[Bob]

I've been working with one of those debt management companies. Discover Card elected to not work with them, and won a judgement against me. I made a payment ($175), missed one, made one, missed one, and was going to make a doouble payment in December to get caught up.

THEN I got laid off December 2nd. I did get a severence package, so I put that money into my "debt management" account to make a settlement with one of my other creditors. That would free up some money each month so I could stay caught up with with my payments.

Then my credit union called and said that my accounts have been garnished ($4700). I went to Discover Card's attorney's office in Troy to see if I could make that double payment and stop the garnishment. But of course the guy that I talked to said that it was a done deal, and there is nothing that can stop it now. The money will stay in the credit union for 28 days, then Discover gets it.

Is there anyway I can protest this garnishment? And is it all automatic from here? Even if all parties agreed to stop it?


Thanks,
Bob in Michigan

[Anonymous]

If the credit card company chooses, it can stop the garnishment from proceeding. It sounds like it has made its choice to proceed.

The subject of the garnishment (the "garnishee") can object to the garnishment on a number of grounds including:

* Objecting that the garnishment proceedings are somehow defective, or that the property at issue is legally exempt from garnishment;

* Filing bankruptcy, and reporting the bankruptcy to the court;

* There is an existing, valid court order governing repayment, for example allowing installments, and the garnishment action is not consistent with that order.

* The garnishment (particularly a garnishment of wages) exceeds the limits permitted by law, whether alone or in conjunction with other garnishments with higher priority.

* The underlying debt has been paid. (This means proving actual payment, not attempting to challenge the validity of the underlying judgment.)

There's an official form you can use to file objections to a Michigan garnishment, if any apply.