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Threatened with garnishing my salary

A Fin24 user who says he has been threatened with a garnishee order seeks advice. He writes:

Greetings, I would like to share my personal story. I needed help with debt, shortly I needed someone to help with debt consolidation. I saw an advertisement on social media and because I was desperate and needed help it caught my attention.

The person named Morn VD Westhuizen promised to help. Trouble started when he said I need to pay him an upfront payment of R4 000 and I said I do not have. He then said R2 000, which I couldn't afford as well at the time - I still cannot. After seeing that I do not have money he started threatening me, he said that he will have my salary garnished.

Today he texted me, saying that if I do not give him the R4 000 tomorrow he has prepared a sheriff to send a letter to my employer. He only has my full name, ID number and email address.

What worries me is that, is it possible for him to garnish my salary with this information he has of me and without me signing anything?

Confused and stressed

Friedl Kreuser of Summit Financial Partners responds:

It is difficult to advise you fully without all the facts, but that certainly sounds dodgy.

Consolidation loans are often expensive, but should usually come from a financial institution rather than a private individual.

Costs are also usually included in the consolidation amount, not charged upfront. His aggressive attitude and insistence on upfront fees sounds suspicious. I would be very wary of doing business under those circumstances.

Regarding the money he says you owe him, it all depends – did you sign any kind of contract or fee agreement? Did he render any services? If not, he may not have a valid claim. But this will depend on the verbal or written agreement you had with him.

As for garnishing your salary, it sounds like he’s just trying to intimidate you. If he does have a valid claim, it is possible for him to garnish your salary, but only after he’s followed the proper legal process of sending a letter of demand, issuing summons and getting judgment from the court. At each stage, you would have an opportunity to respond and defend yourself. Without following this process, any garnishee order would be fraudulent.

If he is trying to garnish your salary and you feel that any of the charges or processes followed are unfair, contact our team at Fightback@summitfin.co.za and we will see if we are able to assist.

I hope that helps!

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