Question: I went bankrupt in 2009 now I messed up again I bought a SUV and the financial interest is very high, my wife was working at the time but now she got injured and it is just a matter of time before WSIB kicks in. But it has been really hard to keep up with only one income. We got behind our bills, I know I make $3,000 but I pay $1,200 in rent, 250 in utilities, telephone and cable around 100 insurance 200 a SUV payment of almost $500 a month, which leaves us with about 700 a month now that my wife is unable to work due to an injury. So my question is this, we are behind in our vehicle payment and they are going to come and get it because we cannot get caught up at this time, this will leave us with no vehicle for me to go to work, and in time they will ganashee my wages, what can I do, we needed a vehicle and because of my bankruptcy i pay high in finance charges and my wife was working so it was not a problem. We have no other dept….now we need to try to find a really cheap car for me to go to work, but in time they will garnashee my wages what can I do I know I can’t go bankrupt again but I won’t be able to survive if they do that.
Please help us figure out what to do
thanks
Answer: You have four choices to stop a wage garnishment.
First, you could talk to the finance company and see if they will allow you to defer one or two payments, with the promise that you’ll get caught up once your income recovers. They may agree to defer one or two payments to the end of your term.
Second, if they don’t agree to that, you can attempt to delay them from repossessing your vehicle by making partial payments each month, in whatever amount you can afford. You may be able to delay long enough to get caught up, since the finance company doesn’t really want your vehicle.
Third, if they do repossess your vehicle, they will not immediately start garnisheeing your wages. They will first contact you to attempt to work out a payment plan. At that point you may be able to make payment arrangements with them.
If all else fails and they do start a garnishment of your wages, you could either let the garnishment continue until finished, or you could file a second bankruptcy, or a consumer proposal.
