Alberta has rules and parameters in place for debt collectors. When a debtor is unable to keep up with the payment commitments of loan, the creditor can seek a judgement.
Sometimes this judgement is in the form of garnishing wages.
Who can garnish your wages in Alberta?
Any creditor that wins a judgement in court, can start a collection process that may lead to garnishing your wages.
Garnishing can be done through a 3rd party like a bank or your employer.
Brief Overview:
- Garnishing begins with a court judgement, then becomes a warning period, then garnishing can begin.
- Any creditor who has been granted this judgement can garnish your wages through a bank, your employer or other 3rd party.
- They can not garnish 100 percent of your wage. You are allowed to keep $800 of your pay, and an additional $200 per dependent. Then only %50 of what is left. For example: Your pay is $2000. If you have 1 dependent, they have to exempt you for $800 plus $200 for the dependent. That is $1000 that is untouchable. They can only garnish half of the remaining $1000.
In Summary
Any creditor with a court ordered judgement can garnish your wages enforceable through a 3rd party like a bank or your employer.
First they go through a process of warning you. If you still do not pay, then garnishment could begin.
This is a very simplified overview. Please check out the following link for a lot more details on garnishment and what you can do to prevent it or stop it.
