qlathan Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 On 12/02/2014 a Writ of Garnishment was placed on my Wells Fargo account. I live in Wisconsin and the Writ was served at a Wells Fargo branch in Austin TX. There was an Judgement in which I was never served nor I had knowlegde of. I filed Chapter 7 on Dec 19, 2014 and I faxed, emailed, phoned and mailed Wells Fargo Legal Department a copy of the Notice of Chapter 7 filing. The Writ was for $2,900. Wells Fargo had taken out $5,700 in which my account was zero out. I was told they sent the money to Wells Fargo Attorneys. Wells Fargo had kept garnishing my account after knowing I filed Chapter 7. I had child support deposted into my account in which Wells Fargo had garnished as well of a bank fees that brought my account negitive. After filling complaints with Consumers Protection and BBB, they sent me a letter stated they released the child support deposits on Jan. 6, 2015 and will not hold any other funds in my account . What steps should I take to have Wells Fargo release my funds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Have you discussed this with your BK lawyer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoCares1000 Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 If you have a BK attorney, you need to bring this to their attention so that they can get Wells Fargo to release the funds. That is what the attorney is being paid to do. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jq26 Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 A little late here, but your BK lawyer needs to file a motion to sanction Wells Fargo Bank. Note that your lawyer also had a duty to file a motion to avoid the lien upon your account. Two easy motions, and could result in a check for you and attorney's fee reimbursement. Most BK judges would not appreciate this, and would probably force them to reimburse you all the money plus pay your attorney for his/her time on the motion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomnTex Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 I would think that you could also recover your cost for the loss of that money. I.E. whatever you had to do make up that loss in the meantime, maybe even emotional loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
despritfreya Posted March 8, 2015 Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 While OP has not updated what happened, due to the recent comments I need to chime in. WF most likely did not freeze the account due to the garnishment - since, as OP points out, it froze the entire account but subsequently released only enough $ to cover the support payment. It froze the account because OP advised it that he had filed a Chapter 7. While I do not know what the 7th Circuit has said about WF’s routine “administrative freeze” on accounts held by depositors who file Chapter 7, I can tell you that at least one appellate level court has determined that such action is not a violation of anything. In re Mwangi, 764 F.3d 1168, 1170-1171 (9th Cir., 2014): In this case, we must decide whether the Debtors can state a claim for a willful violation of 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(3) - which proscribes “any act to obtain possession of property of the estate or of property from the estate or to exercise control over property of the estate” - based on the operation of Wells Fargo's administrative pledge. We hold that they cannot state such a claim. Before the account funds revested in the Debtors, they remained estate property, and the Debtors had no right to possess or control them. Accordingly, the operation of the administrative pledge could cause the Debtors no injury before the account funds revested. After the account funds revested in the Debtors, they lost their status as estate property and thus were no longer subject to § 362(a)(3). We therefore affirm the district court's order affirming the bankruptcy court's judgment of dismissal with prejudice. So, before jumping on the "go get em'" bandwagon, let's get the whole story. If you live in a district that has either not ruled on this issue or has ruled in favor of WF, you will want to get your $ out of WF before you file that Chapter 7. Des. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jq26 Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 Administrative holds are okay in third circuit as well. WF is starting to do them more and more, but they ALWAYS send a fax and letter to my office with a form letter than can be forwarded to the trustee to direct them to release. The trustees in this district will direct the bank to release the funds- some trustees will allow the release to occur within a week or so, others require testimony at a 341 before they'll direct a release. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomnTex Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 He had filed for BK on (Chapter 7 on Dec 19, 2014). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
despritfreya Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Administrative holds are okay in third circuit as well. WF is starting to do them more and more, but they ALWAYS send a fax and letter to my office with a form letter than can be forwarded to the trustee to direct them to release. Nice that WF has such a procedure in your district, but that IS NOT what it does in mine. Debtors, with or without representation, have to jump through hoops. Pathetic. I try to make sure my clients either close the account and go someplace else before filing or have next to nothing in the account on the filing date. Personally, I would never bank at WF - it thinks it is judge, jury and executioner. Des. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jq26 Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Des, agree 100% regarding never banking there. They are useless and I advise clients to close accounts and join a corner bank or credit union. Wells Fargo was written off for other reasons as well. I was going to refi a property in 2009. I spent 15-20 hours gathering documents and taking a day off of work to make this happen. Supposedly I was coming in to sign the papers and fund the loan...when I get there I spend 2 hours waiting for the loan rep then she tells me that she can't get it refinanced because it isn't owner occupied but she'd like to talk to me about a refi on my primary residence. Another bank beat their refi rate by 125 bps six months later, so it worked out for the best. But it was a good example of incompetence at its best. Off topic, but WF is a terrible bank!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
despritfreya Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Off topic, but WF is a terrible bank!!!Absolutely! Had a similar experience but with dealing with my elderly parents. Jeezzzzz! Des. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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