When do creditors start garnishments or bank levy

[whirlwind123]

I have been reading thru the forum and notice that some people have not paid their cc for a year or so before they filed bankruptcy., is this normal that the cc companies didn't file a judgement before this.
Could someone please explain.

[justbroke]

A creditor can only levy your accounts or garnish your wages through a Court Order. Until they have such Order, they cannot levy or garnish your accounts.

Now, don't confuse a "right of setoff" with a levy or garnishment. If you have credit accounts where you have demand deposit or other deposit accounts, most agreements include a statement that the Bank is entitled to a so-called right of setoff shoudl you not pay your credit accounts.

[backtoschool]

I have been reading thru the forum and notice that some people have not paid their cc for a year or so before they filed bankruptcy., is this normal that the cc companies didn't file a judgement before this.
Could someone please explain.

It all depends. I didn't pay on some of my cards for a year before filing, and none of them sued. They all had balances over 10k.

The three lawsuits I did get were all from JDBs that had purchased my debt and sued me immediately upon purchasing the debt. Those cards were under a year past due and were for less than $2,000 each.

[debtmonster]

I had LOTS of defaulted credit cards over the years, but over 95% of them each had $1500 balances or less. I was never notified by anyone about getting my wages garnished, which I thought was odd to go this long. I did have many CA's threaten me over the years, but they never sued me. Most of the time I had CA's calling me while I was unemployed collecting $200/wk unemployment checks. I would literally beg them to sue me. Is it possible to garnish unemployment checks or can they only garnish W2 checks? Is it possible to garnish 1099 income?

I think I remember having a balance of almost $3,000 with Capital One from a balance I had from 1998 or so. By 2003 they tracked me down. I remember all of the phone calls. I had loud screaming matches with them on the phone and they never did anything. So they can't sue after all that time, right, because of the statute of limitations?

[123ABC]

I didnt pay them for almost 3 years by the time I filed. Capital One and Citi both sued over less than 2k on each... BofA that I owed almost 10k to never bothered. It all depends. They each took over 2 years to sue and never got the garnishment stage. I think it all depends who buys the debt.

[debtmonster]

I didnt pay them for almost 3 years by the time I filed. Capital One and Citi both sued over less than 2k on each... BofA that I owed almost 10k to never bothered. It all depends. They each took over 2 years to sue and never got the garnishment stage. I think it all depends who buys the debt.

What was the timeframe between the time you were sued and the time you legally filed bankruptcy?

[123ABC]

I stopped paying in Feb 07. They sued me in july/august ish of 08. I filed on August 6 2009. Quite a while... they did get liens on my house but those are no big deal because once you file you can have them removed. No garnishment. I will say they did try to go into my bank account and take money but I never have any money in there so it was no big deal. They got nothing.

[debtmonster]

I stopped paying in Feb 07. They sued me in july/august ish of 08. I filed on August 6 2009. Quite a while... they did get liens on my house but those are no big deal because once you file you can have them removed. No garnishment. I will say they did try to go into my bank account and take money but I never have any money in there so it was no big deal. They got nothing.

How did they get your bank account # to try? Did you ever give it to them in the past for an auto-pay?

[123ABC]

funny enough no... i have no idea how they got my bank info.

[pookieny]

I think they get your bank account number if you ever paid them with it. But I'm sure they have other sneaky ways. There really isn't anything someone can find out about you these days, unless you live under the radar on some compound out west.

If you have ever owed money to the IRS and call them, they want to know what bank you are with so they can go in and grab it if they need to. That is why I am now leaning to becoming more under the radar and keeping quiet about any thing of worth I get in the future so no one can lay claim to it.

My nephew never keeps money in bank accounts because he says banks steal your money. I always thought he was a little too paranoid but I now quite agree with him.

[pookieny]

Capitol One got 3 judgements against me because I had 3 cards with them. One for $500, one for $1000, and one for $3000. With their fees and late charges they both were doubled by then. It was about a year of not paying when they got the judgement but their colleciton agency Roth and Rubenstein hounded me to death before then. It went to the sheriffs department and they garnished my paycheck and put a freeze on one of my bank accnts for almost $10,000, doubled what I acutally owed.

[whirlwind123]

Last payments were made in july to most of my creditors., the end of July., I am sure they all have my bank account as I paid online with online banking., they cannot just bank levy without a judgement from what I read here., how long is that., I am meeting with my new attorney tuesday.

[pookieny]

Whirlwind- It depends on the cc company if they pursue judgements. Many don't, Capitol one does and it's usually about a year from when you stop paying. Some states don't even allow garnishmenst from cc, my state, NY, does allow them.

[debtmonster]

This is the entire purpose of NEVER, EVER giving out your real SSN when you open a checking account. They use your SSN to find your account. This is why I recommend opening a checking account without it. Only creditors and your employer need a SSN. When opening a checking account, they should not require your SSN.

[pookieny]

This is the entire purpose of NEVER, EVER giving out your real SSN when you open a checking account. They use your SSN to find your account. This is why I recommend opening a checking account without it. Only creditors and your employer need a SSN. When opening a checking account, they should not require your SSN.

I don't know how you can open a bank account without one? As far as giving a fake one, they can check on Lexis Nexis to make sure it matches up.