How Much of Your Paycheck Can Be Garnished for a Defaulted SBA Loan?
Learn about the wage garnishment limits for defaulted SBA loans, including how much of your paycheck can be taken, and explore legal protections and repayment options.
The transcript of the video follows below for further review.
The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 requires the the Department of the Treasury (DOT) to maintain a schedule of private collection agencies (PCAs), which are private sector companies with expertise in the area of debt collection, to assist the government in its debt collection efforts. As part of the Cross-Servicing program (wherein debts owed to government agencies such as the SBA are referred to the DOT for collection) the DOT attempts to collect delinquent debt through several means, including demand letters, telephone calls, the Treasury Offset Program (TOP), administrative wage garnishment, and credit bureau reporting. Once the DOT has at the very least sent a demand letter and possibly tried other collection efforts, the DOT refers debt collection to one of four PCAs. The activities of the PCAs are monitored by the personnel of the Receivables Management and Debt Services Division of Debt Management Services (DMS).
What is a private collection agency? A private collection agency (PCA) is a private sector company specializing in the collection of delinquent debt. A PCA will attempt to find and contact a debtor by searching various databases, making telephone calls, and sending collection letters. Once the debtor is located and contacted, the PCA will encourage the debtor to satisfy the debt. A PCA may help the DOT resolve the debts through negotiating payment in full, a payment agreement, utilizing administrative wage garnishment, or finding that the debt may be resolved administratively. Incredibly, often times dealing with a PCA is more productive than dealing directly with the DOT.
Fiscal Service awards PCA Task Orders. Fiscal Service awards Task Orders to PCAs for debt collection services under a General Services Administration Schedule. Fiscal Services’s current Task Orders to enlist the services of PCA contractors became effective on March 12, 2012. These Task Orders were awarded in order to increase the recovery of and resolve delinquent non-tax federal debts. The Task Orders were awarded for one base year, with four one-year options available. Fiscal Service awarded the following contractors a debt collection Task Order to provide delinquent debt collection services:
The CBE Group, Inc.
ConServe, Inc.
Performant Recovery, Inc.
Pioneer Credit Recovery, Inc.
PCA regulation. The collection efforts of the PCAs are governed by various federal and state laws, including, but not limited to, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Federal Claims Collection Standards (FCCS), and the Privacy Act. If the first PCA is unable to successfully resolve or collect a debt, the debt is then referred to a second PCA. The PCAs are compensated on a performance basis.
If you have defaulted on an SBA loan please contact Protect Law Group at 1-888-756-9969 for a consultation with one of our SBA workout attorneys or contact us online.
We analyze your SBA loan problems and advise you on potential solutions such as an SBA offer in compromise for your SBA loan default.
Millions of Dollars in SBA Debts Resolved via Offer in Compromise and Negotiated Repayment Agreements without our Clients filing for Bankruptcy or Facing Home Foreclosure
Millions of Dollars in Treasury Debts Defended Against via AWG Hearings, Treasury Offset Program Resolution, Cross-servicing Disputes, Private Collection Agency Representation, Compromise Offers and Negotiated Repayment Agreements
Our Attorneys are Authorized by the Agency Practice Act to Represent Federal Debtors Nationwide before the SBA, The SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals, the Treasury Department, and the Bureau of Fiscal Service.
Client personally guaranteed an SBA 7(a) loan for $100,000 from the lender. The SBA loan went into early default in 2006 less than 12 months from disbursement. The SBA paid the 7(a) guaranty monies to the lender and subsequently acquired the deficiency balance of about $96,000, including the right to collect against the guarantor. However, the SBA sent the Official 60-Day Due Process Notice to the Client's defunct business address instead of his personal residence, which he never received. As a result, the debt was transferred to Treasury's Bureau of Fiscal Service where substantial collection fees were assessed, including accrued interest per the promissory note. Treasury eventually referred the debt to a Private Collection Agency (PCA) - Pioneer Credit Recovery, Inc. Pioneer sent a demand letter claiming a debt balance of almost $310,000 - a shocking 223% increase from the original loan amount assigned to the SBA. Client's social security disability benefits were seized through the Treasury Offset Program (TOP). Client hired the Firm to represent him as the debt continued to snowball despite seizure of his social security benefits and federal tax refunds as the involuntary payments were first applied to Treasury's collection fees, then to accrued interest with minimal allocation to the SBA principal balance.
We initially submitted a Cross-Servicing Dispute (CSD) challenging the referral of the debt to Treasury based on the defective notice sent to the defunct business address. Despite overwhelming evidence proving a violation of the Client's Due Process rights, the SBA still rejected the CSD. As a result, an Appeals Petition was filed with the SBA Office of Hearings & Appeals (OHA) Court challenging the SBA decision and its certification the debt was legally enforceable in the amount claimed. After several months of litigation before the SBA OHA Court, our Firm Attorney successfully negotiated an Offer in Compromise (OIC) Term Workout with the SBA Supervising Trial Attorney for $82,000 spread over a term of 74 months at a significantly reduced interest rate saving the Client an estimated $241,000 in Treasury collection fees, accrued interest (contract interest rate and Current Value of Funds Rate (CVFR)), and the PCA contingency fee.
Clients personally guaranteed SBA 504 loan balance of $750,000. Clients also pledged the business’s equipment/inventory and their home as additional collateral. Clients had agreed to a voluntary sale of their home to pay down the balance. We intervened and rejected the proposed home sale. Instead, we negotiated an acceptable term repayment agreement and release of lien on the home.
Client’s small business obtained an SBA 7(a) loan for $750,000. She and her husband signed personal guarantees exposing all of their non-exempt income and assets. With just 18 months left on the maturity date and payment on the remaining balance, the Great Recession of 2008 hit, which ultimately caused the business to fail and default on the loan terms. The 7(a) lender accelerated and sent a demand for full payment of the remaining loan balance. The SBA lender’s note allowed for a default interest rate of about 7% per year. In response to the lender's aggressive collection action, Client's husband filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in an attempt to protect against their personal assets. However, his bankruptcy discharge did not relieve the Client's personal guarantee liability for the SBA debt. The SBA lender opted to pursue the SBA 7(a) Guaranty and subsequently assigned the loan and the right to enforce collection against the Client to the SBA. The Client then received the SBA Official 60-Day Notice. After conducting a Case Evaluation with her, she then hired the Firm to respond and negotiate on her behalf with just 34 days left before the impending referral to Treasury. The Client wanted to dispute the SBA’s alleged debt balance as stated in the 60-Day Notice by claiming the 7(a) lender failed to liquidate business collateral in a commercially reasonable manner - which if done properly - proceeds would have paid back the entire debt balance. However, due to time constraints, waivers contained in the SBA loan instruments, including the fact the Client was not able to inspect the SBA's records for investigation purposes before the remaining deadline, Client agreed to submit a Structured Workout for the alleged balance in response to the Official 60-Day Notice as she was not eligible for an Offer in Compromise (OIC) because of equity in non-exempt income and assets. After back and forth negotiations, the SBA Loan Specialist approved the Workout proposal, reducing the Client's purported liability by nearly $142,142.27 in accrued interest, and statutory collection fees. Without the Firm's intervention and subsequent approval of the Workout proposal, the Client's debt amount (with accrued interest, Treasury's statutory collection fee and Treasury's interest based on the Current Value of Funds Rate (CVFR) would have been nearly $291,030.
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