Bank account frozen: What should I do?

Kimberly Lopez17 said:I get that they'll freeze it... but surely they won't freeze the whole amount?? Part of it is technically "protected"... what I'm really wondering is whether they'll actually notify my wife that her account is blocked—or does she just have to wait until her first paycheck fails to hit before she realizes she needs to go open a protected account?

If she doesn't set up a protected account, they'll likely freeze the entire balance.

You can find much more detailed info over on the Legal Garnishment thread.😁

Once she realizes the account is frozen, she should probably hurry down to Chase to get that protected account established.

redcrane22 said:If she doesn't set up a protected account, they'll likely freeze the entire balance.

You can find much more detailed info over on the Legal Garnishment thread.😁

Once she realizes the account is frozen, she should probably hurry down to Chase to get that protected account established.

so, yeah—she can probably kiss that first paycheck goodbye 🙂

That’s not quite how it works

She should just open a bank account. Have her toss a few bucks in there, just for the sake of it.$3.25
Then, once she realizes they've frozen her funds, she can scramble over to a local credit union before payday hits.
I mean, nobody actually said the garnishment would kick in instantly, right?

redcrane22 said:That’s not quite how it works

She should just open a bank account. Have her toss a few bucks in there, just for the sake of it.$3.25
Then, once she realizes they've frozen her funds, she can scramble over to a local credit union before payday hits.
I mean, nobody actually said the garnishment would kick in instantly, right?

That's a clever workaround 😉 thanks for the input....

Hey everyone,
I took out a mortgage through Chase; those damn Swiss Franc loans. My payments started back in $900 2007. Then my company hit some rough patches, and I had to request a moratorium on the loan just to see if we’d make it through. That grace period is ending now, and my monthly payment is jumping up to roughly $1500. The business still isn't doing great, which means my mortgage payment is basically equal to my entire paycheck. Does anyone know what my options are here?
I tried talking to someone at the bank to see what could be done, but the teller basically gave me the brush-off. What I'm thinking about doing is sending them a formal letter stating I can realistically afford about $1000 a month, just so I actually have enough left over to live. I also thought about rerouting my direct deposit to a different bank to try and prevent them from freezing my account, though I suspect that might be a losing battle. I don't even know if I have any leverage since my primary account is already overdrawn. Since almost my whole salary goes toward this loan, I can't even cover the overdraft.

I have to say, it’s pretty funny reading this post about how a woman can't cover her overdraft at Chase, yet somehow she managed to open an account just to collect dividends

Bradley Wilson5 said:I have to say, it’s pretty funny reading this post about how a woman can't cover her overdraft at Chase, yet somehow she managed to open an account just to collect dividends

She opened a checking account because she had to—it was for a dividend worth maybe $6...

so yeah, she basically used the dividend to pay a utility bill.

These suggestions regarding opening protected accounts to dodge financial obligations are quite interesting. Perhaps we should all rush to open protected accounts and simply let my late grandfather settle the bills... It seems rare to find anyone actually seeking a legitimate way out of a bind. I recently heard a colleague in our payroll department mentioning how certain employees brag about having more liquid cash thanks to these protected accounts. Honestly... who do they think is going to cover those debts, along with the interest and fees, down the road? They seem to be under the impression that their debts will just vanish into thin air.

I feel like you completely missed the whole point behind opening those protected accounts 😉

Provocations like this don't really serve a purpose here, and frankly, they aren't welcome.

Hey everyone, I’m running into a bit of a situation here and was hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction... basically, my business checking account is frozen. This happened just a few days after I paid off 20% of what I owed and submitted a formal request to pay the remaining balance in 10 installments (which is allowed under the tax code or whatever the specific rule is). DOES ANYONE ACTUALLY KNOW HOW LONG IT TAKES TO GET A RESPONSE AND FINALLY GET THE ACCOUNT UNFROZEN?.. THANKS

Robert Price49 said:These suggestions regarding opening protected accounts to dodge financial obligations are quite interesting. Perhaps we should all rush to open protected accounts and simply let my late grandfather settle the bills... It seems rare to find anyone actually seeking a legitimate way out of a bind. I recently heard a colleague in our payroll department mentioning how certain employees brag about having more liquid cash thanks to these protected accounts. Honestly... who do they think is going to cover those debts, along with the interest and fees, down the road? They seem to be under the impression that their debts will just vanish into thin air.

kity1973, in times as brutal as these, people are just trying to survive. That should be obvious to you. How is someone supposed to buy groceries if the bank wipes out every last cent in their account? Especially when you know they're being squeezed because of all the financial maneuvering you read about in the news every single day—the kind that leaves people with monthly payments nearly double what they were at the start, or keeps driving utility bills higher and higher. People are using protected accounts as a lifeline.

Hey
I just got hit with a court order saying I had to pay my fees to PBS in $317 within 8 days or they’d freeze my bank accounts. So, naturally, I paid the money the very next day, but they went ahead and blocked my accounts anyway. I called the law firm Scalia, and they promised they’d let the court and the IRS know that the debt was settled, but it’s been 30 days and absolutely nothing has changed. What should I do?

A question for the group... if my bank account gets frozen for the first time before a protected account is actually set up, am I allowed to withdraw my entire paycheck? Is there really no way to have at least a third of it released back to me? I just don't understand how anyone is expected to survive an entire month without any access to their living expenses..

Unfortunately, there’s no way to get that money back. Once it hits your regular checking account, the bank just sweeps it up to cover what's owed.

Sandra Ross86 said:A question for the group... if my bank account gets frozen for the first time before a protected account is actually set up, am I allowed to withdraw my entire paycheck? Is there really no way to have at least a third of it released back to me? I just don't understand how anyone is expected to survive an entire month without any access to their living expenses..

Look, the IRS isn't exactly in the business of making sure you have enough money for groceries.☕

I just checked my online banking and noticed my account is frozen. Even though the funds are showing up as "available," I am quite confused... how can the balance be available if the account itself is blocked? 😕

It’s likely just because they haven't switched over to the payment system based on the enforcement order yet, though the funds are already set aside for it.

In that case, it should probably be listed as reserved rather than available.🤷

Sandra Ross86 said:A question for the group... if my bank account gets frozen for the first time before a protected account is actually set up, am I allowed to withdraw my entire paycheck? Is there really no way to have at least a third of it released back to me? I just don't understand how anyone is expected to survive an entire month without any access to their living expenses..

You can file a formal dispute at the bank and request a partial release of funds, but you'll need a letter from your employer confirming that two-thirds of that amount was your actual salary.

I won't need this since they refunded 2/3 back to my account, but the rest is already under garnishment. I just need to set up a protected account. It seems they aren't going to withhold my entire first paycheck like they used to.