My boyfriend says he won't open up a checkings account because creditors will find his account, and just start taking money out that he owes them without his knowledge or permission. Now, I wanted to know if that was illegal, I mean, I understand if they were child support payments or something, but can creditors do that like over Credit cards, or cellphone debts?
2006-06-15 16:07:16 · 13 answers · asked by Bizzy 3 in Business & Finance ➔ Personal Finance
Creditors can not just take money out of someones checking or savings accounts. They must take you to court and get a Judgment to garnish your account or wages. They can be sneaky sometimes especially if you moved since becoming delinquent on your account. All they are required to do is serve you at your last known home address and put an ad in the paper. Then they show up to court, your a no show and the judge signs the paperwork.
Most creditors will not sue over small amounts of debt. They will sell the debt to other collectors and ruin your credit. There are state statues on how long a creditor has to sue you from the time you default. Most states set the limit at 5 to 7 years.
If a judgment has been issued against you and they file to garnish your accounts or pay, you are suppose to get notification.
2006-06-15 16:22:00 · answer #1 · answered by Randy's Girl 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I know for a fact that the IRS can levy a checking account, but this may be a different process than a creditor such as a credit card. It is possible to garnish your pay to pay un unpaid debt, so I would imagine that once the creditor has a judgment for money the door is open for other means of collection. Why would they need permission? You friend made a promise to pay and defaulted. The creditors are merely acting to protect their interests.
What I used to do in the Bad Times was to cash my monthly paycheck in the bank on which it was drawn then run over to the post office with a thick wad of cash in my hand and start buying a few thousand dollars worth of money orders. I'd pay my mortgage, all my major monthly bills right there out of the post office and deposit what paltry crumbs that were left over into my checking account. This way all that went into the checking account was a few hundred, and if anyone wanted to snatch that at least all my bills were paid and they would only get miserable scrapings. At least then I'd know if they were after me. it was sort of a bait trap.
2006-06-15 16:25:24 · answer #2 · answered by Kokopelli 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No...they can only make auto withdrawls if they have been preapproved. Having been in debt collection for 3 years, what appears to be the probable case here is that he's avoiding opening checking accounts because he's been denied one due to other credit issues or because he also has a history of writing bad checks.
2006-06-15 16:15:00 · answer #3 · answered by woman of 2 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Creditors can take you to court and sue you for payment owed. However, to the best of my knowledge, they cannot just arbitrarily deducts funds from your bank account. If you have a job, however, they can "garnish" your wages which means that they can legally take money out of your paycheck.
2006-06-15 16:14:15 · answer #4 · answered by sadney@sbcglobal.net 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It could be that he had such lousy credit in the past that he is black listed from opening a checking account. Yes, that happens-- if you bounce too many checks the bank will close the account and not let you open a new one. They also share that history with other banks so he is red-flagged at every bank. He might be hiding that.
2006-06-15 16:18:27 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If they get a judgement against him they can place a lein on any of his accounts. This usually only happens if they file a suit against him or in the case of some bankruptcy proceedings.
Whatever the case he needs to take care of it because they can also garnish his wages in these cases as well as take any tax return monieshe may have coming. If he does have a judgement against him they wiil not go away very easily and he can actually get in legal trouble, in some cases, if he tries to hide his income. Good Luck.
2006-06-15 16:14:41 · answer #6 · answered by tazboyed 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If creditors could remove money from a checking account nobody would have one.
2006-06-15 16:14:52 · answer #7 · answered by daljack -a girl 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes he is right. I am pretty sure that they can. But only if he owes alot, because it is alot of work to get it done. Why are you hooked up with someone so much in debt? Sounds like he needs to resolve some issues.
2006-06-15 16:11:52 · answer #8 · answered by forgetfulmouse 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, its called a garnishment or a levy. I work at a bank and we get them in the mail, take whatever is in the account and send it to the company.
2006-06-15 16:11:52 · answer #9 · answered by missy55072 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know if they can or not but don't you want better for yourself? Why get involved with a deadbeat who doesn't pay his bills? Entering into a relatioship with a deadbeat who doesn't pay bills will only bring you unhappiness and a limited financial future. You can do better.
2006-06-15 16:14:00 · answer #10 · answered by ilse72 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋