[Question] Garnishee Orders

[Sonjad]

Can lawyers withhold information - what happens if a person has been garnished but they do not know who it is that is garnishing them and when they call the lawyers they are only told that they must pay up and not try get out of the debt. The lawyers refuse to give any information on who the creditor is or was - the document delivered is dated 2010? Any advice?

[Jane123]

Sounds fishy to me... am not a lawyer but have staff with garnishees. They always come emolments attachment order which shows who the matter is between (i.e. creditor and your employee). If you have to deduct money then you have right to ask for all the legal docs

[Mike C]

Also sounds fishy to me:

You may find this helpful.

If you are an employer, you probably regularly receive garnishee orders requiring you to pay over certain amounts from your staff members' salaries to third parties in settlement of their debts. But unless these orders - also known as emoluments attachment orders - are obtained and served legally, you do not have to honour them.

So here's a checklist:

• the order must have been issued in a magistrates court which has jurisdiction over the area in which your business is based - e.g. a garnishee order cannot be obtained in the Pretoria Magistrates Court if the debtor works in Pinetown.
• The order must be dated, and have a case number, as well as both the signature and stamp of the clerk of the court.
• As for the manner in which it is served, there is only one legal way to get a garnishee order to a business - it must be served personally by a sheriff or deputy sheriff of the court. It cannot be posted or faxed or delivered by a messenger. Always ask the person delivering the order to produce a Sheriff's ID card. If he or she cannot, you are within your rights to refuse to accept the order until they can.

[sterne.law@gmail.com]

Google the recent case held in cape town.
Email them and say have a nice day.

[Citizen X]

Isn't this particular case confined to the Western Cape?

[Sonjad]

Thanks for the responses everyone - I think its only fair that everyone should pay their debts - but how do you confirm that without all the info. It cant be carte blanche for unscrupulous people.