Wage garnishments and collections

urbantiger53 said:I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I'm talking about mortgages versus standard apartment loans... I was actually asking about those T-Mobile rewards programs...

A legal judgment is a legal judgment. Period. It doesn't matter if it's coming from JPMorgan Chase or some random collection agency.
I mean, seriously, how do you even rack up enough debt with a provider like T-Mobile or a credit card company to the point where you're actually sweating over losing your house?
There is no way in hell T-Mobile is going after someone's property over a couple hundred bucks.

So, my sister acted as a co-signer for her former sister-in-law. At one point, the woman was actually making the loan payments, but then she just stopped. Now, my sister’s bank account has been frozen, while the woman who actually took out the loan hasn't seen any of it? It seems completely backwards. Is there anything my sister can even do to fight this?
Thanks for any insight you guys might have...

Maybe just wait and file for damages later on

JPMorgan Chase couldn't recover the funds because his sister lost her job, so now she's just drowning in a mountain of interest and principal. Meanwhile, the guy who actually took out the loan? He hasn't even hit a garnishment or an account freeze yet.

Oh, don't you worry—the folks over at JPMorgan Chase can essentially "see" everything happening across all the different banks, so they know exactly who to go after to get their money back immediately. I doubt they would ever bother coming after a guarantor first. Unfortunately, though, it seems like the only way to sue for a refund is through recourse, which adds a bit of a layer to the whole process.

A family member just got hit with a pre-foreclosure notice from a local utility company, delivered straight via a notary....

The thing is, they’ve never even used their services, nor have they ever been registered at the address where this bill is supposedly being sent—they were just an unemployed student living elsewhere at the time.

We already reached out to J.P. Morgan regarding the situation, and tomorrow we’re heading down to the office of the company that issued the notice to deal with this head-on.

Aside from filing a formal dispute, are there any other moves we can make to shut this down?

I don't recall hearing that formal notices were being sent out through a notary public—that sounds a bit unusual to me—but I am certainly all for foreclosure proceedings.

John Clark6 said:I don't recall hearing that formal notices were being sent out through a notary public—that sounds a bit unusual to me—but I am certainly all for foreclosure proceedings.

My mistake... I meant the actual seizure motion, probably... we're all a little shell-shocked here.

A guy works hard.
Then he gets laid off.
He had an overdraft limit—let’s say $1000.
Since his paycheck stopped hitting the account, the bank eventually starts cutting back that limit—reducing it by, say, $100 every single month.
No big deal.
So, the following month, his balance sits at -$1000, where $100 is the unauthorized part and $2,700 is within the allowed limit—$3,000 total.
The man deposits $100 and now he's just sitting within his authorized limit. He tracks the reduction of the limit carefully... making sure he doesn't slip into the red.

Now, here is the situation:
Authorized limit is -$900, but the actual balance is -$2,705. This means he's $1.75 over the limit because of some accrued interest. Fine... that's perfectly logical.

Then, out of nowhere, a garnishment arrives—doesn't matter who from—for the amount of $333.
The clearinghouse processes it with extra fees of about $53 and they just grab his money
straight from the checking account... which pushes him from an authorized overdraft of $1.75 straight into an UNAUTHORIZED overdraft of $55.

HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE? They take his money and then plunge him into an UNAUTHORIZED deficit???

They might as well have just taken the additional $333 he owes right then and there. Unbelievable...

Is this actually legal???

Look, an unauthorized overdraft is an unauthorized overdraft. I don't care if it happened at $1.75 or $55.
Fix that negative balance first, then head straight to the bank and demand they explain what the hell actually went down.

And hey, if you're pulling in protected income, go ahead and set up a protected account.

Just got hit with an enforcement order from PBS. What the $500 hell.
Here’s the deal: about six months ago, I got an initial notice for this thing. I filed a complaint, ended up in a lawsuit, and they couldn't produce a single scrap of paper proving I ever even signed up for the service or had a receiver installed.
Then, a few weeks after that first notice, a second one pops up. Same case number, same notary, just a different date. I didn't bother fighting it then because I figured we’d just settle everything once we actually got in front of a judge.
Fast forward to two weeks ago—another notice. Same case number, same notary, yet another random date. Since I already had the court ruling in my hand, I didn't say anything.
So now what? Am I totally screwed? Who do I even talk to about getting this enforcement dropped? Is that even possible? They have absolutely zero basis to come after my money for a service I never requested and definitely don't use.

Hello there.

Back in 2006, I was charged with a criminal offense. A final judgment was handed down in 2009, which included a prison sentence as well as the forfeiture of assets—a fairly significant amount, actually. It wasn't until late 2014 that they finally moved to garnish my wages and freeze my bank accounts...

Is there any chance this could be considered past the statute of limitations?

Proposed garnishment for water/sewer services

So, my elderly parents got themselves into a bit of a mess and missed their payments for water, trash pickup, and whatever else was lumped onto that same bill from January through June of 2014. I stepped in to fix things as soon as I could and paid the whole thing off—mostly around December or January of this year.

But get this: American Water handed this over to a law firm way back in September 2014. They made a decision to start the collection process in November 2014, and now, out of nowhere, a legal notice shows up at the house today.

Basically, they (the water company) are using this to demand the water usage fees from the total bill amount (I’m assuming the sanitation fees are included too), but since I already paid it, I'm stuck. I have no clue if I should even bother filing an objection with the law firm, or if I should just grab my receipts and head down to the Goldman Sachs office on Potomac to sort it out? What do I even do?

And then there's those extra legal fees $73 that apparently have to go to the law firm. Am I stuck paying those regardless? Is there any way around it?

Hey there!

So, I’ve got a loan out with my bank, and since I fell behind on a few payments... well, they went ahead and froze my account!

I actually had some cash in there, so first the bank took their service fee, and then the rest of the money was supposed to go toward the loan. But here’s the thing—when I check my online banking, I don't see any record of that payment actually hitting the loan balance yet.

I'm just wondering if the bank is still holding onto that cash until I deposit enough to cover all the missed installments, or if they just wire the funds over to the loan department immediately...

Thanks!

neontiger63 said:A guy works hard.
Then he gets laid off.
He had an overdraft limit—let’s say $1000.
Since his paycheck stopped hitting the account, the bank eventually starts cutting back that limit—reducing it by, say, $100 every single month.
No big deal.
So, the following month, his balance sits at -$1000, where $100 is the unauthorized part and $2,700 is within the allowed limit—$3,000 total.
The man deposits $100 and now he's just sitting within his authorized limit. He tracks the reduction of the limit carefully... making sure he doesn't slip into the red.

Now, here is the situation:
Authorized limit is -$900, but the actual balance is -$2,705. This means he's $1.75 over the limit because of some accrued interest. Fine... that's perfectly logical.

Then, out of nowhere, a garnishment arrives—doesn't matter who from—for the amount of $333.
The clearinghouse processes it with extra fees of about $53 and they just grab his money
straight from the checking account... which pushes him from an authorized overdraft of $1.75 straight into an UNAUTHORIZED overdraft of $55.

HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE? They take his money and then plunge him into an UNAUTHORIZED deficit???

They might as well have just taken the additional $333 he owes right then and there. Unbelievable...

Is this actually legal???

Banks don't just let you slide into an overdraft beyond what's actually approved.
Did you actually head down to the branch and ask them, or are you just venting on a forum?

Taylor Roberts3 said:Just got hit with an enforcement order from PBS. What the $500 hell.
Here’s the deal: about six months ago, I got an initial notice for this thing. I filed a complaint, ended up in a lawsuit, and they couldn't produce a single scrap of paper proving I ever even signed up for the service or had a receiver installed.
Then, a few weeks after that first notice, a second one pops up. Same case number, same notary, just a different date. I didn't bother fighting it then because I figured we’d just settle everything once we actually got in front of a judge.
Fast forward to two weeks ago—another notice. Same case number, same notary, yet another random date. Since I already had the court ruling in my hand, I didn't say anything.
So now what? Am I totally screwed? Who do I even talk to about getting this enforcement dropped? Is that even possible? They have absolutely zero basis to come after my money for a service I never requested and definitely don't use.

Nobody... honestly. Next time, just try to handle things before they escalate.

George Palmer27 said:Proposed garnishment for water/sewer services

So, my elderly parents got themselves into a bit of a mess and missed their payments for water, trash pickup, and whatever else was lumped onto that same bill from January through June of 2014. I stepped in to fix things as soon as I could and paid the whole thing off—mostly around December or January of this year.

But get this: American Water handed this over to a law firm way back in September 2014. They made a decision to start the collection process in November 2014, and now, out of nowhere, a legal notice shows up at the house today.

Basically, they (the water company) are using this to demand the water usage fees from the total bill amount (I’m assuming the sanitation fees are included too), but since I already paid it, I'm stuck. I have no clue if I should even bother filing an objection with the law firm, or if I should just grab my receipts and head down to the Goldman Sachs office on Potomac to sort it out? What do I even do?

And then there's those extra legal fees $73 that apparently have to go to the law firm. Am I stuck paying those regardless? Is there any way around it?

First off, maybe type a little clearer so I don't have to read this three times just to follow along... at least I hope I understood you correctly. 🤣
If it's already been paid, start by filing a formal dispute stating the debts were settled—basically, tell them you paid the parents directly, attach copies of the receipts or transfer confirmations, and send it via certified mail.

Got it, thanks for getting back to me.

Just got an enforcement notice from a notary regarding some unpaid HOA fees. I have eight days to settle the debt along with the notary fees and the legal costs the association hired to collect the money. Quick question: if I pay off the full amount, who exactly am I paying the notary and lawyer fees to? Also, I haven't seen much on here about what happens after you get this kind of notice—once everything is paid up, does the process just stop automatically, or do I need to send proof of payment to the notary myself? Thanks for any help!

I just received an enforcement order regarding a piece of land in Washington, D.C. Here’s the kicker: the city took that land from me back in 1996 and gave me an apartment in exchange. I was only five at the time. Is it actually possible for them to use this ruling to go after my apartment? Thanks in advance for any insight.

frozenwolf19 said:I just received an enforcement order regarding a piece of land in Washington, D.C. Here’s the kicker: the city took that land from me back in 1996 and gave me an apartment in exchange. I was only five at the time. Is it actually possible for them to use this ruling to go after my apartment? Thanks in advance for any insight.

No.
If the legal decision specifically targets that one plot of land, then it applies strictly to that land and nothing else.

Hey there.

So, I’ve got this loan through my bank, and since I fell behind on a few payments—basically missed a couple of installments—they went ahead and froze my account.

There was a little bit of cash left in there, so first the bank took their service fee, and then the rest of the money was supposed to go toward my loan. But here's the thing: when I log into my online banking, I don't see any record of that payment actually being applied to the loan balance yet.

I'm just wondering if that money is still sitting with the bank until I deposit enough to cover all those missed payments, or if they immediately wire it over to the loan department...

Thanks!