Hi J.U.

I am sorry to hear of your trouble.

You do have options, but they are limited.

I suggest you find what your state garnishment exemptions are and see if your current income would allow you to petition the court for a reduction of what is currently be taken from your check or even eliminated all together.

Also, an original balance of 3k ballooning to 9k seems a bit excessive. How long did this account go unpaid prior to judgment? Who was the original creditor? Were you sued by a debt buyer? Who was the law firm for the plaintiff? How much of the 9k is legal fees?

Answering these questions and finding out how the judgment amount requested was calculated may help understand the excessive increase and may show the judgment amount to be unfair.

It is always best to negotiate a settlement with a creditor prior to it reaching judgment.    You can still negotiate a pay off, but you are severely disadvantaged when they have a garnishment. Unless you can get the court, through your meeting some requirements, to reduce or eliminate the garnishment, they have little motivation to strike a deal with you as they are guaranteed to get paid as long as you are at that job. You may find you will need to offer something on the order of 75% of the balance for them to take your offer seriously.

I would recommend you seek the advice of an attorney to assist you in determining your exemption qualifications and to perhaps guide you through answering some of my questions above.

You are welcome to come pack to this post and add updates to what you find out in the comments section.

Best of success in getting this resolved.