Can a bank garnish a social security check?

Question

This question is for my dad., He over drafted his checking account with his debit card.He went to the atm they balance said he had money in it and than when he went to the store thecard went through. Well on the 3rd his social security check was put in his acount and the bank took it all. All 300 of it . They said the atm balance was a mistake and they charged him this fee and that fee. My question is can they do this? I was told no one but the irs can touch a social security check.

Answer 1

Judgment creditors cannot garnish SS money. But in the described case those were assessed fees that bank collected from your dad. Therefore it was a regular and legit transaction that has nothing to do with wage garnishment.

Answer 2

okay... (can help but keep working huh?) I am a Personal Banker, I think the main reason we recommend never trust an ATM or your On line Banking balance inquire is because ANY electronic device will never show your pending transactions in the same business day, will show you what is available right then but never your pending transactions or checks that have been presented in the account that day, now there's also a cut-off time in every bank usually is about 3 or 4 pm, after that time all transactions will get registered in the next business day... always verify your deposit slip before taking off.
Next issue, in the moment that you, either sign (endorse) a check or authorize a direct deposit (no matter who is the depositor) you are responsible for that money as guarantor and the bank as the creditor, If the deposit is made in the same business day of the overdrawn, your credits(deposits) will clear first and your debits(withdraws) will get posted secondly, by the moment that the fees were assessed in the account the SS check was already available and NOT considered as a government item but your Dad's money. well, I know you'll have more questions, please feel free to send me a message if so!

Answer 3

Any pension check is not suppose to be touched. Call Social Security and they will force the Bank to put back the money. In some cases, the Bank is charged a fee.

Answer 4

well, you actually have to get a copy of his statement to actually see how many Charges they charged, depending
on the bank, the first charge an overdraft fee, then they charge an insufficient fund fee. Unless he did more than
one charge that caused an overdraft it should NOT have
added up to 300.00. Physically go to the bank and
talk to them. Hopefully you can convince them that due
to the circumstances and the fact that is rare that the ATM
balance isn't accurate, that just maybe you can talk them
into reversing the charges this time. Otherwise if you
have been charged a lot of fees I would report them to
the Banking Commission and ask them to an audit for
excessive fees and are they all legal.

Answer 5

No. Social Security moneys cannot be attached. The bank must refund all the money that it took. One needs to inform the bank, if it is not obvious (because of direct deposit) that the money is in fact Social Security money, and hence immune from attachment. However, the bank is still owed any fees resulting from an overdraft, and eventually will need to be paid.

Answer 6

Social Security retirement benefits and disability benefits enjoy broad protection in bankruptcy. The most commonly used protection for benefits is the fact that social security income is excluded by statutory definition from income available to repay creditors. This means it does not count in the means test for chapter 7 eligibility, and is not considered as income used to determine the amount to repay unsecured creditors in a chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Less appreciated is the fact that federal law also protects social security benefits already received. Instead of an income adjustment, this protection operates as an exemption, just like an exemption that provides a homestead allowance or a motor vehicle. Debtors who find this particularly advantageous are those owed a lump-sum payment under social security laws, or those who have an account with substantial social security deposits.

In order to be able to claim an exemption in money already in an individual's possession, it is potentially important that the money is separate from other funds and directly traceable to social security. In other words, commingling of social security benefits and other money risks the ability to claim it as exempt under federal laws.

This protection is a broad federal non-bankruptcy exemption, provided by 42 U.S.C. 407 (Section 207 of the Social Security Act). The statute provides that "none of the moneys paid or payable or rights existing under this subchapter [of the social security act] shall be subject to execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process, or to the operation of any bankruptcy or insolvency law."

Other narrow federal laws provide exceptions to this protection outside of bankruptcy for certain child support and alimony obligations, as well for certain federal tax and other obligations to the federal government. However, even debtors with these obligations will still receive protection of their social security in bankruptcy, although other bankruptcy laws, such as priority creditor laws, may necessitate these obligations be paid from some other source.

so since this garnishment was not associated with child support, alimony or tax obligations then the bank illegally took your money. cite U.S. Code› Title 42 › Chapter 7 › Subchapter II › § 407 in your argument to protect your social security funds

Answer 7

Yes, once you deposit a social security check into your bank account it is treated the same as any other money.

They did not garnish his wages. They used the available cash in his checking account to cover a negative balance.

As for the fees, if you talk to your back, you may be able to get the fees waived.

Bottom line is your Dad spent money that wasn't his. He has to repay the bank.

Answer 8

They can't touch his check, but once it is cashed or in his bank account they can.
We had that happen with a bill collector a few years back, they went into our acct and took $900.00 with No Notice at all!!
So Yes they can, We closed our account after that. and use a local check cashing center to cash checks now. They can't get to our checks now.
I don't think they can garnish a SS check though. so maybe you might want to do it this way as well.

Answer 9

No one can garnish a SS check. Once the funds are deposited it is no longer a check therefore it becomes cash. Sorry to hear about his misfortune. Banks can and do rob you blind with fee's (of course for them it is legal).

Answer 10

The check, no. Once the money is in your account it is no longer a social security check, it is money in your account which they can use to pay fees, checks written on the account and ATM withdrawals as well as debit charges.