Refusal to Pay, Debt Collection Agency and Bank Account Information
I really need help fast and I don't know what to do; I'm hoping you can answer a question for me. I only have one more day left to make this decision and I'm running in circles trying to get it resolved. For the moment I need to know if a "Law Firm Engaged in Debt collection" can demand my checking account number, and if so, will the bank freeze my account? They were granted a judgement against me because again, I could not get an answer as to how I was to respond to that. I paid a debt relief company to help me but now that I really need them, I' can't reach them. I've been trying for almost two weeks, and just sit on hold, until I give up, sometimes more than hour. I live in Pennsylvania.
Can a debt collector demand my checking account number and freeze my bank account?
—Help in PA
The above debt collection question and below comments with additional responses are from an email exchange with a reader yesterday.
State law limits what amount of money can be levied or taken from your bank account in order to pay a judgment. State law further protects you from heavy wage garnishment, and from a debt collector seizing some of your personal stuff in order to satisfy a judgment.
Anyone with a related question can post it in the comment for feedback. Be specific with what you have going on. It helps when you include:
- The name of the credit or debt buyer involved.
- The name of the collection agency involved if different than above.
- The state you live in.
- If there is a judgment or an active court case.
- What your goals are for resolving the debt.
Including those details (use an anonymous screen name if you like), often helps me offer more detailed feedback to readers.
If you want to talk offline you can reach me at 800-939-8357, choose option 2.
About Michael BoveeMichael started CRN in 2004 with a mission to provide people in need with detailed debt and credit help and education. Michael has participated as an expert panelist in federal consumer protection rule making, collaborated on state law changes governing debt consolidation, has worked as an expert witness in court matters related to the debt relief industry. He is available to speak with you about your financial struggle and helps people resolve their debt problems daily.
I’m in ny, I owe 5600 on a charged off account, I have 1500 in my bank account, can that be frozen or taken?
Only if you have been sued and a judgment entered in court.
Who is the creditor?
When did you stop paying?
Portforlio Credit Recovery has frozen my husband’s bank account with Chase. Chase says the judgement is for $2200 but they’re holding over $4000 causing his account to be negative. We have rent and other bills due. We are in Florida, what recourse do we have?
You typically have to contest any of this with the court, as they are the ones that sign off on the bank levy. It can take a couple of days for the freeze to thaw and the money – that is more than what the bank levy listed – to be available.
We also found out that the name on the order is incorrect. The judgement is for Michaela instead of Michael A. The bank says the SSN matches though. Who should he raise that issue to? The bank or the collector?
I would raise any issues with the court if it were me.
I live in pa and wondering if I have a $2,500 judgement against me and I only have $200 dollars in the bank can they still freeze my account and if they do how long can they freeze the account for ? Secondly can they withdraw my account for the remaining $2,300 dollars leaving me with a negative total account and satisfying their collection efforts for judgement ? If they take nothing how long can my account be frozen ?
Pennsylvania has no exemption for bank accounts, but you cannot have your wages garnished.
Talk to an experienced debt collection defense attorney in PA and get your questions about how long your account can be frozen, as I am not sure. They should not be able to take in excess of what you have on deposit.
Hi – We are in PA and our bank accounts were frozen by a civil judgment from a past landlord who sued us for rent for the two months he was unable to rent the property and for repairs and carpet cleaning. He also kept our security deposit. We were also sued for his attorney fees and legal fees. The judge awarded him $3008. We have made some payments but other financial demands caused us to not be able to continue. They have now frozen our bank accounts and have over $1000. Can they take our entire bank account. My husband’s paycheck is direct deposited and that money was to pay our rent. While I understand it is legal – Can they take it all.
You cannot garnish wages in Pennsylvania, but you can levy bank accounts and lien property. There is a small $300 exemption that you can petition the court to be returned to you, but that has to cover some other property too, so it may not be effective fro you.
In PA it is often better for people with judgments against them to take steps to keep their money out of a bank that is associated with their own name and social security number, until the judgment is resolved.
Is the judgment against both of you, or just one?
I defaulted (I think, back in 2009 due to lost job and a baby) on a credit card w a balance of $800 to Capital One. Patenaude and Felix, APc has since taken over the debt. Last week when I looked at my bank account there was a court ordered levy for $2800.00. I had no knowledge of this debt and would think that it was out of statue, also, was never served anything… What if any options do I have?
Are you in California?
If you were never served, or knew about the lawsuit, you have at least a little bit of a chance to get the case vacated. Let me know if you are interested in pursuing that and I can email you some contact details of an attorney in CA that regularly helps with that sorta thing.
Yes, I am run California. As I read on, the bank account garnished is also in my husband’s name however he had nothing to do with the debt… I would like the name of someone in Ca who deals with this stuff at your convenience. Thank you and I hope you have a great day!
I sent you an email with the info you will want to follow up on. Let me know how the situation develops.
Hi Michael,
I know that in PA wages cannot be garnished for a civil judgement. Can a creditor from a civil judgement garnish your bank account? How could I prevent this?
The creditor has already threatened to tag property & take what he wants.
Thank you.
You have little to no bank account protections in PA. Check out this video about delaying judgment collections.
I found out I had my bank account frozen because of a judgement from discover. ( Long ago debt) The attorney is trying to unfreeze it because he didn’t know it was a joint account, the bank told him it was only mine, but my spouse is not the one at fault. The bank is having a hard time faxing over info to the attorney proving that the account is a joint account. I gave them the fax number. So I faxed over a bank statement to attorney but that wasn’t good enough because it had the word “or” between our names on statement. My question is will my husband’s money be frozen aso and future direct deposits? I want to make arrangements to pay for the debt do I talk to the attorney who is handling the debt? The attorney wasn’t real clear as to what to do,. Or do I have to call the court house to get this resolved?
Who is the collection law form involved?
What state are you in?
Swicker & Associates, I’m in Pa
Talk to one of the attorneys in PA that I am sending you contact details for. Most offer a no cost initial consult and can readily answer the question about your joint account being levied.
Also found out that my husband’s direct deposits will be available. And the bank said it is a joint account. Attorney said i can make arrangements with the collection after account is unfrozen
How much is owed on the Discover judgment?
6700.00.
The bank account is unfrozen but found out that there is a levy on my property. Do I have to contact a lawyer or can I continue to work with the collection agency referred to me by the plaintiff’s attorney? I already talked to her & she is giving me little time to come up with the balance. As far as making payments she asked for way too much a month! I read that I could go to the clerk of court to fill out a form with amount I can afford to pay & that they will send that to the creditor. Is that true? I’m thinking about withdrawing my retirement to pay off the balance. I’m worried about the time frame for it being settled. I don’t want to lose my house. Thank you for helping.
Check out this video I did about bank levies and liens.
You do not need an attorney to help you resolve the Discover judgment with Zwicker. You can often negotiate a lower lump sum pay off. I have a page up about negotiating with Zwicker and Associates.
You cannot have your wages garnished in Pennsylvania. Setting up a monthly payment through the court is a reality, but I would opt for saving up half-ish in order to settle.
They have the lien on your home as a guarantee they will eventually get paid, and not to take your home from you.
I hear you on tapping into retirement money in order to tackle a stressful situation like this, but try to avoid that if you can. Try to pull the money together a different way, and over a period of time if necessary.
I’m not sure if my property is levied now. I think they referred to my bank as ” property”. I read the page on Zwicker. They said I owe 8,000 & told me they would bring it down to 7000. if I paid in full. Or they will accept 732.00 payment a month. I can only afford 100.00. Do I have to agree with what they want or will they eventually come to terms with what I am able to pay?
You do not have to agree to the amount they want you to pay each month. But you cannot, per say, force them to take $100 a month.
Keep your name off bank accounts and know that a property lien is common. Come up with a strategy to get half or more of the balance owed and negotiate a pay off that you get documented by them first before you pay. It could happen next month or next year.
My wife has a summary judgement against her for a credit debt from 2008 before we were married. I remember back in 2010 or 2011 she received letters from a debt collection agency, Mapother and Mapother, stating they were trying to collect and I disputed the charges and whether they actually where legal owners of the debt and we heard nothing more until now.
Then a summary judgement was awarded in Lexington Kentucky to a different debt collector and we never received anything about until two weeks ago. We received the order for summary judgement dated June 28, 2013 from debt collector from Louisville Kentucky named Fenton and McGarvey and then yesterday we received a wage garnishment. My wife does not work and left the business the wage garnishment was sent to over 4 years ago. The original debt shows $4500 but they are claiming she now owes $12000 after interest fees and etc.
My big question is if they can levy our joint bank account even if she incurred the debt before our marriage and she has not contributed to the account for over 4 years. Should I remove her name from the joint checking account or close the account while I fight this action and try to vacate the summary judgement? How would be the best way to fight this debt?
Thanks.
Jeff
If you can get her removed from the account it will prevent the next bank levy. Opening a new account at the same, or a different bank, can work well too (just in your name).
Who is the named plaintiff on the lawsuit? Who does Fenton and McGarvey say they work for now?
Kentucky caps judgment interest. I cannot see how they got from the balance then, to what they assert is owed now.
What is your goal for resolving the judgment?
I live in NYC and have a lot of old credit card debt. All have been sold to law firms & are over the statute of limitations, and only the one I’m paying off currently was actually served according to law. I did not receive any notice of the other 2 lawsuits until recently (several years after they was filed, allegedly in 2010), but unfortunately i never went to court on any of them.
My bank account was frozen from one of them, so i had to negotiate a payment plan of $100/mos., even though that is beyond what i can afford. Ive been paying it for over a year. The firm would not take less, even after explaining my financial hardships.
Now I rec’d another Notice to Judgement debtor re: a different debt stating I owe $3,744.29 & if not paid they may freeze my account.
I cannot afford to pay ANOTHER $100/mos., but don’t know how to negotiate with them for less. I can offer a lump sum of $1000 to settle but not anymore than that. Will they accept that little? How do I do this & what if they won’t accept? Also, what about having to pay taxes on remaining bal. & damage to my credit? Where am I s opposed to get all this money from?
Would appreciate any help you can provide.
Who is the collection law firm you are paying the $100 a month to, and who are they collecting for (name of the plaintiff that sued)?
Who is the law firm trying to collect on the new balance, and who are they working for? You said you were not sued properly on this one. Post some more details on what you meant by that.
Here is an article about paying taxes after you settle a debt for less. Do not let tax implications side track you from resolving this stuff. If you do end up owing (many people don’t), it is better than the alternative.
The name of the credit or debt buyer involved.
Credit Acceptance Corporation
The name of the collection agency involved if different than above.
Represented by Law Offices of Frederic I, Weinberg & Associates
The state you live in.
Pennsylvania
If there is a judgment or an active court case.
There is a judgement against me, for $6,612.
What your goals are for resolving the debt.
I would love to settle the debt, but I don’t know what my next steps are. I’m worried about them garnishing my bank account. I live pretty much paycheck to paycheck as it is, if they froze my account I don’t know what I would do to live. I don’t know if I should contact them to work out a payment plan, or if they’ll just take my account info and freeze my account. I am leaning toward bankruptcy, but obviously, that’ll take time, and I’m afraid any money I would be able to put toward filing would be put on hold. I’ve heard horror stories in PA where people woke up one day to find their account was put on hold without notice. I’ve never given this place my account information, do they legally have to tell you they’re freezing the account, or can they just do it?
You can indeed wake up with funds frozen in your bank account without any warning. You can prevent that by working out a settlement or a payment arrangement that they agree to.
How old is the judgment?
Are you in a position to fund a settlement offer for half or more of what is owed? If not, when can you be ready?
The opposite is true about filing bankruptcy. The moment you file all collections of any type must stop in its tracks. That includes judgments. The process to discharge in a 7, or repayment in a 13, does require a formal process that takes varying amounts of time. But the protection from creditors is immediate.
Good Afternoon Michael,
Thank you so much for all of the help that you offer to all of us. Here is my question, I would really appreciate it if you could take a moment to reply. I live in PA and recently discovered a medical bill in the amount of $134 on my credit report, when I called the collection agency, CBJ Credit Recovery to pay them (the full amount) they said they couldn’t take my payment because it’s been too long, 6 years and I would have to wait another year for the account to come off my report. I don’t understand this. When I’m willing to pay. Is this correct? Do I have any options? I don’t want to wait another year. Mind you, I never knew it was there previously.
Thank you!
Corie
On any given day it is more than a little odd to have a debt collector refuse money. My guess is that the debt collection agency does not have the account so could not take your money. The debt collector did a poor job of telling you what the situation is and what to do next.
I see your options as:
1. Contact the original service provider and find out the status of the account in their system and follow the trail of crumbs from there.
2. Dispute the entry from CBJ Credit Recovery off your credit report.
If I am right about them not be associated with the account any longer, your dispute will likely result in the credit report removal.
Let me know what happens with your efforts.
Located in PA. I hve a judgement from Capital One. Attorney fir is Weingberg. That have from my bank account. By law the must return 300 to me. 900 will go to the attorney debt collector. How long can they freeze my account.? What no happens next? I can not believe we life in a county that allows this to happen to people, leaving them with no money to buy food, pay mortgage or utilities etc. Our economy crisis, job loss etc put me and many others in this position. They have made me feel like a criminal
Call and ask your bank when you will be able to deposit money in the account again without them being able to levy the money.
If the amount they took does not satisfy the judgment they can hit your bank again later. How much is the total amount owed on the judgment?
If you still owe a sizable amount you will want to look at banking and bill pay alternatives until you resolve the judgment.
Sorry for the typos! The balance is now around 2300.
The attorney said after this phase they will work with me. So we ll see. When I ask the bank when the freeze will be lifted they rudely stated when the courts tell them to lift it. What other alternatives are there? They make me feel like a criminal. People fall on hard times and this us how they are helped?
It can take a few weeks for the process to take its course. Many collection law firms are going to work with you to repay the rest of what you owe after this. Your wages are protected in PA, so that often leaves bank accounts as the most immediate way to get paid. It is, unfortunately, a normal element of debt collections.
If it were me, I would look at ways to offer them a lump sum settlement for less than what is left owing. But if that is not a possibility, making a scheduled monthly payment arrangement with them will allow you to continue to bank as you normally would.
Hello – I received on 2/26/16 court papers stating that Weltman Weinberg and Reis (Discover) received a judgment against me on 1-29-16 and that are garnishing my Huntington bank account in excess of $425.00 – I called Weltman and of course the attorney that is handling my account was out and the lady that I spoke with said did they garnish your account? I said I didn’t think so I just got the paperwork that day, so I called my bank and that day 2/26/16 they did, and only left $425 – they took $1072 plus a processing fee of $75. The bank said that the received the garnishment that day and they took the $1072 and also the $75 was Weltman court costs. My question is can they do this over and over until the entire amout owed is satisfied? I still owe Discover roughly a additional $1200 -I will try to set up payments on the remainder however, I don’t want them to do this again next week?? Should I close that account? once last question, how do they get account information? I live in ohio.
Your bank account is at risk for further levies until the judgment is satisfied unless you qualify for exemptions from levy in your state. You do have a decent chance of setting up a payment plan on the remainder that is owed so call and check to see what they are willing to do.
They may not have had your bank account information. Debt collection attorneys will get an order from the court to allow the bank levy and then submit that to major banks in your state, or in your area. They can hit their mark that way.
Hi, my partner’s car was repossessed due to being behind in payments. They took the car on Feb 16 and we received a letter dated Feb 18 which states the 15 day law. The problem is that he can’t get any answers from anyone when he calls. He’ll call multiple times a day, has left multiple voicemails on the attorney’s phone who he is being directed to speak with and whose name is on this letter. The attorney has not called back. What should we do? Should we hire an attorney? What options do we have if no one will speak to him. We hope to reinstate the loan. Thanks for any help. also, we’re in pittsburgh, pa. thank you!
Who is the loan through, or who is servicing it?
Hi my bank account was frozen due to in unpaid account that I had over ten years ago I have slowly been trying to rebuild my credit and must admit that I haven’t made the best choices regarding my credit in the past the number I was given from the bank isn’t a working number and no one can tell me what to do in this situation except wait I recently moved from one state to anothe and rent and bills is a must especially rent. I have a lot of debt but no new debt in the past six years not sure what to do about this
Ask your bank for a copy of the order from the court. Look up your name in that courts records and post an update with the details about the judgment you find there.
Name of plaintiff.
Name of collection law firm that handled the case.
Judgment amount.
What state you are in.
I can offer more helpful feedback when you post those details.
Hi Michael, you give great advice–I hope you can help me! My husband was having his wages garnished after a default judgment was filed years ago from Midland Funding/Pressler & Pressler here in NJ. Though the debt was never verified, they forged his signature on a certified mail form which is how the default judgment was entered (he never received notice to appear). Anyway, his office received a letter from the Superior Court Officer to whom he was paying the wage garnishments “to please stop remitting and refund any monies you have on hand to the defendant” along with a copy of the Court Officer’s notice to the Special Civil Part Clerk, informing her, “Please note the above mentioned wage garnishment has been closed in our office. Please stop the deductions.” Any wage garnishments his office had sent were returned back, the checks uncashed–this was back in Feb. 2012. Fast forward to this week–Pressler & Pressler sends a notice to his office: “Inquiry is made as to your compliance with the Court Order for the Wage Execution served upon your firm…etc.” and a bunch of questions about the last remittance, balance due, etc. This is not the first time they have started and stopped, and we fear they are trying to add on more interest each time they do this? Our biggest fear is that this will destroy his newly repaired credit score. What can we do? Please help!
I would contact an experienced debt collection defense attorney in New Jersey and get their feedback. Something is wonky with your file in the courts. Talk to them about the service of process signature too.
Post the name of a nearby large city and I can email you contact details to any attorneys I know of in the area that have the experience you need (few lawyers specialize in debt defense).
Hi, thank you so much for your prompt response! If you know of anyone in Monmouth County, NJ, near Freehold, that would great. Many, many thanks!!
I am a resident of South Carolina, a graduate student on a stipend. Defaulted on 15K of student loans which my cosigner said was paid off to Citibank but cannot verify since she has passed away now. Discover bank claims to have purchased that account and claims it was never paid off and is suing me, using a collection agency. I have a bank account where my direct deposit funds go from my stipend. Apart from that, I rent, have an old car and my only asset is that direct deposit account.
There is no mention of Discover Student Loans in my credit report and I do have a line in there showing the Citibank account with a balance of 0 but open.
Can a judgment be used to levy my bank account despite the fact that it only holds direct deposit funds from my wages which are exempt from garnishment by SC law? What can I do to protect myself in case I lose the case?