Series: Unforgiven The Transformation of Consumer Debt

Debt collection has undergone an aggressive makeover in recent years, with more creditors and collectors going to court to win judgments against consumers, often seizing hundreds of dollars from each paycheck. To find out more about these seizures, we asked ADP, the nation’s largest payroll services provider, for information on the 2013 payroll records for 13 million employees.

ADP found that more than one in 10 employees in the prime working ages of 35 to 44 had their wages garnished in 2013. Roughly half of these debtors, unsurprisingly, owed child support. But a sizable number had their earnings docked for consumer debts, such as credit cards, medical bills and student loans.

How do people deal with collectors who take them to court? Recently we asked our readers, and got dozens of responses from people who had been sued over various debts, including several from people who said they were shocked when they were aggressively pursued over unpaid medical debts. Below are some their stories.

Have you ever been sued over an old debt? Help us investigate debt collectors by sharing your story.