That's wrong, at least here in Canada. Threaten to sue them and write letters c.c.ing the governing body or regulators of this if that's so in your case. They have four years to try to collect then they have to stop and close the file. IF they've sent your name to credit it will be off in four years as well.
Usually only 4 years and they have to drop the attempts. No one can freeze you income or bank accounts without a court order as far as I know. Again I'm in Canada and I came here through a Bell Ca thread... State side might be different.
If you are employed the debt collectors can freeze your bank account but if you are on social security, railroad retirement, veteran, etc. they can NOT touch you. If they try they can be federally prosecuted. Please DO NOT send them any money. You don't know them. Just protect yourself, don't answer the phone. It is your right and it is an invasion of privacy. My bank frowns on sending them a post dated check over the phone, don't give them your bank's routing or account nos. It is dangerous. Use common sense.
Gary it sounds like BOA, well if it is they wiped out my friends bank account because he lost his job and could not pay his card anymore. He had deposited money a friend loaned him to pay his rent and the scumbags of BOA took it the same day. He complained and they told him they had every right to do it because he was in default of his debt. The credit card was also a BOA card.
What I have heard is that if have a checking with the same bank as your credit card they can legally confiscate the money, they cannot take it from another bank.
Well it looks like many of us will have to back to using money orders and closing bank accounts.
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RC
| 9 replies
I am collecting VA Disability benefits. Can a County court or a debt collector garnish my VA Disability Compensation. Can the court "freeze" my bank account when all that is deposited is my VA Disability payments?
Need a quick answer on this.
Thanks
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mary
i had a dispute with wells fargo the bank i get ssi an social security benfits the really mess me up big time they went in an took 544.00 of my social security an ssi benfits an told one credit reporing agenceys that i owed it i thought they could not touch my benifits but they did i even contacted a att he said they could i lost off.also i filed a cxomplaint against macys dispute i though they could not report that to credit agenceys but it on my report an it doesnt say any thing about dispute has any one experience this before ?
Your question was answered on the 1st page of this thread - THESE ARE THE ONLY EXCEPTIONS But federal benefits may be garnished under certain circumstances, including to pay delinquent taxes, alimony, child support, or student loans.
Can a debt collector garnish my bank account or my wages? If you don’t pay a debt, a creditor or its debt collector generally can sue you to collect. If they win, the court will enter a judgment against you. The judgment states the amount of money you owe, and allows the creditor or collector to get a garnishment order against you, directing a third party, like your bank, to turn over funds from your account to pay the debt. Wage garnishment happens when your employer withholds part of your compensation to pay your debts. Your wages usually can be garnished only as the result of a court order. Don’t ignore a lawsuit summons. If you do, you lose the opportunity to fight a wage garnishment.
Can federal benefits be garnished?
Many federal benefits are exempt from garnishment, including: Social Security Benefits Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits Veterans’ Benefits Civil Service and Federal Retirement and Disability Benefits Service Members’ Pay Military Annuities and Survivors’ Benefits Student Assistance Railroad Retirement Benefits Merchant Seamen Wages Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Death and Disability Benefits Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Benefits Compensation for Injury, Death, or Detention of Employees of U.S. Contractors Outside the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency Federal Disaster Assistance
Mary Ann, you need to brush up a bit. NO,NO,NO,NO --a debt collector CANNOT freeze a bank account. A court can. Let's read this again: A COURT CAN (I wrote in all caps so the collectors that monitor this site can read it too!!!!) Think of debt collectors as you would a local McDonalds hamburger joint. They are not anything special--no special powers. They must sue you AND get a judgement in their favor by A COURT in order to force you to pay ANYTHING.(Even then, it is a lengthy process) There is no way that you would not know about it well in advance. If they attempt to do something like this, it is a violation of federal law and also if your bank agrees(without a court order) they are in violation also--you can sue both of them. Please read the federal laws pertaining to debt collection. Read your states laws also because they vary. All of this information is available on the internet--same internet that you use right now to post and read this. The people on here that claim a debt collector took all of their money or froze their account are either debt collectors trying to scare people or lazy people that failed to respond to a summons from the court system--Period--that's the only way it could happen legally.
Nice list. Call your bank if you have these types of incomes. They'll tell you the agreement you signed with them allows any court, or the bank to "garnish" everything in that account. Call SSI or the VA and they'll say. They aren't supposed to do that but it happens all the time.
Oh Boy!!!! Here we go with the expert 18 year old debt collectors again. It doesn't happen all the time. If you have a summons served to you by a court, you must appear in court to defend yourself. This would include such things as telling the judge: That the supposed debt is past the Statute of Limitations therefore not Legally collectable; or that the income that is under scrutiny is not attachable--you must protect YOURSELF. It doesn't happen automatically. If you fail to appear in court, the opposing party will get a DEFAULT JUDGEMENT---now that does happen all the time!!! Again, read the federal laws that have to do with debt collection and read your own states laws. Please don't advise me that a debt is legally collectable until it is paid--because it is NOT. Please be advised that a debt is owed until it is paid(or dismissed by a court) BUT NOT LEGALLY, meaning a person cannot be sued for a debt that is beyond the STATUTE OF LIMITATION. You must defend yourself--only when a summons is received. Until then,tell the debt collector to piss up a rope!!!
Well, you just confirmed what yoyo wrote, to some extent. Yes, a court can garnish wages or bank accounts--NOT, I repeat NOT a debt collector. Banks will take money out of your account IF YOU OWE THE MONEY TO THAT BANK. That's the agreement that you signed. Banks could care less if Joe Blow debt collector walked into the bank and told them to garnish,freeze or hold a persons money. They won't do it--at all--PERIOD--ask them. Debt collectors have absolutely no authority to do anything like that--in fact, they have a bunch of laws the must OBEY to even call you on the phone or they could get sued--ask them. As for types of income that a COURT can seize, still sticking to the facts as Lamet describes. When the phrase "they shouldn't" is used--it means they can not LEGALLY do it. Again, if you go to court like you are supposed to, It WON"T happen. If you don't go, the judge won't know, and the opposing party is sure as hell not going to tell him(or her). Peace
I knew a debt collector couldn't garnish or freeze anything. They have to go to court. I was wondering if a court could garnish one's VA disability compensation benefits. This is nuts, but, I've been to the same court w/ this collector at least 4 times so far. I ran a credit report on myself & found at least 3 bills in a town at least 4 hrs from me & lol...that I had never lived in. Even better, one is a cable bill from this town I never lived in. Got a friendly knock on the front door one day & received a notice to appear in court or be arrested. Drove 4 hrs just for court..one way. I was just in the same court 4 days prior w/ the same attorney for the collector. I asked & keep asking the attorney: "Do U have at least 1 piece of paper, contract anything w/ my signature on it?" and the attorney's response; "Ah, no! You'll have to drive to their office." [Which is 4 hours away...lol. ]. Totally nuts. I was threaten with garnishments so on & so forth. It ended w/ me telling the attorney before I left to at least fax me a copy of this "bill" as well as the others. Haven't seen it yet. Guess I'm driving...lol.
Damn RC, what you are describing is just crazy. If you have fallen on hard times and have some past debt stacked up, you should get help. There are so many ways that a debt collector can get in trouble under the Fair Credit Reporting Act or the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
Get yourself some help, it is a lot cheaper than you might think. Usually when a consumer debtor gets an attorney to go over the debts and what has been reported to credit reporting agencies, etc. the debt collectors just drop it and you never hear from them again. The main reason is under the federal Fair DEbt Collection Practices Act, a debt collector CANNOT contact you in any manner once you have an attorney. If they do, you can get up to $1,000 from them for violating that law with just one phone call to you. They have to work and prove the debt and accuracy to your attorney and risk violating some law and getting sued. So instead they tend just to drop it and you nor your attorney ever hears from them again.
You are getting put through the grinder because they know they can.
Excellent yoyo...You just told it just like it IS........Educate one's self,inquire about things that are written into collection laws,And most important...YOU GET A COURT SUMMONS..PLEASE GO..The majority of the C/A's are hoping you don't show...Hence Default Judgement..Then they get to play games with you with the backing of the Judicial System.....There is tons of legal info. out there on how to handle C/A'S and their minions........Federal Collection Law is the standard..But your individual state collection laws are most important... But always defend yourself...ALWAYS..
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