Letter to challenge a garnishee / emoluments order (template)

Send to the creditor or the attorney named on the order. Replace each [PLACEHOLDER] and keep proof of sending.

[YOUR FULL NAME]
[YOUR ID NUMBER]
[YOUR ADDRESS]
[YOUR EMAIL]  |  [YOUR PHONE]
[YOUR EMPLOYER]

[DATE]

[CREDITOR / ATTORNEY NAME]
[THEIR EMAIL OR ADDRESS]

RE: Emoluments attachment order (garnishee) - case number [CASE NUMBER]
    Deductions from my salary

Dear Sir / Madam,

My employer is currently deducting R[AMOUNT] per month from my salary under the
above emoluments attachment order in your favour. I am writing to query and
challenge this order on the following grounds:

  [TICK ALL THAT APPLY]
  ( ) The deduction is unaffordable and leaves me without enough to cover my
      essential living costs. My net income is R[AMOUNT] and my essential
      expenses are R[AMOUNT].
  ( ) I did not receive proper notice of the application for this order.
  ( ) I do not recall consenting to this order, or my consent was not validly
      obtained.
  ( ) The amount deducted appears incorrect / the balance has already been paid
      down to R[AMOUNT].
  ( ) The underlying debt may have prescribed.

I request that you:
  1. provide me with a copy of the order and the full account statement showing
     all deductions to date and the current balance;
  2. agree to reduce the monthly deduction to an affordable R[AMOUNT]; and
  3. confirm your position in writing within [NUMBER] days.

If we cannot reach an affordable arrangement, I intend to approach the court to
have the order reviewed, reduced or set aside, and to seek legal assistance.

Yours faithfully,

[YOUR FULL NAME]
ID number: [YOUR ID NUMBER]

In South Africa, the order that deducts money from your wages to pay a debt is properly called an emoluments attachment order (EAO). A creditor obtains it through the court, and it instructs your employer to pay part of your salary directly to the creditor each month. "Garnishee order" is the common name people use for the same thing.

These orders can only follow a judgment debt, and the law has been tightened around them. Courts have ruled that a magistrate must authorise and oversee an EAO, and that the deduction must be just and equitable, leaving you enough to live on. That means an order granted without proper court oversight, or one that takes so much you cannot survive, may be open to challenge.

Common grounds include affordability (the deduction leaves you below what you need for essentials), a lack of proper notice (you were never properly served with the application), questions about consent (you did not validly agree to the order), an incorrect balance (you have paid more than the records show, or charges are inflated), and prescription (the underlying debt had prescribed).

Affordability is often the strongest practical ground, because the deduction must be just and equitable. Put together a clear budget showing your net income and essential expenses, and the gap the deduction creates. If the order was granted in a court far from where you live or work, or without you ever appearing, that can also support a challenge to how it was obtained.

Reducing or setting aside an emoluments order usually means going back to the court that granted it, with an application supported by your financial information. That is more involved than sending a letter, and getting it wrong can waste the one shot you have to fix the deduction.

For most people this is the point to involve an attorney, your nearest Legal Aid office, or a registered debt counsellor. Legal Aid assists people who cannot afford a private attorney. A debt counsellor can also look at whether debt review would restructure the debt behind the order. The letter above buys you a record and may prompt the creditor to negotiate, but treat it as the opening move, not the whole game.

If you are facing a garnishee on top of other debts you cannot manage, debt review may help, because it restructures your debts into one affordable plan and provides protection against further legal action on the debts in the plan. A debt counsellor can advise how an existing emoluments order interacts with a proposed debt review plan.

Do not simply stop the deduction yourself or ask your employer to ignore the order - your employer is legally obliged to comply until the order is varied or set aside by the court. The lawful route is to challenge the order through the creditor and, if needed, the court, ideally with legal help, while keeping your essential expenses documented.