threat of wage garnishment
Complaint
Freaked Out
Country: United States
The collector called my job pretending to be a student who wanted to speak to me (a counselor). When my office manager found out it was a collector she told them they were putting my job in jeopardy and not to call back. They did not call back, but they sent a notice to my job stating wage garnishment would begin off of my next pay check because I was not paying my debt. I went to the Sheriffs office to see what I could do. The Sheriffs office told me that the garnishment cannot legally take place unless it comes from their office, then I can do something. Until then, the creditor cannot do anything legally. Was it legal for them to send a notice to my job when it actually must go through the Sheriffs office to be legit?
On another note-My consilodators are willing to consolidate this loan as well, but have had difficulty getting a response from the creditor. My last attempt was in June of this year.
On another note-My consilodators are willing to consolidate this loan as well, but have had difficulty getting a response from the creditor. My last attempt was in June of this year.
Comments
There are, however, some sleazy debt collectors that go through the motions of appearing to "garnish" as a deceptive collection tactic when they do not have a judgement, as an illegal means to pressure alleged debtors to pay possibly suspect "debt", often to avoid disputes or validation requests.
If this is NOT a government guaranteed student loan, and if there is no judgement already awarded by a court, then it would be deceptive collection, illegal third party disclosure, and making a threat they cannot or don't intend to carry out, to send this "garnishment" notice to your employer, all violations of FDCPA for which you can sue.
In addition, they are required by FDCPA to send you a letter within 5 days of first contact, notifying you of the alleged debt, and of your right to dispute it. If you dispute within 30 days of receiving that letter, they are required to send you verification of the debt, or a copy of a judgement if that is the basis of their collection, before they continue to take any action to collect. Failure to follow these provisions of FDCPA are voilations, and you can sue if they violate.
Contact an attorney to review this matter. They will often review these types of cases for free, and take them on contingency if it appears worth it, since FDCPA allows courts to awared actual and statutory damages, and attorney fees, if you win. You can find a consumer attorney in your state through www.naca.net
They are now on notice that your employer does not allow you to receive their calls, and if they continue to call, they will have violated FDCPA, and you could sue them for that.'
Premier Credit shows up with complaints suggesting they collect on student loans, but beware that there are also complaints that they are collecting "in error" from the wrong people, including harassing people who never went to college and don't have student loans. If they are a government guaranteed student loan collector, it is possible that garnishment might occur without a court judgement.
https://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/8668087286
Suing for violations of FDCPA depends on the manner of collection, and is unrelated to whether the alleged debt is valid. They could be collecting on an entirely valid debt, from the person who owed it, but if they violated FDCPA, you could sue them for that violation.
https://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/8668087286
Student loans appear to have a lot of screw-ups, often compounded when the information ends up in the hands of a debt collector whose interests are to collect, not fix errors.
Dispute all alleged debts, check directly with the lender, and contact an attorney to review your case when you find violations. Protection from aggressive collectors requires an aggressive response.
Cover your butt.