Last updated 2024-04-18

Handle a Garnishee Order

Steps for how an ICBC facility must handle a Garnishee Order issued by the courts and served on ICBC.

Prerequisites

The court issued Garnishing Order names ICBC as the garnishee. ICBC has been served because ICBC owes money to an ICBC vendor or claimant, and they owe money to another party or creditor.

Note: A Garnishment is a legal process that allows creditors to collect debts owed by debtors, by seizing funds owed to them. In the case of ICBC, funds owed to a vendor or claimant can be items such as vendor payments, refunds, expense reimbursements, or benefits compensation.

When this applies

ICBC has received a Garnishee Order that requires ICBC to withhold a specific amount of money from an ICBC vendor or claimant's compensation for payment to the court. The Garnishee Order is a legal document and is considered binding on ICBC.

Important: A Garnishee Order must be handled immediately to ensure that ICBC is not put at risk of having to pay the damages due to a lack of response on ICBC's part. A Garnishee Order is not to be confused as being a Notice of Civil Claim (NOCC), and is not handled as a NOCC.

Procedure

  1. Accept the Garnishee Order served.
    If the Garnishee Order was ... Then ...
    served personally
    • open the envelope or package, and retain any courier paperwork received
    • scan all the documents served; including, the Garnishee Order, and
    • proceed to step 2.
    • not personally served, and
    • received in the mail, mailbox, or mail basket at your ICBC facility
  2. Contact Corporate Disbursements.
    1. Send an email to Corporate Disbursements on the day the Garnishee Order is served.
      Note: As of March 2024, these emails have been sent to the
      • attention of Nancy Pickering, Accountant I, and
      • carbon copy (cc) Roger Montpetit, Corporate Disbursements Analyst.
    2. Add "Garnishee Order" to the Subject line of the email.
    3. Attach all the scanned documents to the email.
    4. Include in the body of the email the following:
      If the Garnishee Order was ... Then ...
      served personally
      • add the date and time the Garnishee Order was received at the ICBC facility, and
      • record the name of the ICBC representative who received the served Garnishee Order.
      • not personally served on an ICBC representative, and
      • received in the mail, mailbox, or mail basket
      • list the date and time the Garnishee Order package was found
      • indicate it was not served personally, and
      • record the name of the ICBC representative who opened the package.
      Note: A Garnishee Order must be served on a person to be effective; it cannot be dropped in a mailbox or a mail basket. Corporate disbursements will contact the sender.
      Important: Naming the ICBC representative who was served at the ICBC facility makes it easier for ICBC to determine, if the service on ICBC was valid or not.
  3. Forward the Garnishee Order and documents received, to Corporate Disbursements through ICBC's interoffice mail service.
    1. Send to the attention of the accountant named in step 2.
    2. Use location code L299124.
    3. Add "Garnishee Order" under accountant's name.
    4. Include all hard copies of the documents received; including the courier's paperwork.