When you are unable to pay your debt your creditor sends you demand letter. Should you not pay within a period mentioned in the demand letter, your creditor may assign your debt to a collection agency.
Then a collection agent would call you at home and at work to demand immediate payment. If you cannot pay your debt, a collection agent would harass you that your wages would be garnished should you continue not pay your debt.
Garnishment is a court order to attach debtor’s wage/salary when a debtor does not pay his/her debt.
If you still do not pay despite your account being assigned to a collection agency, your creditor, to enforce collection may go to a court of law by filing a Statement of Claim.
If you would not file a defense, usually within twenty days from the date you received a Statement of Claim, default judgment to follow. Thereafter, garnishment of your wages/salary ensues directly from your employer.
Should you file a defense, you will go to trial, you may appear yourself in court or hire a lawyer or a paralegal if it is in a Small Claim Court. It would cost you tons of money specially should trials are postponed multiple times.
Moreover, if you own a house, a judgment against you would be registered, a lien (like a mortgage) against the title (ownership) of your house, and you could not sell or arrange a new mortgage financing without paying the full amount owing including interest plus legal expenses incurred by your creditor.
To avoid garnishment of wages, and unnecessary expenses in going to court, you have to pay your debts on time.
However, when you are unable to pay because of cash flow problem you may consider any of the following: Debt Consolidation, Consumer Proposal or bankruptcy as a last resort.
You need to consider the above options to avoid garnishment of your wages otherwise, you would be hustled of going to court when you have no chance of wining the case if you have no valid defense.