Confused about bank accounts

[littlemuffin]

I have been reading multiple threads and I want to make sure I'm understanding this correctly.

In the past I had payments withdrawn from my checking account to pay my bills monthly. They were not automatic payments. I would go on the site each month and choose to have that checking account used for payment. When the credit card companies begin realizing that I plan to file bankruptcy, they will try to take a payment out of my account without my authorization?

what if the funds are not there? Will I get charged overdraft fees from my bank even though I didn't authorize the withdrawal?

Thanks
LM

[nceguyfromne]

The only way a creditor can do this is if your checking account and credit card are with the same bank. So, for example, if you had a Wells Fargo checking account and a Wells Fargo credit card, Wells Fargo could recover overdue amounts on your credit card from your checking account without your authorization. American Express or Discover, on the other hand, could not just post a debit to your Wells Fargo bank account, whose account number you've provided them for previous payments, because they felt like it.

Another common scenario you hear about is that once a person files for bankruptcy, the bank will recover as much as possible from your checking account to cover what you owe on your credit account. So if you have $800 in your Wells Fargo checking account and carry a $1000 balance on your Wells Fargo credit card, you might one day discover your $800 is missing. They can only take what's there, though; they can't overdraft you. So the lesson here is, if you know ahead of time you're going to file and have a "checking + credit card" arrangement with a bank, be sure to withdraw the funds from your checking account before filing your case. And if you want to play it even safer, withdraw before you stop making your monthly payments and let your account go into delinquency.

I used to pay all my credit cards out of my checking account in the same way you did (manually set up a payment each month) and never had any issues with unauthorized transactions. It is highly illegal. I still have that same checking account and never lost a penny.

[littlemuffin]

I bank at a small local bank and have no credit cards through them only my mortgage which I am keeping.

Therefore, this isn't something I have to worry about?

I have only missed one payment so far and it is only 5 days late.

I'm just scared to death.

[nceguyfromne]

I bank at a small local bank and have no credit cards through them only my mortgage which I am keeping.

Therefore, this isn't something I have to worry about?

I have only missed one payment so far and it is only 5 days late.

I'm just scared to death.

They are not going to touch your checking account unless you ask them to. Doing so would be no more legal than writing a counterfeit check. Their only recourse would be to sue you. Since you are filing BK anyway, that is not something you need to worry about. BK stop lawsuits in their tracks and discharges any judgments.

[littlemuffin]

Thanks so much!!!

[nomore008]

We had set up atuomatic paymetns to a cc (that was in my husband's name with a checking account in my name). We called them to tell them to stop the draft they talked to me and my husband the first we told them to stop. They overdrafted my account and the bank charged me the NSF fee. We called the cc company again and they said that the person noted that she did not talk to my husband, which is an out and out lie. Again he, we, told them to stop the draft. We had to close the checking account and open a new one because my payroll check was being credited to that account.

This was Sears/Citibank and it was a checking account witha CU. The CU was very helpful during this process.