This is what the debt collectors continuously tell the debtors that they can directly garnish their wages. It is a pure lie, and this threat is actionable under the FDCPA. In Nevada, in order for a creditor to obtain a writ of garnishment against your employer to withhold money from your paycheck, that creditor must have a judgment against you. In order to have a judgment against you, that creditor must have filed a lawsuit against you and won either after a trial or by default, that is, because you did not file a response. A default judgment or regular judgment needs to be executed which means the judgment holder needs to find the assets, the payroll master, and do other steps to find assets, and than file an execution of judgment. This execution of judgment is a legal process which again needs permission and authority from the court. This, of course, is a complicated process, and the debt collectors threatening can’t do all these steps in single day. Also, all these steps requires the help of an attorney and the debt collectors yelling and screaming at you, is not an attorney. If he poses as such, he would be violating the FDCPA again.
Normally when this threat is being made, a lawsuit has yet to be filed. How do you know if you have been sued? First, if suit has been filed against you, you should have been served with a Summons and Complaint by either the sheriff’s department of your county or by certified mail. However, if you cannot be found by the creditor, the creditor may have you served by publication, that is, by running a notice in the newspaper in the county of your last known address. If you are still unsure, you may call the clerk of court of your county.
What if I have been sued? See a lawyer immediately. Try not to be your own attorney. Afterall, this is a complex situation, and we had seen many people lose on simply and basic technical grounds. Please do not play with fire. This could be very prejudicial to lots of your interests.
What if I already have a judgment and/or garnishment against me? If you already have a judgment and/or garnishment against you, I would again suggest you see an attorney immediately. You may be able to have the judgment set aside or appealed, but only if you act very quickly. This may also be a good time to take a strong and hard look at bankruptcy. With a bankruptcy you should be able to discharge the judgment prior to garnishment and stop any garnishment that is already in place. Upon filing a bankruptcy, you may even be able to have a portion of any money garnished from your check returned to you. But this has to be done very quickly. Our law office (Law Office of Malik Ahmad) has gotten many such garnished checks restored to our debtors, and they always says thank you because this money and them had already parted. It is of course a good advantage to hire a reputable and experienced law firm like us. So, if you have any such problem, please do not hesitate to call our at (702) 270-9100
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