Collection Agency Drined My Accts!

[BillyRip]

This is on a $10-12K judgement from discover. My BK Atty told me to stop paying them and advise them that I have retained council. That was in August. They received a judgement in Maty or June.

Today the snagged about $1200 out of my checking and savings acct.

Can they just do this w/o warning?

I have not filed yet, I was hoping to get into the new year first and am hoping for some IRS debt.

[justbroke]

If they have a judgment and also have an Order for Garnishment... yes.

[magyar123]

You obviously ignored their threats/houndings and they ran to court and got a default judgment against you which included a provision to rob your bank account. I hope that this example is ample warning for folks to close their bank accounts as soon as creditors/their collections goons start hounding to close their bank accounts, and cash their paychecks/pay bills with money orders.

[treehugger1]

They received a judgment in May or June, and in August your attorney told you to stop paying them and that you have retained legal council?! This sounds a bit like the cart-before-the-horse. Did your attorney know about the judgment? If so, I would think he/she would want to advise you of the possible ramifications of the judgment (wage garnishment, bank levy, etc.) Did you intend to file BK at an earlier date?

[freshstart10]

im filing on january 15th, i still have my direct deposit set up and im over 90 days late on some credit cards. i havent gotten any lawsuits or anything in the mail yet. my lawyer said i should be good since im filling real soon. do u guys agree? also just to be sure after i file on january 15th, no credit card company can come after my paycheck or garnish my accounts correct?

thanks

[magyar123]

im filing on january 15th, i still have my direct deposit set up and im over 90 days late on some credit cards. i havent gotten any lawsuits or anything in the mail yet. my lawyer said i should be good since im filling real soon. do u guys agree? also just to be sure after i file on january 15th, no credit card company can come after my paycheck or garnish my accounts correct?

thanks

Better play it safe and close your bank accounts ASAP, and get your employer to issue you paper checks.

[treehugger1]

I agree with magyar. If your employer requires direct deposit, then at the very least close your bank account and open a new one at a different bank; changing your direct deposit to the new account immediately. Or open an account with an online bank.

Once your new account is set up, I would wait several months after discharge before even thinking about using it for ACH or automatic payments. In fact, if its one thing I've learned from dealing with my non-BK crisis is consumers can be far to liberal with giving out their banking info to creditors, utility companies, cell phone companies, etc.

Since you will be starting a new financial life, why not start fresh with everything including a new bank account? In addition, you might want to open the new account before your BK shows on your credit reports.

[Doghouse]

Just curious, if there's a 10 - 12K judgment for Discover, how do they know where his checking/savings account is to drain his acct? Is it automatically from the same bank that he uses to make a payment to the cc? Is it thru the bill pay system or the routing info on checks used for payment?

[StartingOver08]

Doghouse, they know from all of those examples you gave. Despite what they say about not keeping your accounts on file, the cc companies have all your numbers even if you paid that account by check one time, or ACH transfer, or debit card or even a credit card (another card) - they keep that info and will tap into it for payment.

[Doghouse]

Thanks Startingover, wow, I had no idea. I thought the only accounts to worry about, even with a judgment, are the ones where you bank with a creditor you owe money to.