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How do I file a complaint against a collection agency?
Anonymous1 views2 answers
I just found out money was garnished from my bank account and the nerve of the bank charging me $75 fee. why not make the collection agency pay? Anyway I am on SS disability and they took all that and now I can't pay for my medical insurance as i have yet to qualify for medicare, I can't pay for my car note just as I arranged for a lower payment, nor my school loan as I made arrangement for a lower payment and I won't be able to pay my rent on time next month. What can I do? I received no notice from them that they were going to garnish my bank account. I have a chronic disease and I am unable to work.
It doesn't sound to me like you have a complaint against a collection agency. Your bank allowed a creditor with a court judgment to take property that was exempt. Did the bank know that the money in the account was exempt? If so, maybe they should have stood up for your rights. But sometimes you have to stand up for yourself! You can assert your claim that the money in your bank account was exempt by promptly filing a claim of exemption with the court that issued the order to attach your bank account. Be prepared to provide documents proving that the money in the account all came from social security disability.
Hope this perspective helps!
I am sorry to hear of your financial circumstances. But, having said that, please remember that judgment creditors have legal rights too.
Your contract with the bank when you opened the account probably has a provision that allows the bank to make the charge when it is made a garnishee.
That you received no notice is not surprising--most states allow garnishment writs to be served without notice to the judgment debtor, for the obvious reason that if advance notice were given the judgment debtor would simply remove the funds from the account.
In my jurisdiction, the bank is not required to "stand up for you", as my colleague stated. In my jurisdiction, the bank is required to respond to the garnishment writ and it is permitted to freeze up to 2x the amount of the judgment.
If the account balance consisted solely of SS disability, or other protected sources of money, then the Court can dissolve the writ, and direct the garnishee to release the funds to you. However, if you co-mingled the SS funds with other funds in the account, then you may have lost the right to seek the dissolution of the writ, or you may have to show how much of the account consisted of protected funds.
I hope you found this response to be of assistance.
This response shall be deemed to be a general response to a general question and shall not be deemed to be the rendering of legal advise, nor shall it be deemed to create an attorney-client relationship or create an obligation to respond to further inquiry.
