Can a bill collector garnish my disability check?

[gatreehousegirl]

I was recently put on disability and now a bill collector wants to garnish my check. Can they do that?

[rddck_ngl]

Yes an No depends on who it is. Just keep the faith trust in the Lord an your bills will be payed.

[veesmom]

I don't think a bill collector can garnish your check. Your check can be garnished, I believe, only for the IRS or child support. Not positive though.

[Caffiend]

Absolutely NOT! There are only two people in this world that can actually garnish your check. The first being the government - for unpaid taxes and the second being - family court if you are required to pay child support. "Joe Smith" from a collection agency has no legal grounds to garish your check - and you can tell them to pound salt.

[Jordan S]

It depends on your circumstances, how much you owe, and for how long you have owed it. But first a bill collector has to take it before a judge and get a judgment for your wages to be garnished, and 9 times out of 10 a judge wont garnish a disability check, but then again they may get that one heartless judge which happens. But More than likely this bill collector is blowing smoke up your butt just to scare you into paying. Call them back and tell them that you can pay them like $5 a week or a month even, as long as you are making payments, a judge will not garnish your wages.

[Jen G]

Those other people who responded don't know much about garnishment. A bill collector certainly can collect from and garnish your check. I've had it happen to me on a bill that was 5 years old. It was turned over to a collection agency, they took it to court, and they were able to garnish my check. I had no say on if they could or not and got no warning. I just got a letter saying my check was going to be garnished and my employer was taking the money out of my check. Then I had to sign a sheet saying my employer could pay them the money, which was retarded because they had already took it out to pay for that, so what could I do? I don't know about disability checks though. I'm sure they will garnish a percentage if the state will allow it.

[mshelton13]

No they cannot garnish wages that come from the government. As soon as your off disability and go back to work though they can. So try to stay as current as you can.

[Celeste]

First off, the creditor has to take you to court and receive a judgment against you for the debt. They cannot do anything until that happens. If it's Social Security Disability (SSDI), then no. No court can legally attach a Writ of Garnishment to that income. Unless, it's for federal debts or child support.

If you're receiving disability from your employer, yes they can.Each state varies on garnishment laws (Some states don't allow it and some are less than the federal guidelines of 25% of disposable income). So, it would be in your best interest to find the laws for your state.