by cargenie » Sat Feb 21, 2009 07:24 am
I was in a car accident in November with a girl and I rearended her while waiting at a light. I was just sent a bill from her insurance company for the amount of the damages. I was wondering what precautions would happen if I didnt pay this. Can they garnish your wages? Will they sue me? The amount is $2312.47 I barely make minimum wage and I am on partial assistance from the government and I am a single mother so I dont make any extra money. What would happen in this situation. I would like to pay it back but there is no way I could even pay this within like 3 years. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also in the letter it says they can arrange monthly payments. Can they work around my money situation... like can they wait that long for money or will they need it paid off by a certain time.
Thanks
Thanks
Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 09:06 am Post Subject:
If nothing else they would probably turn it over to a collection company and that collection company would at least report it to the credit bureaus. Of course this would affect your credit and could affect you in many ways (higher interest rates, loan rejections, job rejections, etc.). In some states the collection company can obtain a judgement and garnish wages but only to a certain extent.
I'm guessing you did not have insurance as you should have? The insurance company may also be able to have your drivers licenses suspended until you can show the amount was paid. I'm guessing this may not affect you if your driving without insurance anyway but it will make getting tags for your vehicle difficult.
It's very possible that the insurance company can put you on a payment plan. Usually you don't pay any interest or extra amounts. As long as you make monthly payments, I'd think you could take about as long as you want. It really depends on the carrier. You may want to at least talk to them about it and see what can be done.
Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 09:49 am Post Subject:
it is really possible for the insurance company to offer you monthly installments without any extra interest on the principle as long as you are willing to pay.
it is for very sure that you need to pay those installment, they may garnish
your wages but it won't be the full amount of your wages, but surely you will
be suffering as at the end of the month you will have few dollars with you.so
it is better to offer our share voluntarily before someone takes it forcefully. :wink: :wink: :!:
Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 05:26 pm Post Subject:
I guess you didn't have an insurance over your vehicle.In my part of the world,ghana it is an offense to use a car without having an auto insurance over.If this is your situation, the best thing to do is to reach an agreement with the insurance company for you to pay the amount.
If you had an insurance you should make a report to your insurance company for them to pay the money.
Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 08:46 am Post Subject:
I'd say that its indeed nice of the insurance company to offer setting up the payment plan. This way you would at least be able to keep it from getting reported to your credit report. Cargenie, no precaution is sufficient to avoid paying for what you are legally charged. The consequences would be much severe if you try to avoid paying it. Hence, it'd be better for you to accept the payment plan offered by the insurer and help them in sketching a comfortable payment schedule for you.
Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 10:57 pm Post Subject:
While you absolutely do need to pay what you owe, working with them on the payment plan is your best option. They CANNOT garnish any "earnings" that you may get as part of your government assistance, but they can file a judgment against you. I used to do credit counseling (the real kind and completely volunteer) with people one on one to help them make payment arrangements...if you send me a message with your state, I'll send you some information.
Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 01:44 pm Post Subject: insurance
CARGENIE...........maybe I 'missed' it. But,.......I don't think you said, either way, whether or not you DID have Auto Insurance. CHRIS is correct.........they CAN'T garnish money from Gov assistance. However.......they CAN garnish wages from checks you may get at work, depending on the state. I live in the state of PA. You cannot have garnishments come out of your checks ( regular employment). However.........if it's an IRS debt, Child Support, Defaulted school loan, etc., they can.
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