Unfair Wage Garnishing

Diego came to Legal Aid SMC after he received threatening notices from a strange company stating that his wages would be garnished, which meant a court had ordered that part of his paycheck would be used to pay a debt. Diego had never heard of the company and didn’t understand what he was supposed to be paying for. He went to the county courthouse and discovered that the company was a debt buyer who had gained a default judgement against him almost a decade ago. They claimed to have served Diego with the lawsuit paperwork but Diego had proof that he’d left the alleged address months before the lawsuit was even filed.

With help from a Legal Aid attorney, Diego responded to the company’s lawyers. As soon as it realized Diego had legal representation, the company agreed to refund his garnished paychecks and dismiss the entire case.

To protect client confidentiality, all client names have been changed.