Capital News Service: Maryland’s consumer advocates push for new debt collection laws

By Brooks Dubose  |  May 20, 2019

Jailing a person for an unpaid debt has been illegal for almost two centuries in the United States.

But in Maryland, through a roundabout court procedure, hundreds of people every year are jailed for essentially just that: Owing money.

In debt collection cases, a creditor can file a judgment — or a claim that a debt is owed — to compel a debtor to appear in court to answer questions about their assets. Many of these cases result in garnishment — the legal collection of a portion of a debtor’s wages, property or bank accounts to pay back a debt.

In 2016, more than 76,000 debt collection cases resulted in garnishment statewide, according to a comprehensive report published in June by the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition.

About two-thirds of debtors had their wages garnished, the rest had some sort of property garnished, the report found.

Several hundred body attachments — the term for an arrest warrant for an individual who fails to appear in court — are issued each year and about 20 percent of all debt collection cases result in an arrest.

In Baltimore County, more than 10,000 residents had their wages garnished in 2016, the most in the state. The four most populous jurisdictions in the state, Montgomery, Prince George’s and Baltimore counties and Baltimore City — about 57 percent of Maryland’s 6 million residents — account for more than 70 percent of all garnishment cases.

The other 20 counties averaged just less than 1,200 garnishment cases during the same time period.

The debts owed in these areas averaged to about $4,400, though other costs like interest and attorneys fees can push totals even higher. In Maryland, private debts less than $5,000 are considered small claims settled in Maryland District Courts. A review by the consumer rights coalition found that about three quarters of all debt collection cases between 2015 and 2017 were for judgments less than $5,000.

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