This can't even be possibly close to legal. Ok I received news from my bank today that there was a judgement placed against my bank account by a debt collector/lawyer for a debt that I had responded to their initial contact asking for varification and validation as well as responded to their summons that was mailed to me a few weeks ago via regular mail. I contacted the "lawyer/creditor" whom told me that they placed a judgement against my account and were asking for over double to have the judgement removed. I was informed also that the US Marshals would be comming to sieze my property, now mind you this is over a $1,700 credit card debt from 5 years ago and I now had to pay $5700 to get my bank account back. I was informed after contacting the bank that the creditor gave the bank papers from my county supreme court that stated that a judgement was to be placed, here is the first descrepency there was no notery signature or stamp on the paper. It was also signed by a judge / clerk that does not exist (at least in the county in which I live) where the initial action was brought into place but it gets stranger after contacting the county supreme court. When contacting the court I gave them the information on the judgement and they replied that this is the 2nd call they got today about this creditor doing this, and that infact that there was no judgement against me in the eyes of the county supreme court and nothing was signed or brought against me. The clerk noted that the "papers" had been taped to my door months ago via a notice from a process server(is that legal?). They contacted the creditor and the court was told that..now get this.... it can be done and there was nothing that can be done about it......HOW???? I might be mistaken but does that not violate every aspect of any law that covers debt collection as well as other legal laws? Then in the mail today I get a letter that states that October is here and they will be willing to settle for less,........but they have a judgement against me and a lien on my bank account. To make a long story short the bank will remove the lien once the county faxes the papers to them from the court stateing that they never executed a judgement against me. Um anyone else on this crazy train and what can I do to stop this from happening again?
Get the statement from the court that there is no judgment against you. Then get copies of the papers filed with the bank (if they'll give them to you). Immediately contact the district attorney for your county and the state Attorney General. They should tell you how to proceed. Post back with your progress.
As strange as this particular judgment sounds, I think these things can and do occur. I believe in some states, prejudgment wage garnishment and/or bank attachment is allowed by collection attorneys. I'm not certain about this, but something in the back of my mind tells me I've heard of this before. Another question comes to mind... Wouldn't the bank know a legitimate bank account attachment when they see one? Or, do banks simply not bother to check. Or, do the folks hired in banks simply have little or no education related to such matters? Since I decided against a chapter 13 bankruptcy a while back, opting to deal with collectors and pay what i can on my own terms, your original post is frightening. Please keep us informed!
State Bar Associations have no power to do anything except discipline lawyers and they can do very little of that. Such matters as disbarment must be referred to the state supreme court in most states. State Bar Associations are associations, associations are nothing more than an organization of people with a common goal or interest and have no legal powers to act on anything except to refer a member to the proper authorities for whatever action that authority deems proper.
I would call your state's Bar Association for a referral for the best attorney in your area, to take on this case. All things considered, in your case retaining counsel is your best strategy. Not only will an attorney clear this up faster, but you may have a case for a countersuit. Also, banks are obligated to heed legal documents like this, don't get too upset with them. Again, find an attorney fast!
To your other question: Banks don't care one way or another about "legitimacy" of attachments. Banks/creditors rub each others' backs to screw people over.
Banks are strictly controlled by federal regulations. They don't "rub each other's backs to screw people over." However, a bank can't know what every document from every court looks like. However, once you give them a notice from the court that there is no judgment against you, then I believe they have a duty to do some due diligence. But until you give them proof, they have what appears to be a legal document. You can contact the bar association for a referral to get a lawyer, but I'd also be calling the state Attorney General's office. They DO have power to get involved in these types of activities.
LOL - Banks might be strictly controlled by federal regulators, but only in as far as practices are concerned. Our capitalistic system allows these scumball banks to impose loanshark level interest rates, and sky high fees. And if Bank A sees anything that even remotely looks like a judgment, order, etc. which would benefit Bank B, Bank A will definitely NOT question the legality of such a document.
In some states, there are two methods, and two methods only for attaching wages and/or bank accounts: 1) A writ authorized by a county circuit court following a judgment, with a signoff by the clerk including a stamped seal. 2) An action initiated by an attorney acting on a judgment. The attorney must be a member of the state bar and their bar number must be listed on the writ. If banking institutions fail to abide by the laws of the state, they are violating such laws. I can't say what other states allow, but a violation of the two instances above is a violation of state statutes, and the attorney general can definitely get involved. Banks, regardless of how they relate to creditors/"their own kind" must adhere to the laws of the state they are doing business in. If you believe there has been a violation of your state statutes, you need to push for immediate action from the state attorney general's office. I doubt a DA's office can be of much help, since most offices are responsible for "criminal" offenses. A civil offense can bleed over to criminal issues in some instances, but the offense probably needs to be significantly related to a criminal offense. I'm no attorney, but almost all state statutes and regs are available online. Do some due diligence and determine where you stand in terms of your individual state laws.
This is bulls*#t! Yes, get a lawyer and sue the CA Lawyer for violations of the FDCPA. Just for starts, it is illegal to threaten arrest in the collection of a debt. Contacting 3rd Parties § 1692 b(2) Contact of Third Party: Stated that the consumer owes any debt Harassment or Abuse § 1692 d Any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person False or Misleading Representations in Communications § 1692 e(1) Affiliated with the United States or any state, including the use of any badge, uniform or facsimile § 1692 e(2) Character, amount, or legal status of the alleged debt § 1692 e(4) Nonpayment of any debt will result in the arrest or imprisonment of any person or the seizure, garnishment, attachment § 1692 e(5) Threaten to take any action that cannot legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken § 1692 e(9) Represent documents as authorized, issued or approved by any court, official, or agency of the United States or state. § 1692 e(10) Any false representation or deceptive means to collect a debt or obtain information about a consumer § 1692 e(13) Documents are legal process when they are not Unfair Practices § 1692 f Any unfair or unconscionable means to collect or attempt to collect the alleged debt § 1692 f(1) Attempt to collect any amount not authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law § 1692 f(6) Taken or threatened to unlawfully repossess or disable the consumer's property Each of the above is $1,000. Now some of them may not stick, but I would go after these bast@#*s HAMMER AND TONG. A
