I am not positive but almost on this but I do not believe that they can. I was under the understanding that your wages can only be garnished in PA for child support and taxes. I seen somehting on last nights News that alot of people haven't been paying there debt and the credit card companies were sending Sheriffs to their door. They get paid to do this from the cc companies. I also seen where some of the companies were dipping into peoples checking accounts gettineg their money. Legally they can not do this. I have a relative they did this to and she went and disputed it at her bank and they had to replace her funds (the bank) then go gat their money back from the cc company. Keep an eye on your checking just in case.
Can you tell me anymore about this debt..last payment? The SOL in PA is 4 years. If this debt is over four years old and you have not made a payment in that time you will be protected by the statutes of lim itation on collecting credit card debt. Others will also answer you so check back.
The only thing that can be garnished in the great state of Pennsylvania is taxes and child support, a credit card can not garnish your wages. However, they can go into your bank account and garnish from there, so watch what you keep in the bank. If they do garnish your bank account, file a dispute. If they have a judgement your bank may not back you, so keep very little in your account so it is not there to garnish.
google what is garnishable in pennsylvania and you will get a wealth of information.
I still can not figure out how they find peoples bank account numbers in order to do this. I hear of it happening all the time. I also know it is not legal. If there is another name that is first on the account how can they even garnish from that checking account? I wouldn't even call it "garnishing" I would call it stealing. I know someone will say "well didn't you steal by not paying but maybe more people will pay up when they revise these stupid credit card laws and start capping how much money they can tack on to a defaulted card and while they are at it reduce legal interest rates.
Hi jvalenti
Pennsylvania does not allow wage garnishment except for collection of Federal tax debt and alimony and child support obligations. Apart from PA, the three other states which do not allow wage garnishment include Texas, North Carolina and south Carolina. However, the state tax department is authorized to garnish your wages even without a judgment from the court. But your credit card debt can never be garnished in PA.
BUT do they get your numbers from old payments you made from the same account or how do they come up with your bank account numbers? I didn't see anything in your last post about that.
I am not real sure how they come up with your bank account information, I have heard that they get it off your lender, they have all kinds of ways to come up with the information that they need. Credit reporting agencies and etc.
I don't see how credit reporting agencies can just give up your information the way they do.
I do not either . this should be a violation of your privacy. Have you had this account since you had the debt? Maybe you made a payment from it to the original creditor and they had copies of the checks or something that gave them your account number. Thats another syatem they should revise..is putting all your numbers on every check. You think by now some genius would have found a new way to do this. With electronic sheck being used by so many places all a company would have to do is read one of your checks and put through an electrnic transfer check.
It should be they can report information but not get any information, it is like they are all part of a club that is there to screw you good or bad credit. They can get all the information they want but you have to go through hell to get them to change anything that may be reporting wrong.
I just can not see how half of it was even legal. They can take their club and stick it. They need to see things would not be like this if some of the credit playing rules were changed so they were not all in favor of the collectors, just my opinion.
Does outstanding payday loans come under pennsylvania wage garnishment laws. I have 4 pay day loans all of which has been sold off to collection agencies. I got a call from one of them asking me to repay it off. Now as per the wage garnishment laws in PA, the creditors cannot garnish my wage. So if I don't pay them off will I face any problem at a later stage.
You need to first check whether the SOL for the debt has expired or not. If the SOL for the debt has expired, then you need not pay off the debt and the creditors cannot do anything to recover the outstanding debt. The Statute of Limitation in PA is 4 years. Now although Pennsylvania wage garnishment laws do not allow for wage garnishment, the credit can bring judgment to garnish your checking account so that whenever any money comes to your account, it is withdrawn by the bank and deposited it with your creditor till the time the debt has been fully recovered. Now this judgment may lower your score and so try to repay off the debt if you find that you do owe money to them.
They have to get the judge to issue a garnishment first though right? I have known a couple people here in PA that have had collectors actually go in and take money out of their accounts without their approval and then they would have to go do some paperwork at the bank to get the money back. How are they legally doing this? I have asked this question before and haven't heard a response on it.
Linda, Hello and welcome to the forum. Alot of it depends on the state you are from. Sometimes they can actually sell off property. If you can give us a little more detail and you let us know what state you are from we can help you determine the extent of what a judgement can do.
Hi Linda
The court does not take away anything from you. It only authorities the creditor to recover the debt by giving a judgment against you. The court is not responsible for recovering the money. Now the creditor can either garnish your bank account or your wages to recover the outstanding debt. However, the method the creditor wants to adopt has to be mentioned by him when he has filed the lawsuit to bring the judgment against you.
No, social security benefits cannot be garnished by private creditors. It can only be garnished for recovery of outstanding federal tax debts and alimony and child support obligations. However, if the creditor or the collection agency who owns your debt brings judgment against you they can garnish your bank account so that whenever any money gets credited in your bank account, it will be debited by the bank and will be transferred into the account of the creditor. So whenever you have a judgment against you, inform the bank in writing that the money which gets credited in your account is your social security benefit so that it does not get garnished.
I live in the state of PA. In THIS state, NOTHING can be garnished from your wages...........except Defaulted school loans, Child Support,etc...this kind of thing. However............I don't know if a garnishment can be taken from your bank account, though.
In Pennsylvania, although wage cannot be garnished, the creditor can bring judgment to garnish your bank account and the garnishment will continue so long as the judgment money is repaid in full. Now, although PA does not allow garnishment directly from your employer, it is silent on whether the creditor can garnish your account when your paycheck gets credited in your bank account and so whenever you deposit any check including your paycheck in your bank account, it gets garnished.
always found that amazing that a creditor can just go into a bank account, I have read where they have also went in and took social security benefits which is as we all know is not garnishable.
What I do not understand is how of they are not legally entitled to take money from a bank account how they do not get any legal ramifications from doing so. How far do you think an average Joe would get if he dipped into a companies bank account. I tell you how far..as far as the nearest judge and jail. I also do not believed that they should have the right to take the money until number one , they can prove the debt, what the money in the account was from (SS), or informed the person of this action. Also while we are on the subject where is it legal for them to get judgements when they do not inform the debtor of the action first. Sure they can say they took all routes possible but did they??
For the honest person or the person who has paid a debt and can prove it where are their rights. I think when going to the judge for a judgement and the person was not able to be reached the judge should look first at the SOL and ask them to leagally prove they own the debt before issuing a judgement. Thats what would help stop creditors from their illegal acts.
That is why it is very important not to ignore any type of lawsuit that is filed against you, ignoring it will only result in a default judgement, then you don't have a chance at all at defending yourself or protecting your accounts down the road. It may take them a few years but the judgement is money in their pockets and you can bet that they will pursue what ever means they can to collect.
I think also that the banks should set up accounts that identify wether it is a disability income or not, wether it is garnishable or not, but this is not an every day ordeal for them so it would not be profitable to market. It would be on the consumer to explain to the bank that the deposit going into the account is a disability income and then maybe they could help you contact the judgement holder to lift the lein or at least guide you in the right direction.
Yes I agree that the bank does not deal with this everyday but what I still do not understand is how a company can just dip into an account with no prior authorization. There are bills that I sign up for personally to come directly out of my checking..car insurance, mortgage payments and such but I signed to aythorize the deduction for a certain amount on a certain date. I can not see how they do not legally get prosecuted for their actions.
As for the judgements I am talking about the people that honestly never get the summons. What if it was left on the door and a person moved or with a relative that lays it aside and forgets. I believe they should have it that the person being sued is only the one allowed to sign. With all their high tech tracking info surley they would be able to find the debtor.
my checking account was garnished 2 times now from a creditor. this is my ss disability money and there are 2 names on my account. they have left me with no money for my medicine i need to live. the law firm knows i am on ss because they put the money back. its been 2 years from the same month they did this. i want to file federal charges against them. how do i do this? thanks
Social security benefit can never be garnished. You should immediately file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission by sending a certified letter at Consumer Response Center, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580 or call them at 1-877-382-4357.
That is not correct, Ellen. Federal benefits are protected fom garnishment, it does not matter whether it's in the form of cash, check, or electrons in the bank's computer - they cannot legally touch it, unless you hand it over.
My acct was recently"frozen" by a creditor. W/ an attny it is a big enough battle, but w/out one, nearly impossible to get unfrozen until pd in full. There is some law about garnishing a joint account when the judgement is aginst only one person, which is my case, but it can take quite some time before they have to release it. My attny offered some wonderful advice, such as keeping less in the account, having 2 accounts through a big and a small bank, paying by money order to ANY creditor, and for those who do keep the money in the bank, use a small bank. Those accounts are harder to find, BUT not impossible.If you are in a position that you truly cannot pay, you should consider bankruptcy. Though it is not always desireable, for those of us who have come across hard times and aren't trying to cheat the system or steal, sometimes it is the only option to avoid the chaos and devastation. We have managed for years to not file, but we may be facing it now. It doesn't always mean you're a great big loser. We are not wasteful spenders. Due to some family crisis, my husband and I were forced to live on our cards for nearly a yr. When I lost my job, we were unable to pay. Sadly, this is happening all over the country right now. If this is our case, or yours, let it be a lesson, and a stepping stone, and just avoid the use of credit in the future. I recently read that paying cash for everything makes you spend less money. Also, just a final note... if you have an att., they can sometimes sue for violating the collections laws. Good luck to all.
Can you tell me if there is a statue of limitations on medical debt? My daughter has two children and they are 2 yrs and one is 3 mo. old. She has bill collectors harrassing her day and night demanding money for a miscarraige at a hospital over 4 years ago. She told them that her x boyfriend said they were paid and that he was the one who signed her in, Is there a limit on this? Ruthie
It has to be a court judgement thru proper procedures. I know that they can get them I just don't know how. If an electronic draft gets thru dispute it right away, with your back. Ask for there written authorization. If they don't have it from you or the judge, then you can sue for violation of the privacy act and fair credit collections act. We all need to alert our Atty general's offices for these accts. T'm sure with enough petitions, we the people can take back our country and tell them all where to stick it. They get away with it because we don't look and do anything about it. Go to your bank. Make them prove it or pay you back. Hope I helped. Ruthie By the way I was answering about the credit card judgements.
If you live and work in the Great State of Pennsylvania. It is in violation of State Wage Garnisment law for a collection agency to even threaten you with wage garnisment.
If you live and work in the Great State of Pennsylvania. It is in violation of State Wage Garnisment law for a collection agency to even threaten you with wage garnisment.
yes Pennsylvania is very strict on what can be garnished out of a pay check, this state does allow child support and taxes but for child support it requires a court order, tax collectors can simply send a letter and get the collection process started.
Yes peacockrancher, Pa is one of the strictist for wage garnishment, it also has one of the most active attorney generals offices when it comes to helping out the consumers too. We are pretty fortunate to have this and we do appreciate it. I have used the attorney generals office with many collection hassles and they have helped me get it all resolved. They hang in there until you get a satisfactory result.
PA does in fact have a very active atty genera. I personaly have had to call him and he was very prompt and called the collection agency as soon as he hung up the phone with me. With in an hour he called me back with information.I seen the earlier post on medical bills (miscarriage) I would believe that that debt would be past the SOL if it has been four years. Does anyone know about any medical bill exclusions? I have not heard of any but would like to know.
I recently put my home up for sale because I can no longer live there. I live in Pa. My son is letting me stay with him and his wife until I can find a home in NC. I have a credit card that was paid off by ins. back in 2005 and they sold it to a collection agency. Now they are trying to get a lein on my home. Can they legally do this? I only have SS income, and my son has been paying this mortgage. Can they take my home??? Ruthie
I would like to clear some things up for everyone. I see a lot of questions on here and i see a lot of wrong answers. I will walk you through the entire collection process including any legal proceedings.
First, when a collection agency is assigned a bill for collections(or they purchase the debt) they will send you a letter stating that you have 30 days to dispute the debt. If you dispute the debt within the time frame the collection agency has to prove the debt to you. How they prove it can vary on the type of debt.
After the 30 day period has passed they will attempt to contact you by letter or telephone. If you know you owe the money this is the time to setup an arrangment to pay it back. All collection agencies are willing to take a payment arrangment at this point. As long as you offer them something they will most likely leave you alone as long as you stick to the agreement. Now, to be clear they do not have to accept the payment arrangment if they dod not feel it is acceptable to pay back the debt. For example, if you owe $30,000 and only offer to pay $5 a month they will more than likely tell you no they need more. You can also offer them a settlement to clear up the debt. This is where you offer them less than what is actually owed. Most agencies will reduce your debt in order to get it cleared up.
If they can not get you to pay with letters and telephone calls they may decide to take lagal action against you. In PA the statute of limitations is 4 years(most people know this). One exception to this is for loans or credit granted....some lenders have you sign documents under what is called "Seal". Usually the word "Seal" would be near the signature line. If you signed a document under "Seal' there is no statute of limitation. If the word "Seal" is not there then the statute of limitations applies. The statute is 4 years from the date it was charged off or the last payment date.
The agency will then file a civil complaint against you. you will have another opportunity to dispute the bill with the courts. If you dipspute a hearing date will be set where both parties must attend. The agency would have to bring proof of the debt. It is up to the judge to decide if the proof that is provided is adequate to prove the debt. Every judge is different on this.
If you attend and lose or dont attend at all a judgment will be entered against you. You will 30 days to appeal the judgment(you will need an attorney for this unless you have some type of legal background). If you do not appeal the judgment the judgment is now valid.
They can then put a lein against any real property that you may own. Real property is pretty much a home(mobile homes or trailers do not count as real property). This lein will prevent you from selling the property or using the property as collateral to obtain credit.
if you still dont pay the judgment they can decide to execute on that judgment. Depending on the state there are several things they can do to get you to pay. All of these things have been mentioned so far but with some misleading information. First, we'll talk about personal property executions. The agency will file a writ of execution for personal property with the courts. A sheriff will visit your home and list items inside and outside of your house for public auction. This would include any vehicle registered to you. This step can be taken as many times as the agency desires or until the debt is paid in full. The amount of time they have to do this varies. The longest that i know of is 20 years. Another thing they can do is garnish your bank account. There are some exempt things to this. For example if it is a joint account and the judgment is only against one individual the money cant be touch. This is also true if the money is coming from social security. Your banks legal department will help with this if you have a joint account or receive social security. If they do succesfully garnish your account it will be frozen and any checks you have outstanding will bounce. The accounts can stay frozen for quite some time. One question i saw on here is how do they get your bank info. There are companies that offer this service to agencies. They do not provide your actual account # but just the name of your bank. This is all that is needed to freeze an account. How they know what account to freeze is they provide the bank with your ss# to verify they have the right person.
All of these things are 100% legal for them to do. My advice to everyone is to pay your bills, stay in contact with the collection agency. Most agencies are willing to work with you to take care of your debt. If you are nasty to a collection agency they will be nasty back. So, dont hang up on them, dont curse them out and dont threaten them.
Collection agencies are not as bad as some people think. They will work with you to clear up your debts. They will help you decide how much money you can afford to pay towards your past due debts. All you have to do is talk to them. If you talk with them and you really dont have the means to pay a lot of times they will just close the account because they are not going to waste time, money and resources to try to collect an uncollectable debt. Just talk to the agency and let them know your situation.
I also saw some thing on here about file suit against an agency. This is allowed but there are limits on how much money you get from them. You will not get rich file suit against the agency and even after you file suit and win the debt is still owed. Debts never go away no matter how old they are. The only thing the age of account does is limit what they can do to recover the debt.
Keep this in mind, if collection agencies didnt recover any of the lost money we would all face higher interest rates and inflated prices. The lenders and service providers need to recoup this money some how and unfortunately it falls onto the next consumer. It is good for all parties to pay your bills. It helps our economy and helps to keep prices down. There are a lot of debt counseling companies out there that help you take care of your debt free of charge. Once you get hooked up with one of these companies agencies are limited to what they can do. These companies can protect you because of the laws.
Bankruptcy may seem to be a good idea but with the new bankruptcy laws you have to go to a debt counselor before the courts will let you file bankruptcy. So, again just pay your debts the best you can and you can avoid all of this.
Oh and to answer Ruthies question they cannot take your home to pay off a credit card or hospital bill. They can put a lein against the property which will prevent you from selling it but if you say it was taken care of just pove it to them and they will back off. If an insurance company paid it for you, you can probably get the proof that it was paid from them.
Now, some of these things vary depending on the state. PA is a very consumer friendly state, other states not so much. everything that i mentioned in legal in PA which like i said is a very consumer friendly state. So, if you live in another state i would say pay your bills.
One more thing, wage garnishment can not be done in PA except for child support, alimony, and taxes. But, if you receive a check from another state that allows wage garnishment they can garnish that check. So, if you live in say Stroudsburg PA but work in Phillipsburg NJ, they can garnish your pay check.
So again, just pay your bills and you will avoid all of this. As long as you are paying something on a regular basis most agencies will just leave you alone and let you make your payments.
John - thanks for the detailed info. I have a couple of questions along the lines of bankruptcy. First, I have incurred some debt due to my wife's disability from a debt that was originated in Georgia. Does it matter where the debt was incurred or whether what state you currently reside? Secondly, I have just recently received a judgement from a credit card company last week. My bankruptcy is being filed a we speak and should be complete this coming week. How fast will the garnishment procedure take to go into effect?
I also have a question if collection agencies are willing to work with people how come they call people up demanding the money in 30 days are they will take legal action. And there are certain things that happen in peoples lives that prevent them from paying their bills that can't be helped not because they just decided not to pay them. As far as not being rude to collection agencies and they won't be rude to you I'm not buying that at all. I have seen my grandpa try and explain to them why he couldn't pay but a certain amount not $5 but $25 and they went off on him. Thank god my dad was there he got on the phone and put them in there place. It was uncalled for at least he was willing to pay. I a wait your answer.
It used to be that you could not garnish a civil judgment in PA, but that has now changed. Yes, wages can be garnished from someone who has received a judgement against you in the state of pa, through a Writ of Execution.
If my mobile home goes into foreclosure, the lender has told me the only way he can collect anything from me is if I file a tax return (which I don't do now since I am retired and live on social security). He said I would owe 15% of the difference of the sale of the home and what is owed on it. (Owe $68,000, sell for $50,000 = $18,000 difference x 15% = $2700.) So I would owe $2700? Does anyone know if this is true? I am only on social security now with no assets. Thanks so much.
If my mobile home goes into foreclosure, the lender has told me the only way he can collect anything from me is if I file a tax return (which I don't do now since I am retired and live on social security). He said I would owe 15% of the difference of the sale of the home and what is owed on it. (Owe $68,000, sell for $50,000 = $18,000 difference x 15% = $2700.) So I would owe $2700? Does anyone know if this is true? I am only on social security now with no assets. Thanks so much.
They may be able to attach your tax return but not your social security. There may be others here with more knowledge on this so hang out and wait to see if you get more responses.
I am on social security disability, and a lawyer called yesterday saying they will be delivering papers to me for a court hearing on sueing me. He said unless your willing to pay 50.00 a month. I said I cannot pay anything because I have 3 kids, and very limited income. Will they actually deliver these papers, and can they really take the money from my account? I am in PA
Only under very limited circumstances does Pennsylvania law permit the garnishment of wages. Garnishment of wages is a seizure of wages while they are still in the control of the employer, and have not yet been paid out to the employee. An employee's wages, salaries and commissions may be taken from an employer through appropriate legal procedures to satisfy these kinds of debts:
judgments for child or spousal support
obligations relating to final divorce distribution
PHEAA student loans
back rent on a residential lease
as restitution for criminal matters
for certain types of taxes
Your wages cannot be garnished for any other purpose. Garnishment of wages can only be accomplished only by a court order directed to the employer and no such court order can be issued without fair notice to the debtor/wage earner. Other than the kinds of debt listed above, no other debt or legal obligation can give rise to wage attachment in Pennsylvania. Federal laws such as IRS garnishment procedures may be used to garnish wages of Pennsylvania residents, but only through the federal court system.
Social Security cannot be garnished by anybody else other than the government. However, you need to declare that, all your income comes from Social Security both to the bank where you have the account, and the creditor.
We live off sons adoption money, we have no other income, I am unable to work. Creditors are talking of garnishing our money, can they garnish this adoption assitance?
I am not positive but almost on this but I do not believe that they can. I was under the understanding that your wages can only be garnished in PA for child support and taxes. I seen somehting on last nights News that alot of people haven't been paying there debt and the credit card companies were sending Sheriffs to their door. They get paid to do this from the cc companies. I also seen where some of the companies were dipping into peoples checking accounts gettineg their money. Legally they can not do this. I have a relative they did this to and she went and disputed it at her bank and they had to replace her funds (the bank) then go gat their money back from the cc company. Keep an eye on your checking just in case.
Can you tell me anymore about this debt..last payment? The SOL in PA is 4 years. If this debt is over four years old and you have not made a payment in that time you will be protected by the statutes of lim itation on collecting credit card debt. Others will also answer you so check back.
The only thing that can be garnished in the great state of Pennsylvania is taxes and child support, a credit card can not garnish your wages. However, they can go into your bank account and garnish from there, so watch what you keep in the bank. If they do garnish your bank account, file a dispute. If they have a judgement your bank may not back you, so keep very little in your account so it is not there to garnish.
google what is garnishable in pennsylvania and you will get a wealth of information.
I still can not figure out how they find peoples bank account numbers in order to do this. I hear of it happening all the time. I also know it is not legal. If there is another name that is first on the account how can they even garnish from that checking account? I wouldn't even call it "garnishing" I would call it stealing. I know someone will say "well didn't you steal by not paying but maybe more people will pay up when they revise these stupid credit card laws and start capping how much money they can tack on to a defaulted card and while they are at it reduce legal interest rates.
Hi jvalenti
Pennsylvania does not allow wage garnishment except for collection of Federal tax debt and alimony and child support obligations. Apart from PA, the three other states which do not allow wage garnishment include Texas, North Carolina and south Carolina. However, the state tax department is authorized to garnish your wages even without a judgment from the court. But your credit card debt can never be garnished in PA.
You will need to refer back to my post reply and keep an eye on your bank account.
BUT do they get your numbers from old payments you made from the same account or how do they come up with your bank account numbers? I didn't see anything in your last post about that.
I am not real sure how they come up with your bank account information, I have heard that they get it off your lender, they have all kinds of ways to come up with the information that they need. Credit reporting agencies and etc.
I don't see how credit reporting agencies can just give up your information the way they do.
I do not either . this should be a violation of your privacy. Have you had this account since you had the debt? Maybe you made a payment from it to the original creditor and they had copies of the checks or something that gave them your account number. Thats another syatem they should revise..is putting all your numbers on every check. You think by now some genius would have found a new way to do this. With electronic sheck being used by so many places all a company would have to do is read one of your checks and put through an electrnic transfer check.
It should be they can report information but not get any information, it is like they are all part of a club that is there to screw you good or bad credit. They can get all the information they want but you have to go through hell to get them to change anything that may be reporting wrong.
I just can not see how half of it was even legal. They can take their club and stick it. They need to see things would not be like this if some of the credit playing rules were changed so they were not all in favor of the collectors, just my opinion.
Does outstanding payday loans come under pennsylvania wage garnishment laws. I have 4 pay day loans all of which has been sold off to collection agencies. I got a call from one of them asking me to repay it off. Now as per the wage garnishment laws in PA, the creditors cannot garnish my wage. So if I don't pay them off will I face any problem at a later stage.
You need to first check whether the SOL for the debt has expired or not. If the SOL for the debt has expired, then you need not pay off the debt and the creditors cannot do anything to recover the outstanding debt. The Statute of Limitation in PA is 4 years. Now although Pennsylvania wage garnishment laws do not allow for wage garnishment, the credit can bring judgment to garnish your checking account so that whenever any money comes to your account, it is withdrawn by the bank and deposited it with your creditor till the time the debt has been fully recovered. Now this judgment may lower your score and so try to repay off the debt if you find that you do owe money to them.
They have to get the judge to issue a garnishment first though right? I have known a couple people here in PA that have had collectors actually go in and take money out of their accounts without their approval and then they would have to go do some paperwork at the bank to get the money back. How are they legally doing this? I have asked this question before and haven't heard a response on it.
judgements against someone for non payment of credit card
What can the courts take from you for not payment if a judgement is made against you in court
Linda, Hello and welcome to the forum. Alot of it depends on the state you are from. Sometimes they can actually sell off property. If you can give us a little more detail and you let us know what state you are from we can help you determine the extent of what a judgement can do.
Hi Linda
The court does not take away anything from you. It only authorities the creditor to recover the debt by giving a judgment against you. The court is not responsible for recovering the money. Now the creditor can either garnish your bank account or your wages to recover the outstanding debt. However, the method the creditor wants to adopt has to be mentioned by him when he has filed the lawsuit to bring the judgment against you.
I had one call me years ago and threaten to sell off my assets. Are you telling me this was illegal and if so are they allowed to make these threats?
credit cards
What can creditors do if you can not pay them. I am on fixed income and became ill. All unsecured loans; can they garnish social security disability?
No, social security benefits cannot be garnished by private creditors. It can only be garnished for recovery of outstanding federal tax debts and alimony and child support obligations. However, if the creditor or the collection agency who owns your debt brings judgment against you they can garnish your bank account so that whenever any money gets credited in your bank account, it will be debited by the bank and will be transferred into the account of the creditor. So whenever you have a judgment against you, inform the bank in writing that the money which gets credited in your account is your social security benefit so that it does not get garnished.
credit
I live in the state of PA. In THIS state, NOTHING can be garnished from your wages...........except Defaulted school loans, Child Support,etc...this kind of thing. However............I don't know if a garnishment can be taken from your bank account, though.
In Pennsylvania, although wage cannot be garnished, the creditor can bring judgment to garnish your bank account and the garnishment will continue so long as the judgment money is repaid in full. Now, although PA does not allow garnishment directly from your employer, it is silent on whether the creditor can garnish your account when your paycheck gets credited in your bank account and so whenever you deposit any check including your paycheck in your bank account, it gets garnished.
always found that amazing that a creditor can just go into a bank account, I have read where they have also went in and took social security benefits which is as we all know is not garnishable.
What I do not understand is how of they are not legally entitled to take money from a bank account how they do not get any legal ramifications from doing so. How far do you think an average Joe would get if he dipped into a companies bank account. I tell you how far..as far as the nearest judge and jail. I also do not believed that they should have the right to take the money until number one , they can prove the debt, what the money in the account was from (SS), or informed the person of this action. Also while we are on the subject where is it legal for them to get judgements when they do not inform the debtor of the action first. Sure they can say they took all routes possible but did they??
For the honest person or the person who has paid a debt and can prove it where are their rights. I think when going to the judge for a judgement and the person was not able to be reached the judge should look first at the SOL and ask them to leagally prove they own the debt before issuing a judgement. Thats what would help stop creditors from their illegal acts.
That is why it is very important not to ignore any type of lawsuit that is filed against you, ignoring it will only result in a default judgement, then you don't have a chance at all at defending yourself or protecting your accounts down the road. It may take them a few years but the judgement is money in their pockets and you can bet that they will pursue what ever means they can to collect.
I think also that the banks should set up accounts that identify wether it is a disability income or not, wether it is garnishable or not, but this is not an every day ordeal for them so it would not be profitable to market. It would be on the consumer to explain to the bank that the deposit going into the account is a disability income and then maybe they could help you contact the judgement holder to lift the lein or at least guide you in the right direction.
Yes I agree that the bank does not deal with this everyday but what I still do not understand is how a company can just dip into an account with no prior authorization. There are bills that I sign up for personally to come directly out of my checking..car insurance, mortgage payments and such but I signed to aythorize the deduction for a certain amount on a certain date. I can not see how they do not legally get prosecuted for their actions.
As for the judgements I am talking about the people that honestly never get the summons. What if it was left on the door and a person moved or with a relative that lays it aside and forgets. I believe they should have it that the person being sued is only the one allowed to sign. With all their high tech tracking info surley they would be able to find the debtor.
garnishment of ss disability in checking account
my checking account was garnished 2 times now from a creditor. this is my ss disability money and there are 2 names on my account. they have left me with no money for my medicine i need to live. the law firm knows i am on ss because they put the money back. its been 2 years from the same month they did this. i want to file federal charges against them. how do i do this? thanks
Social security benefit can never be garnished. You should immediately file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission by sending a certified letter at Consumer Response Center, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580 or call them at 1-877-382-4357.
ss in checking
they cannot garnish your ss check..once that check gets into your checking account ..all bets are off , and they CAN take your money
federal benefits immune from garnishment
That is not correct, Ellen. Federal benefits are protected fom garnishment, it does not matter whether it's in the form of cash, check, or electrons in the bank's computer - they cannot legally touch it, unless you hand it over.
bank acct garnishment in Pa
My acct was recently"frozen" by a creditor. W/ an attny it is a big enough battle, but w/out one, nearly impossible to get unfrozen until pd in full. There is some law about garnishing a joint account when the judgement is aginst only one person, which is my case, but it can take quite some time before they have to release it. My attny offered some wonderful advice, such as keeping less in the account, having 2 accounts through a big and a small bank, paying by money order to ANY creditor, and for those who do keep the money in the bank, use a small bank. Those accounts are harder to find, BUT not impossible.If you are in a position that you truly cannot pay, you should consider bankruptcy. Though it is not always desireable, for those of us who have come across hard times and aren't trying to cheat the system or steal, sometimes it is the only option to avoid the chaos and devastation. We have managed for years to not file, but we may be facing it now. It doesn't always mean you're a great big loser. We are not wasteful spenders. Due to some family crisis, my husband and I were forced to live on our cards for nearly a yr. When I lost my job, we were unable to pay. Sadly, this is happening all over the country right now. If this is our case, or yours, let it be a lesson, and a stepping stone, and just avoid the use of credit in the future. I recently read that paying cash for everything makes you spend less money. Also, just a final note... if you have an att., they can sometimes sue for violating the collections laws. Good luck to all.
Penna Statue of limitations
Can you tell me if there is a statue of limitations on medical debt? My daughter has two children and they are 2 yrs and one is 3 mo. old. She has bill collectors harrassing her day and night demanding money for a miscarraige at a hospital over 4 years ago. She told them that her x boyfriend said they were paid and that he was the one who signed her in, Is there a limit on this? Ruthie
Garnishments?
It has to be a court judgement thru proper procedures. I know that they can get them I just don't know how. If an electronic draft gets thru dispute it right away, with your back. Ask for there written authorization. If they don't have it from you or the judge, then you can sue for violation of the privacy act and fair credit collections act. We all need to alert our Atty general's offices for these accts. T'm sure with enough petitions, we the people can take back our country and tell them all where to stick it. They get away with it because we don't look and do anything about it. Go to your bank. Make them prove it or pay you back. Hope I helped. Ruthie By the way I was answering about the credit card judgements.
PA Wage Garnisment
If you live and work in the Great State of Pennsylvania. It is in violation of State Wage Garnisment law for a collection agency to even threaten you with wage garnisment.
PA Wage Garnisment
If you live and work in the Great State of Pennsylvania. It is in violation of State Wage Garnisment law for a collection agency to even threaten you with wage garnisment.
yes Pennsylvania is very strict on what can be garnished out of a pay check, this state does allow child support and taxes but for child support it requires a court order, tax collectors can simply send a letter and get the collection process started.
Pennsylvania is one of the strictist states when it comes to wage garnishment.
Yes peacockrancher, Pa is one of the strictist for wage garnishment, it also has one of the most active attorney generals offices when it comes to helping out the consumers too. We are pretty fortunate to have this and we do appreciate it. I have used the attorney generals office with many collection hassles and they have helped me get it all resolved. They hang in there until you get a satisfactory result.
PA does in fact have a very active atty genera. I personaly have had to call him and he was very prompt and called the collection agency as soon as he hung up the phone with me. With in an hour he called me back with information.I seen the earlier post on medical bills (miscarriage) I would believe that that debt would be past the SOL if it has been four years. Does anyone know about any medical bill exclusions? I have not heard of any but would like to know.
Judgements and leins
I recently put my home up for sale because I can no longer live there. I live in Pa. My son is letting me stay with him and his wife until I can find a home in NC. I have a credit card that was paid off by ins. back in 2005 and they sold it to a collection agency. Now they are trying to get a lein on my home. Can they legally do this? I only have SS income, and my son has been paying this mortgage. Can they take my home??? Ruthie
Collection
I would like to clear some things up for everyone. I see a lot of questions on here and i see a lot of wrong answers. I will walk you through the entire collection process including any legal proceedings.
First, when a collection agency is assigned a bill for collections(or they purchase the debt) they will send you a letter stating that you have 30 days to dispute the debt. If you dispute the debt within the time frame the collection agency has to prove the debt to you. How they prove it can vary on the type of debt.
After the 30 day period has passed they will attempt to contact you by letter or telephone. If you know you owe the money this is the time to setup an arrangment to pay it back. All collection agencies are willing to take a payment arrangment at this point. As long as you offer them something they will most likely leave you alone as long as you stick to the agreement. Now, to be clear they do not have to accept the payment arrangment if they dod not feel it is acceptable to pay back the debt. For example, if you owe $30,000 and only offer to pay $5 a month they will more than likely tell you no they need more. You can also offer them a settlement to clear up the debt. This is where you offer them less than what is actually owed. Most agencies will reduce your debt in order to get it cleared up.
If they can not get you to pay with letters and telephone calls they may decide to take lagal action against you. In PA the statute of limitations is 4 years(most people know this). One exception to this is for loans or credit granted....some lenders have you sign documents under what is called "Seal". Usually the word "Seal" would be near the signature line. If you signed a document under "Seal' there is no statute of limitation. If the word "Seal" is not there then the statute of limitations applies. The statute is 4 years from the date it was charged off or the last payment date.
The agency will then file a civil complaint against you. you will have another opportunity to dispute the bill with the courts. If you dipspute a hearing date will be set where both parties must attend. The agency would have to bring proof of the debt. It is up to the judge to decide if the proof that is provided is adequate to prove the debt. Every judge is different on this.
If you attend and lose or dont attend at all a judgment will be entered against you. You will 30 days to appeal the judgment(you will need an attorney for this unless you have some type of legal background). If you do not appeal the judgment the judgment is now valid.
They can then put a lein against any real property that you may own. Real property is pretty much a home(mobile homes or trailers do not count as real property). This lein will prevent you from selling the property or using the property as collateral to obtain credit.
if you still dont pay the judgment they can decide to execute on that judgment. Depending on the state there are several things they can do to get you to pay. All of these things have been mentioned so far but with some misleading information. First, we'll talk about personal property executions. The agency will file a writ of execution for personal property with the courts. A sheriff will visit your home and list items inside and outside of your house for public auction. This would include any vehicle registered to you. This step can be taken as many times as the agency desires or until the debt is paid in full. The amount of time they have to do this varies. The longest that i know of is 20 years. Another thing they can do is garnish your bank account. There are some exempt things to this. For example if it is a joint account and the judgment is only against one individual the money cant be touch. This is also true if the money is coming from social security. Your banks legal department will help with this if you have a joint account or receive social security. If they do succesfully garnish your account it will be frozen and any checks you have outstanding will bounce. The accounts can stay frozen for quite some time. One question i saw on here is how do they get your bank info. There are companies that offer this service to agencies. They do not provide your actual account # but just the name of your bank. This is all that is needed to freeze an account. How they know what account to freeze is they provide the bank with your ss# to verify they have the right person.
All of these things are 100% legal for them to do. My advice to everyone is to pay your bills, stay in contact with the collection agency. Most agencies are willing to work with you to take care of your debt. If you are nasty to a collection agency they will be nasty back. So, dont hang up on them, dont curse them out and dont threaten them.
Collection agencies are not as bad as some people think. They will work with you to clear up your debts. They will help you decide how much money you can afford to pay towards your past due debts. All you have to do is talk to them. If you talk with them and you really dont have the means to pay a lot of times they will just close the account because they are not going to waste time, money and resources to try to collect an uncollectable debt. Just talk to the agency and let them know your situation.
I also saw some thing on here about file suit against an agency. This is allowed but there are limits on how much money you get from them. You will not get rich file suit against the agency and even after you file suit and win the debt is still owed. Debts never go away no matter how old they are. The only thing the age of account does is limit what they can do to recover the debt.
Keep this in mind, if collection agencies didnt recover any of the lost money we would all face higher interest rates and inflated prices. The lenders and service providers need to recoup this money some how and unfortunately it falls onto the next consumer. It is good for all parties to pay your bills. It helps our economy and helps to keep prices down. There are a lot of debt counseling companies out there that help you take care of your debt free of charge. Once you get hooked up with one of these companies agencies are limited to what they can do. These companies can protect you because of the laws.
Bankruptcy may seem to be a good idea but with the new bankruptcy laws you have to go to a debt counselor before the courts will let you file bankruptcy. So, again just pay your debts the best you can and you can avoid all of this.
Oh and to answer Ruthies question they cannot take your home to pay off a credit card or hospital bill. They can put a lein against the property which will prevent you from selling it but if you say it was taken care of just pove it to them and they will back off. If an insurance company paid it for you, you can probably get the proof that it was paid from them.
Now, some of these things vary depending on the state. PA is a very consumer friendly state, other states not so much. everything that i mentioned in legal in PA which like i said is a very consumer friendly state. So, if you live in another state i would say pay your bills.
One more thing, wage garnishment can not be done in PA except for child support, alimony, and taxes. But, if you receive a check from another state that allows wage garnishment they can garnish that check. So, if you live in say Stroudsburg PA but work in Phillipsburg NJ, they can garnish your pay check.
So again, just pay your bills and you will avoid all of this. As long as you are paying something on a regular basis most agencies will just leave you alone and let you make your payments.
bankruptcy vs garnishment
John - thanks for the detailed info. I have a couple of questions along the lines of bankruptcy. First, I have incurred some debt due to my wife's disability from a debt that was originated in Georgia. Does it matter where the debt was incurred or whether what state you currently reside? Secondly, I have just recently received a judgement from a credit card company last week. My bankruptcy is being filed a we speak and should be complete this coming week. How fast will the garnishment procedure take to go into effect?
I also have a question if collection agencies are willing to work with people how come they call people up demanding the money in 30 days are they will take legal action. And there are certain things that happen in peoples lives that prevent them from paying their bills that can't be helped not because they just decided not to pay them. As far as not being rude to collection agencies and they won't be rude to you I'm not buying that at all. I have seen my grandpa try and explain to them why he couldn't pay but a certain amount not $5 but $25 and they went off on him. Thank god my dad was there he got on the phone and put them in there place. It was uncalled for at least he was willing to pay. I a wait your answer.
GARNISHMENT IN PA
It used to be that you could not garnish a civil judgment in PA, but that has now changed. Yes, wages can be garnished from someone who has received a judgement against you in the state of pa, through a Writ of Execution.
Foreclosure of mobile home
If my mobile home goes into foreclosure, the lender has told me the only way he can collect anything from me is if I file a tax return (which I don't do now since I am retired and live on social security). He said I would owe 15% of the difference of the sale of the home and what is owed on it. (Owe $68,000, sell for $50,000 = $18,000 difference x 15% = $2700.) So I would owe $2700? Does anyone know if this is true? I am only on social security now with no assets. Thanks so much.
Foreclosure of mobile home
If my mobile home goes into foreclosure, the lender has told me the only way he can collect anything from me is if I file a tax return (which I don't do now since I am retired and live on social security). He said I would owe 15% of the difference of the sale of the home and what is owed on it. (Owe $68,000, sell for $50,000 = $18,000 difference x 15% = $2700.) So I would owe $2700? Does anyone know if this is true? I am only on social security now with no assets. Thanks so much.
They may be able to attach your tax return but not your social security. There may be others here with more knowledge on this so hang out and wait to see if you get more responses.
cash loans from the internet
I am on social security disability, and a lawyer called yesterday saying they will be delivering papers to me for a court hearing on sueing me. He said unless your willing to pay 50.00 a month. I said I cannot pay anything because I have 3 kids, and very limited income. Will they actually deliver these papers, and can they really take the money from my account? I am in PA
PA Garnishment laws
Can my wages be Garnished?
Only under very limited circumstances does Pennsylvania law permit the garnishment of wages. Garnishment of wages is a seizure of wages while they are still in the control of the employer, and have not yet been paid out to the employee. An employee's wages, salaries and commissions may be taken from an employer through appropriate legal procedures to satisfy these kinds of debts:
judgments for child or spousal support
obligations relating to final divorce distribution
PHEAA student loans
back rent on a residential lease
as restitution for criminal matters
for certain types of taxes
Your wages cannot be garnished for any other purpose. Garnishment of wages can only be accomplished only by a court order directed to the employer and no such court order can be issued without fair notice to the debtor/wage earner. Other than the kinds of debt listed above, no other debt or legal obligation can give rise to wage attachment in Pennsylvania. Federal laws such as IRS garnishment procedures may be used to garnish wages of Pennsylvania residents, but only through the federal court system.
reply
Hi Raltland:
Social Security cannot be garnished by anybody else other than the government. However, you need to declare that, all your income comes from Social Security both to the bank where you have the account, and the creditor.
Thanks,
Aaron
Can adoption money,.........be garnished?
We live off sons adoption money, we have no other income, I am unable to work. Creditors are talking of garnishing our money, can they garnish this adoption assitance?