Can a creditor get your chk acct garnished w/out serving you first?

[a.fla]

I am wondering if this is possible? We have our chk acct through Wells Fargo, however, we have kept up with the cc payments through them because our lawyer said that they could take money out of our chk to pay their card. But could Chase or Discover, or CITI have this done without first telling us? We're moving out of state and I'm worried that they could do it while we're moving and then we'd have no money to move with. We are about 3 months behind with everything. However, since Wells Fargo isn't in FL in the area we're moving to, we've opened a new account, but can't use it until we get to FL.

Thanks for any input!

[PaKettle]

I don't think anyone but Wells Fargo could take the money without telling you... but I'm not sure.
But what about just taking the money out and putting it into Traveler's Cheques and/or cashier's check, money orders, etc...?

[jp2861]

Technically, you must be served. The law states they need to sent notice to your last known address. If you don't live at the LKA any longer, and a summons is taped to the door, you wouldn't get it. This would result in you not knowing, and not showing up at court. Final result would be a default judgement in favor of the creditor. This is one reason I'm not an advocate of ignoring creditors phone calls. If there's one peice of information you want to validate on a creditor phone call it's your address.

[a.fla]

It would get to my parent's house so they would be able to tell us. The creditors all have our old phone number, but I've been mailing out notices that we are filing BK to the creditors with the lawyers info on there and we're putting in a change of address form as well.

[a.fla]

Also, how long does a creditor normally take before they would sue you?

[SinkingFast]

Yes a Creditor can get a Judgment against you without your knowledge. Generally it's sleazy, unscrupulous Creditors that do it, but it can be done.

They fill out a copy of a Court Docket and mail it, regular mail. No processor. No Docket Number. Nothing. They don't really go to Court. When you don't respond,......... Then they go to Court, get a Docket Number, and never "officially" notify you of the pending Court date. You don't show up for the Hearing or Respond. Bam! Summary Judgment in favor of the Creditor.

The companies you've mentioned,............ Chase, Citi, Discover,.......... Generally do follow protocol. If they are coming for you, you'd know it.

There is no rhyme or reason to when Creditors sue.

When I first joined the Forum, there were people here who'd gone years with no payments made and no law suits.

Since then, Creditors have sued some people after as little as 4-6 missed payments.

Lots of factors figure into a Creditor's decision making process. They don't just throw good money after bad. They check you out first to see if you're worth pursuing.

They'll pull your Credit. See who all you owe how much to and if you're paying anyone else. They'll look for employment and see how much money you're making to know if wage garnishment is worth their while. They'll check public records to see if you own a house, vehicles, a boat, and such. Something to get a lien against.

If you rent, your car(s) is/are old, and your job doesn't pay so well, you may not be worth the legal fees and associated costs to come after you.

[HHM]

No, they could not take money out of your checking account w/o serving you...but what constitutes proper service is another question. Many people are under the mistaken impression that the creditor must physically hand them the summons and complaint...but that is not necessarily the case.

All they really need is a process server who is willing to swear an affidavit that they "tried" to serve you personally. The court will then authorize service by publication, which means the summons gets published in a newspaper. Once the creditor has published the summons for a certain number of weeks, then the court will consider the summons served and allow the creditor to take a default judgment. If the case is in small claims court, service is usually done simply by mail to your last known address.

In point of fact, most of the "biggy" creditors do make a legitimate effort to serve you, but if you have moved recently, or the account is several years outdated, they may not have recent info and they are only required to attempt service at the last known address.

[a.fla]

Thanks for the information...do any of you happen to know if I've mailed them the attorney's information and tell them that we're filing chapter 7, would they still try to sue knowing that I'm filing bankruptcy?

[JoeP]

I recently had a judgement against me by Chase bank. How soon can they do a wage garnishment? Will I be given notice?

[HHM]

I recently had a judgement against me by Chase bank. How soon can they do a wage garnishment? Will I be given notice?

Assuming Chase knows where you work, fairly quickly.

As for whether you will get notice "before" the garnishment starts, that answer depends on state law. Generally, the writ of garnishment is served on your employer and it will be your HR dept. (or person) that will give you a copy, but at that point, the garnishment will usually kick in on the next pay cycle.

[a.fla]

My husband is changing jobs and friday is his last day. He won't be starting a new one for probably 2-3 weeks. Can a credit card company get the money straight out of our checking account that's not related to a credit card? Meaning wells fargo is our bank and we have a card through them however, we've made sure to keep up on WF payments. But I'm concerned with Chase and CITI. I've sent them out letters saying that we're filing ch 7 and gave them my attorney's info and our new address in hopes that they can find us if they do decide to make a judgement. I'm worried that they'll show up at our old house that is being foreclosed on....

[HHM]

No offense, but haven't we covered this with you (and many members on this website).

IF a creditor gets a JUDGEMENT against you...meaning, at some point the creditor sued you and the court entered judgment in the creditor's favor.

YES, the creditor can take money out of the bank account that is in the defendant's name.
YES, the creditor can garnish your wages, assuming state law allows it (Texas, South Carolina, and a few others do not)
YES, the creditor can put a lien on your house.
YES, the creditor can put a lien on your car
YES, a creditor can subpoena you to appear for questioning under oath (called a Judgment creditors exam)
YES, a creditor can have you held in contempt of court for not appearing for the Judgment Creditors exam. (and in many states, an arrest warrant can be issued)
YES, a creditor, can help themselves to any non-exempt assets you may own (with court order).

However, the most common collection technique for consumer debts is wage garnishment, bank account levy, and lien on real property. The other methods are too costly and time consuming to employ in the average consumer debt case.

There are only a couple of ways to deal with a judgment (for an unsecured debt, like a credit card) and stop the above from happening.

1. Bankruptcy. Assuming you otherwise qualify for BK, and the underlying debt is otherwise dischargeable, the BK will take care of the judgment (note, once you receive your discharge, you need to go to the court where the judgement was entered and file a Request to Vacate Judgment)

2. Make a motion in the court where the judgment was entered to have the Judgment set aside and re-open the case. This solution is to complex to get into here, but a prerequisite to this plan being successful is that you have a defense to the claim.

IF a creditor DOES NOT have a judgment against you, and there are no Cross Collateralizations (this is a feature of credit unions) then a creditor CANNOT garnish your wages NOR levy against your bank account, or anything else (except call you constantly and send you numerous letters)

[a.fla]

I don't know whether to thank you or call you a jerk! I asked another justified question because my husband is changing jobs and if you read my first post I didn't put that in there. But truly sorry I bothered you with a second question. Please DON'T answer if it's such a chore!

[keepmine]

I don't know whether to thank you or call you a jerk! I asked another justified question because my husband is changing jobs and if you read my first post I didn't put that in there. But truly sorry I bothered you with a second question. Please DON'T answer if it's such a chore!

Nobody is being a jerk. You've asked a number of questions about this and the answer is the same. What does your husband's employment status have to do with the possibility of getting sued?
Lawsuits are an expensive way to collect. Yes, people get sued but it usually takes far longer than a few months. Plus, if the do sue you in your old state, before they could collect in Fl. they'd have to domesticate the judgment in your new state. More time and expense. You're really worrying over something that is very likely not going to happen.

[leo_075]

I thought people were on here to get answers, not to get shamed for asking similar questions....does this mean if a member on here is new to bankruptcy (as all of you were at one time) that you should make someone feel bad for being nervous about something happening? I've seen a few members on here ask similar questions repeatedly even when the answers are in other posts. JMO