can a credit collector levy my assets if my only income is from disabiltiy?

Question

I have outstanding credit card bills and have been unable to pay at present. Now the debt collector is threating to put a levy on my assets. Does this mean my checking account? If so, can they do this? I get my disabiltiy checks direct deposited.

Answer 1

No they cannot legally garnish disability money. And no, they do not consider how much you need to live on etc., etc., as Sundrop posted - disability money is untouchable.

The only way they can take "anything" out of your checking account is if you use. or had used, that account to deposit funds other than your disability check - gift money, money from family/friends, if you have any other earnings (small earnings are allowable with SSDI) then they may be able to attach your bank account.

If you had ever deposited other funds into that account, you probably should close that account and open a new one for your SSDI checks only.

If you've never deposited other funds into that account or if you open a new account, be sure that the account is marked by the bank as SSDI funds and not subject to seizing. (don't just speak with a teller, speak to someone higher up)

Normally they have to file and win a lawsuit to be able to seize bank accounts, but they have been known to freeze (and sometimes grab the funds) before going to court. Collectors are known to not always do things legally - as you can see by that collector using threats (a violation) to try to get you to pay

Answer 2

If a collector is threatening to put a levy on your assets, you should contact a consumer attorney ASAP. You have an action against the debt collector under the FDCPA where you can recover a money judgment against the collector. Collectors are prohibited from making threats they cannot carry out, and unless a judgment has been rendered against you (i.e., they sued you and won), they can't levy on your assets.

Abuses by debt collectors are on the rise. I hope you'll hold them accountable. Most lawyers will take these cases with no upfront fee to you, so you have nothing to lose.

Answer 3

i have read something about this. i believe they have to consider how much money you need to reasonably support yourself. be ready to show all your rent receipts, utility bills, grocery budget (be generous), car insurance, rx, anything that you have to have to live. then subtract all that from your disability check, if nothing is left over, they can't take your money. don't be worried or bullied, if you have normal living expenses and are barely getting by, the courts won't let the collector put further hardship on you by taking any money from you. your debt will likely be "charged-off", when they decide they can't possibly collect, they write it off as a loss and drop it. don't feel too bad, things happen and we can't always pay, i am in a similar situation and they are threatening a lein. i'm sure the creditors got plenty of their money thru all the finance charges i paid over the years when i was able to pay on time.

Answer 4

Thats right. They cant touch your disability check but they can levy your bank account if they sued you. So close your bank account and dont give them the info to the new one.

By the way,for that guy that says contact an attorney for collection abuse, who do you think those attorneys really are?

Most attorneys, unless they are collection attorneys wont take a case like that because it doesnt make them that much money unless these cases come in large amounts. Not 1k case. And collection attorneys mostly work for the agencies. Even if they dont they would love to in the future because thats were the real money is. Your one case is nothing compared to 100 thousand cases that agencies feed these lawyers with.

So do you really think an attorney wants to stand up in court against a bill collector or agency ? Uh, no! They have a reputation to uphold and money to make.

You should see the look on these attorneys faces when they walk into court and see us, our attorneys. Its almost like they got so nervous that they puked but had to swallow it so they wouldnt mess up a 1500.00$ suit that we probably paid for. All of a sudden you look over and your attorney looks like a jittery little cricket.

Now, this is not to say you cant get any representation, of course you can. But is the person who is representing you, really representing you??

Just a thought.

Besides, have ya ever considered that the abuse of bill collectors is not half as bad as the credit card abuse by consumers, fraud by consumers and than refusal to pay by consumers. Its almost like thieft only the the law doesnt call it that to make consumers feel better.

Think of this, what would you feel if you loaned someone some money and they avoided you and ran and hid and twisted the law to use to their advantage? What would you do? Wouldnt you sue them?? Sure you would. Faster than a speeding light. But why is it that creditors and bill collectors are bad guys but consumers arent?? I think the door swings both ways.

Now this is not to say that you are a thief or that you are cheating the system. This is for everyone to read and understand that nobody that cheats gets away with it. So, if your in financial hardship and are disabled, etc. Im sorry about that but file bankruptcy and than sit back and relax. The law provides you that simple way out.

However, you choose the more difficult way and that is by asking that type of question here to find something to pin on a bill collector who is probably a nice guy and is just doing his job to feed his kids, whats required of him to keep his job. And you rather go through that difficult way not because the bill collector was bad to you cause he doesnt even know you so it shouldnt have mattered, but because you have issues of anger, resentment, etc. and want some kind of revenge for your situation but you dont even realize that bill collectors did put you in your situation. They didnt make these circumstances happen in your life. They are just doing their jobs.

So you got your feathures ruffled by a bill collector and you think it was wrong and now you want to go ruffle his feathures. Does two wrongs make a right?

And after you sue this bill collector or agency and your awarded your 1500.00 max, which is snack money for a collection agency, is this going to make your bill go away? No. No it doesnt. You stil owe the creditor your debt, it doesnt get excused, the agency just pays their fine and than you can be damn skippy that the bill collector and agency is going to put you on their list of "things to do". They are going to sue with everything they got and they are going to make you expand thousands and thousands of dollars to just get representation if you even fight the bill. If you dont they will get their judgment and sit on it waiting and watching. And you know what? Its their right. The law provides them with this right, just like the law provided you with your rights. Door swings both ways.

And that my friend is an example of things that can happen. So why dont you do yourself and those bill collectors a favor and just file Bankruptcy? Its that easy.

Answer 5

No. First they have to take you to court and have Judgement put against you. If disability is your only income, they can not go after it. If you have any kind of student loans, the Federal Goverment can take a percentage.