old. After we finished copying everything, I spoke with an advisor who handles these insurance garnishments all the time. He told me I'd likely win one part of the appeal and maybe lose the other—suggesting I just stay reasonable and try to reach a settlement.

I went to the insurance company totally unprepared and explained that some funds had already been taken. I asked them to return the money and suspend the garnishment, promising I wouldn't contest it further. They agreed, telling me to check back tomorrow once the funds cleared their account. Well, I call them the next day, and they claim they haven't received anything. I head back to the IRS, and they tell me those were their processing fees—the money is just sitting in reserve until a judge rules within thirty days. I call the insurance company again and tell them, "Look, there's nothing to return, those were just IRS fees; you can go ahead and suspend the garnishment now." But they? They ask why they should bother. I reminded them we had a deal yesterday, and she just rudely snaps, "No."🙂

Fine. I went back to my lawyer, she drafted the appeals, and I filed them. I checked in with the advisor again, and he just shook his head—he told me, "I warned you they’d play games like this." They either wait for the appeal deadline to pass or hope someone uninformed pays up on something that's already past the statute of limitations. By the way, they actually called me yesterday, trying to figure out if they could drop one of the garnishments since they'll almost certainly lose that one—though they won't admit that to me directly.

Now, my lawyer thinks I'll probably win both. I don't quite grasp the legal reasoning—I'm no attorney—but she knows her stuff. Honestly, I'm just wondering what kind of system we live in where people can freeze my accounts for no reason, or where the insurance company takes $167 for costs I shouldn't even be liable for. So, what are my options? I can fight it, drag it out for years to eventually get my money back, or potentially sue them for legal fees—though even that might be tough since she's doing this as a favor and isn't local. At best, I'm still out the IRS fees, or I have to sue them just to get $167 back. I’d love some advice—this feels incredibly unjust. I know it’s technically the law, but if this is the law, then it’s just pure harassment.

Hmmmm... you know what they say? A lawyer is a servant of the devil and deserves a... hit to the head...
Clearly, this person doesn't understand how the IRS or the courts actually function. Therefore, here's the summary. They probably tried to serve you the garnishment at your old registered address. You might have even received it and tossed it in the trash thinking it was just a warning, or maybe your neighbor George took it and forgot to give it to you. Or, they couldn't find you, posted the notice on the court bulletin board, and it became legally binding. It's all explained in previous posts.
How does the IRS work? How do the courts work?
Once the IRS receives a garnishment, they freeze the checking account and hold the funds for 30 days before releasing them to the creditor. Immediately, the IRS fees ($57) and I assume court costs or notary fees ($167) are deducted. Therefore, you can appeal, but only if you have proof that you already paid. Any appeal regarding anything else will be denied because the deadlines passed ages ago. That's exactly why those deadlines exist.
When a ruling becomes final, only the judge who issued it can overturn it, and even then, they need some damn good arguments to pull it off. Usually, when a judge does that, they’re basically admitting they screwed up—which happens about once in a blue moon, mostly due to procedural blunders like messed-up service of process. That definitely isn't what happened in your case. Any appeal to a higher court is going to get tossed out on technicalities because it was filed too late. Therefore, your advisor and lawyer are just going to rack up extra fees for you with that useless appeal. End of story.
And for the record, John Clark6 has been repeating himself two hundred times here: just because a statute of limitations kicks in doesn't mean the debt vanishes. It still exists. It just means the creditor lost their chance to collect through the courts. Doesn't mean they won't try to squeeze you for it some other way.
If you had bothered to spend thirty minutes scrolling back through fifty pages of posts, you would have found all these answers already.

Hey everyone.

I have a quick question, so please let me know what you think when you get a chance. 😁

Can a single motion for foreclosure on a property list multiple debtors, or does it have to be one debtor per filing?

To be specific, there's a mortgage on an entire property co-owned by two people. If I need to start the foreclosure process, can I just list both owners in one motion right away?

Thanks in advance. 🙂

rowdyraven112 said:Your entire paycheck is going toward credit?
That looks just like this:
An administrative freeze is hitting my credit limit, and it’s being enforced by a private firm, not the IRS. Since I'm short on cash, I've been cycling through credit cards just to stay afloat—to the point where there's absolutely nothing left from my paycheck. What am I supposed to do?
How close am I to the truth?

There’s a way out, you just have to Google it. The real issue is that administrative freeze, which can only be bypassed by filing an enforcement action for unpaid child support. There are plenty of articles online advising people how to handle this. Basically, half the paycheck goes to the ex, and the other half sits in a protected account. A friend could go to a notary and swear a statement claiming he was basically a "deadbeat" who walked away when the kid was born, effectively acknowledging the debt from unpaid support. According to our brilliant legal system, once that statement is made, the statute of limitations on those unpaid payments resets. The beauty of the American judicial system? It doesn't care about "justice," it only cares about the letter of the law. Any judge will rule that a debt exists if the parent agrees they owe it. Here's the kicker: in that statement, you can specify any amount you want—not just the legal minimum. Once the child has a final judgment, they can file for enforcement and put a lien on the property. The only catch? If there's already a lien on the house, you're stuck.
I've been digging through the legal codes, but I can't find any specific section stating that an official notice based on unpaid child support takes precedence over all other liens or garnishments. So, I’ll just ask: is that actually a thing? Don't give me any of that "it's implied" nonsense—I'm not buying it. If it's true, I want the Law and the specific Article. My eyes are starting to cross from staring at this screen all day.

Another perk of our legal system? If that first lien exceeds the actual value of the property, the "lienholder" can actually petition to have full ownership of the unit transferred to them. When that happens, all the other secondary liens just get wiped out as uncollectible. So, even if a big bank tries to start their own foreclosure process, they might find themselves left empty-handed.

Exactly. He told me that if he opens a protected account, he'll run into trouble with his company, because they are the ones redirecting his funds to pay off his loans instead of depositing them into his account.
I was giving him some advice regarding a divorce scenario—specifically, having his adult daughter sue him. He had all the ingredients ready: the mother isn't working and she's basically bankrupt, owing money like she's living in Greece. Meanwhile, he's got his whole salary tied up in loans. But somehow, they managed to scrape by because his wife was selling excursion tickets illegally on the beaches.
Anyway, his wife transferred half of her small house to their daughter a while back just to make sure the girl wouldn't be left destitute. I think she's safe now since it's been exactly three years.

P.S

Something very important!

In a few months, my friend will only have one loan left. There’s some cash sitting in his sister's account from the sale of their mother's apartment, and he holds power of attorney.
He’s thinking about buying a studio apartment for himself, but he’d buy it through his daughter as a co-signer so that she is technically the owner.
He would then try to pay the monthly installments from his unprotected income. But the snag is that he’s also a guarantor for his wife's loan, and her business has completely tanked. If the bank decides to call in his guarantee, will they have priority over the payment, or will a fresh mortgage take precedence?

I suggested to him that he could claim the money from his sister was just a loan to help him survive, and they could even draft a contract to back that up, stating he has to pay her back one day. Then, he could withdraw the full amount all at once and formally buy the apartment for his daughter. He wouldn't actually pay the sister back formally, so if she ever sued him for fraud, he could argue he was just paying her back for food and living expenses, not for the money used to provide housing for his daughter. If the sister's lawsuit moved faster than the bank's, the bank where he's a guarantor might have to back off.
And on top of all that, the bank can't even pin a fraud charge on them because they had this whole verbal agreement—it’s all very unofficial—where one sister takes control of the apartment, sells it, and then splits the cash. They felt forced into this little scheme because there's another sister involved who survives entirely on government assistance in public housing. It would be a total disaster for her if she suddenly showed up with 20,000 USD in her account from the sale of her late mother's place. She’d lose every cent of her social security benefits instantly. (Just to be clear, the money isn't being split openly; the sister who took over and sold the unit actually uses two different accounts at two separate banks—one where her brother holds power of attorney, and another where the other sister holds hers—so legally speaking, they aren't the owners, just the ones pulling the strings.)

rowdyraven112 said:Hmmmm... you know what they say? A lawyer is a servant of the devil and deserves a... hit to the head...
Clearly, this person doesn't understand how the IRS or the courts actually function. Therefore, here's the summary. They probably tried to serve you the garnishment at your old registered address. You might have even received it and tossed it in the trash thinking it was just a warning, or maybe your neighbor George took it and forgot to give it to you. Or, they couldn't find you, posted the notice on the court bulletin board, and it became legally binding. It's all explained in previous posts.
How does the IRS work? How do the courts work?
Once the IRS receives a garnishment, they freeze the checking account and hold the funds for 30 days before releasing them to the creditor. Immediately, the IRS fees ($57) and I assume court costs or notary fees ($167) are deducted. Therefore, you can appeal, but only if you have proof that you already paid. Any appeal regarding anything else will be denied because the deadlines passed ages ago. That's exactly why those deadlines exist.
When a ruling becomes final, only the judge who issued it can overturn it, and even then, they need some damn good arguments to pull it off. Usually, when a judge does that, they’re basically admitting they screwed up—which happens about once in a blue moon, mostly due to procedural blunders like messed-up service of process. That definitely isn't what happened in your case. Any appeal to a higher court is going to get tossed out on technicalities because it was filed too late. Therefore, your advisor and lawyer are just going to rack up extra fees for you with that useless appeal. End of story.
And for the record, John Clark6 has been repeating himself two hundred times here: just because a statute of limitations kicks in doesn't mean the debt vanishes. It still exists. It just means the creditor lost their chance to collect through the courts. Doesn't mean they won't try to squeeze you for it some other way.
If you had bothered to spend thirty minutes scrolling back through fifty pages of posts, you would have found all these answers already.

Why do you think my appeal was sent too late? Where exactly in this story did you see that? It was delivered right on time within the 8-day window. Why are you assuming my appeals aren't valid? And what do you mean "collect outside of court"—are they going to show up at my house asking for cash? )) Also, how can you be so sure there wasn't a procedural error in my cases? That's exactly the point—one was sent late, which is why my advisor told me I'd end up paying 😉 on the appeal. But I have a shot with the second one because my lawyer found where they messed up, and my advisor said there's a chance for that one too... and this is an advisor who processes a million insurance claims a day 😉

So, let's go back to basics: who gave an insurance company the authority to freeze my accounts due to a procedural error? If a judge is responsible, then he failed, my account got frozen, and I'm stuck with IRS fees because of his mistake. Am I really supposed to pay fees for his error? Who am I supposed to complain to, or who should I sue to get those IRS fees back once my appeals are actually granted?

Something just popped back into my head regarding that creditexpress outfit
Therefore, they’re coming after me for $83
$42 debt owed to AT&T plus $42 some ridiculous legal fees.
What kind of law even lets them just pull these lawyer margins out of thin air for a service I never even signed up for? Shouldn't AT&T be the one footing that bill?
I mean, can't I just go out, buy someone's debt, and slap whatever insane number I want on it? Right?
The whole thing is just mental...

Carl Nguyen5 - I mean, your situation is a bit different—if the delivery wasn't handled properly, you might actually have to resort to those extra legal remedies they use for cases just like this.

Nancy Richardson2 - I honestly can't believe lawyers are still trying to charge people for "notice fees" or whatever else... it was settled ages ago that there's absolutely no legal basis for that!

So, I really need some help here, folks,
I've run into this situation:

Back on March 17, 2014, I received a notice from a notary regarding a foreclosure attempt by Zegreb Holding for unpaid building reserves totaling $146. Apparently, this debt dates all the way back to the second half of 2009. According to the paperwork, the notary received the order on June 23, 2010, and the document itself—labeled as an 'Enforcement Order based on an Authentic Document'—was signed and stamped on July 14, 2010. I should probably point out that I didn't actually see any of this until March 17, 2014. They’re claiming they sent notices to my home address three different times, but honestly, I never received anything at all.

On March 18, 2014, I filed a formal objection with the notary. In my first point, I argued that all the disputed bills had already been settled way back on July 16, 2010, and I even included my RBA online banking statements as proof of payment. In my second point, I also raised the issue of the statute of limitations, just in case.

Then, on September 16, 2014, I received a ruling from the Čakovec Municipal Court. It states that I did indeed file my objection in a timely manner, so they've decided to void the enforcement order regarding the seizure of assets and cancel all the collection actions taken so far. However, it looks like the legal process will continue regarding the objection against the payment order.

Fast forward to October 28, 2014, and now I've received a summons for a preparatory hearing scheduled for January 2015.

So, I guess what I'm wondering is, what should my next move be? Like, what does the rest of this procedure look like?

Thanks so much.

John Clark6 said:Carl Nguyen5 - I mean, your situation is a bit different—if the delivery wasn't handled properly, you might actually have to resort to those extra legal remedies they use for cases just like this.

Nancy Richardson2 - I honestly can't believe lawyers are still trying to charge people for "notice fees" or whatever else... it was settled ages ago that there's absolutely no legal basis for that!

I’ve already filed an appeal—and I'm certain I'll win this one—while the second case will probably go my way too, since they actually caught my own error there; a lawyer knows better than I do, as I'm certainly no expert—but I am curious about how I can recover the IRS fees once the appeal is granted, given that the whole mess stemmed from their late filing—meaning, essentially, I'm stuck footing the bill for their mistake.

ruggedmaker2 said:Look, a buddy of mine is in a real bind right now—his entire paycheck is basically being swallowed by loan payments. It’s brutal. But, thank God for the laws we have, because they can't actually seize his whole check; legally, they can only garnish up to one-third of it. The rest has to go straight into a protected account. From there, he manages what's left to cover any other debts he's juggling. It's a tightrope walk, honestly.
Look, when those loan payments get snatched straight out of a paycheck based on some official paperwork, that’s basically a wage garnishment. Plain and simple. So, your buddy actually has every right to set up a protected account. He just needs to head down to the IRS, show them the actual documents they're using to garnish his wages, and demand it. Once he proves that's what's happening, they should be opening that protected account for him without any more hassle.

Here is some insight a lawyer gave me regarding this whole mess:

If you sign a loan agreement that carries the weight of an enforceable instrument (or even an execution order), you don't automatically have the right to open a protected account. That only becomes possible once a court or a notary issues an official garnishment order based on that loan agreement, and then the court or the bank forwards that paperwork to the IRS.

Now, when someone is taking out a mortgage, they usually provide other
security instruments—like promissory notes—which allow the bank to execute a garnishment on the account without waiting
for a formal court order. But even in that scenario, the bank is the one
submitting the note to the IRS, and naturally, they only do that if the borrower stops paying.
It is also entirely possible that the bank will ask him to sign a voluntary
wage garnishment authorization, which allows them to pull directly from his pay if
he defaults on the loan.

If he wants to make sure this new loan takes priority over any later garnishments,
he might need to work something out with the bank to sign a wage garnishment statement
that gets sent straight to the employer immediately. However—and this is the catch—he would likely need to
miss a couple of payments first. See, a bank can't just seize assets
in violation of the loan contract itself (and those contracts usually specify exactly how many
consecutive missed payments are required before the bank can activate the notes, the wage authorizations,
or trigger a full legal garnishment, etc.).

At this legal seminar I attended, some county judge told us something completely different about foreclosures, but honestly, who cares right now?
Your buddy really dug himself into a hole with all those loans, and now that the collectors are breathing down his neck, he’s on his own. He signed the paperwork, plain and simple. It's his mess to clean up. Maybe next time he'll actually use his head.

Donna Wilson18 said:So, I really need some help here, folks,
I've run into this situation:

Back on March 17, 2014, I received a notice from a notary regarding a foreclosure attempt by Zegreb Holding for unpaid building reserves totaling $146. Apparently, this debt dates all the way back to the second half of 2009. According to the paperwork, the notary received the order on June 23, 2010, and the document itself—labeled as an 'Enforcement Order based on an Authentic Document'—was signed and stamped on July 14, 2010. I should probably point out that I didn't actually see any of this until March 17, 2014. They’re claiming they sent notices to my home address three different times, but honestly, I never received anything at all.

On March 18, 2014, I filed a formal objection with the notary. In my first point, I argued that all the disputed bills had already been settled way back on July 16, 2010, and I even included my RBA online banking statements as proof of payment. In my second point, I also raised the issue of the statute of limitations, just in case.

Then, on September 16, 2014, I received a ruling from the Čakovec Municipal Court. It states that I did indeed file my objection in a timely manner, so they've decided to void the enforcement order regarding the seizure of assets and cancel all the collection actions taken so far. However, it looks like the legal process will continue regarding the objection against the payment order.

Fast forward to October 28, 2014, and now I've received a summons for a preparatory hearing scheduled for January 2015.

So, I guess what I'm wondering is, what should my next move be? Like, what does the rest of this procedure look like?

Thanks so much.

The law firm representing the Holding has started a civil lawsuit.
Short version: the date is June 23, 2010.
If you paid before that date, you have nothing to worry about. If you paid after, you'll be stuck covering the other side's costs as determined by the judge. That's it.
Obviously, go talk to a lawyer and bring proof of every single payment for the entire year the claim covers.

EDIT: Just noticed you mentioned the disputed bills were already paid way back on July 16, 2010.
So, if those facts hold up, you'll likely end up paying the attorney's fees for drafting the collection proposal and the notary's fees too. Definitely consult someone so you can get a clear breakdown of the costs—don't pay a cent more than you absolutely have to.

Benjamin Taylor6 said:Exactly. He told me that if he opens a protected account, he'll run into trouble with his company, because they are the ones redirecting his funds to pay off his loans instead of depositing them into his account.
I was giving him some advice regarding a divorce scenario—specifically, having his adult daughter sue him. He had all the ingredients ready: the mother isn't working and she's basically bankrupt, owing money like she's living in Greece. Meanwhile, he's got his whole salary tied up in loans. But somehow, they managed to scrape by because his wife was selling excursion tickets illegally on the beaches.
Anyway, his wife transferred half of her small house to their daughter a while back just to make sure the girl wouldn't be left destitute. I think she's safe now since it's been exactly three years.

P.S

Something very important!

In a few months, my friend will only have one loan left. There’s some cash sitting in his sister's account from the sale of their mother's apartment, and he holds power of attorney.
He’s thinking about buying a studio apartment for himself, but he’d buy it through his daughter as a co-signer so that she is technically the owner.
He would then try to pay the monthly installments from his unprotected income. But the snag is that he’s also a guarantor for his wife's loan, and her business has completely tanked. If the bank decides to call in his guarantee, will they have priority over the payment, or will a fresh mortgage take precedence?

I suggested to him that he could claim the money from his sister was just a loan to help him survive, and they could even draft a contract to back that up, stating he has to pay her back one day. Then, he could withdraw the full amount all at once and formally buy the apartment for his daughter. He wouldn't actually pay the sister back formally, so if she ever sued him for fraud, he could argue he was just paying her back for food and living expenses, not for the money used to provide housing for his daughter. If the sister's lawsuit moved faster than the bank's, the bank where he's a guarantor might have to back off.
And on top of all that, the bank can't even pin a fraud charge on them because they had this whole verbal agreement—it’s all very unofficial—where one sister takes control of the apartment, sells it, and then splits the cash. They felt forced into this little scheme because there's another sister involved who survives entirely on government assistance in public housing. It would be a total disaster for her if she suddenly showed up with 20,000 USD in her account from the sale of her late mother's place. She’d lose every cent of her social security benefits instantly. (Just to be clear, the money isn't being split openly; the sister who took over and sold the unit actually uses two different accounts at two separate banks—one where her brother holds power of attorney, and another where the other sister holds hers—so legally speaking, they aren't the owners, just the ones pulling the strings.)

Don't get mad, but it looks like we've all gotten lost in this web of family drama. Just please, don't start dragging uncles and aunts into this mess.

Hey everyone, I could use some advice..

Here’s the deal.. I just got hit with a garnishment notice from Diners Club, and yeah, I guess I actually owe them. It’s not a massive amount, but they're demanding the whole thing upfront.
So, I sent them a formal objection, basically admitting I’m the debtor but asking if they'd let me settle this through an installment plan instead of one lump sum.

Well, the conclusion just arrived in my mail today. But honestly, don't take what it says at face value.

The reasoning part says something like this..

Based on the proposal from American Express New York City and according to verified documentation, the notary issued enforcement decision no. Ovrv. xxx-xx on date x.xx.xxxx.
Regarding this decision, the debtor filed an objection; however, that objection does not invalidate the decision in the part where they are ordered to satisfy the creditor's claim. This means the debtor acknowledges the debt to the creditor in the requested amount of xxxxUSD plus interest, but disputes the decision regarding how the enforcement is carried out.
Since the debtor confirms their debt to the creditor, it has been decided as stated in the conclusion, pursuant to article xx section stxx of the xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx enforcement law.

So, what does all this actually mean?

Look, you can't exactly claim to know what's going on when you're just complaining without actually understanding the situation... I guess it might be a good idea to maybe do a little digging and ask around before jumping into any big moves, don't you think?

Fine, my bad. I get it.
But now, I actually need some help here.

Christian Mendoza60 said:Fine, my bad. I get it.
But now, I actually need some help here.

First off, if they've actually started the garnishment process, you clearly ignored every single warning from Diners Club. And I don't just mean those scary letters labeled "Final Notice"—I mean every single notification they threw at you, regardless of what they called it.

You should've stepped up sooner, called Diners Club, and worked out a payment plan. Even paying a tiny bit here and there shows them you aren't just running away from the debt.

Since you didn't, they're probably going to push through the garnishment now; my guess is they'll go through the IRS to freeze all your liquid assets.
Your best bet is to open a protected account if your income qualifies, then slowly chip away at the debt plus interest, notary fees, and whatever the IRS slapped on top.

There's plenty of info on protected accounts scattered across this thread and the finance boards, so go do some reading.

What if I just reroute my pay to a different account?

I don't have anything left in my own name, so I could just deposit whatever I want into my own account every month and let them take what they want from there. Is that actually doable?

Christian Mendoza60 said:What if I just reroute my pay to a different account?

I don't have anything left in my own name, so I could just deposit whatever I want into my own account every month and let them take what they want from there. Is that actually doable?

If the levy goes through the IRS, they’re coming for every single cent in every damn bank account you have. Switching to a different account isn't going to save you anything.
And yeah, you can technically trickle small amounts into a frozen account, but they'll just grab it. Just remember—the shorter the repayment term, the less interest you'll be bleeding. Drag it out too long, and those interest rates will eat you alive.

I’m not talking about moving my income into my own account.

I mean putting it in a friend's or a girlfriend's account... That's when they suddenly act sick?

What specific income are you even talking about transferring to someone else?
I mean, maybe one of those payments an employer is legally required to report on their JOPPD form to the IRS? Do you honestly think any payer is going to risk their neck by filing a fraudulent report with the IRS just so you can dodge what you owe Diners Club? No way in hell!

There’s actually an entire thread over in the business section about the JOPPD form if you want to go snoop around. It covers all those payments where reports are sent to the IRS for literally every single cent paid out. ☕

The JOPPD form is a brand new thing as of the start of this year. What the IRS is actually going to do with all that data they collect for 2014 once we hit 2015... well, that's anyone's guess.
But hey, feel free to give it a shot. Just let me know how it works out for you.