When Creditors Resort To Legal Means

You may already have some clue or are just beginning to understand the painful reality of wage garnishment: it is embarrassing, costly and can put you on the financial ropes for a long time.

Wage garnishment is a last resort for creditors looking to collect on substantial, unresolved revolving debt. In many cases, credit card negotiations can drag on unresolved for years because debt collectors don’t like to pursue borrowers via costly legal means.

However, once the verdict has been handed down from the courts, debt collectors can legally extract a portion of your wages.

How does wage garnishment affect me?

Besides suddenly finding a chunk of your paycheck removed, wage garnishment hurts when you need to buy necessities like food and gas. What’s more, your employer will be made aware that you have substantial, unpaid credit card debt.

Once you receive notice of pending legal action, you must move quickly. You will want to hire a lawyer and take pains to reach a debt settlement agreement outside of court—this often costs a troubled borrower much less than the fallout from an unfavorable court decision.

You can also file for bankruptcy, which will give you immunity from creditor lawsuits and wage garnishment.

The very last thing you want to do if you are being pursued by creditors is to try and hide. Silly as it may sound, many borrowers turn inward and simply let the debt collection process take hold of their finances and lives. Consult an financial attorney, and see what recourse you have against creditors and collection agencies.