Q: Why is my paycheck being garnished for a repossessed truck after 7 years?
In 2018, I co-signed for a truck, which was repossessed later that year or early 2019. I was unaware of the repossession, having lost contact with the primary borrower. Seven years later, my paycheck started getting garnished without any prior notice. My credit report shows the account twice: once with Consumer Portfolio for $12,390 and once with Jefferson for $13,400. I haven't received any court judgment notices or past communications regarding this debt. What could be the reason for this garnishment and the duplicate entries now, after seven years?
A:
Don't rely on your credit report, but apparently your lender either obtained a judgment against you and then sold the account to Consumer Portfolio; or sold the account to Consumer and it obtained a judgment; but either way it appears Consumer has sold it to Jefferson Capital.
I recommend that you look up the case on your county clerk's website and determine by reading the docket, the timeline of things. That will at least give you a blueprint of what's happened. If you can access the actual documents on the docket, even better. You will want to find the complaint and the affidavit of the return of service.
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