Bank accounts emptied

[drj]

Back in 2009 we were losing everything.  A law firm Michael Kahn filed an Entry of Default, Clerks Judgment for a $24000.00 AMEX bill.

Nothing was ever done, I never heard anything more and my credit report said the debt had been written off.  It doesn't even appear on my credit report now....well, unless it will be populated again by the action that another firm, Bleier & Cox, APC.  They somehow have this judgement that was files with that Kahn firm in 2009.  They mailed a copy of the judgement with their names on it.  

Five (5) days later all personal accounts were EMPTIED....I can't even imagine how they can take ALL money from someone.  

I don't know what to do now.  

Can they keep emptying the account?

Will they negotiate for less?  Payments?

I'm afraid to call them and make it worse, though I don't know how it can be worse.

Any help, counsel, advise, experience with people.....all that would help!

Thanks in advance

[shellieh98]

Depends, if your sole source of income is SSI, then no they can't.  Otherwise I am afraid your stuck.

i would close they bank account and open one thru somewhere like PayPal.  Harder to trace. It will buy you time until you get this figured out.

were you served?  If not you may be able to get the judgement vacated.

[drj]

I was mailed the papers in 2010 by the first attorney.  Nothing ever came of it.

I received the papers from this attorney on Monday and they took the money on Thursday.

Don't they have to leave money for people to live on, rent, food?

I'm not on SSI.

How do I buy groceries this week.  Certainly there is something I can do?

[shellieh98]

Nope. If it's in an account, they can take it.  How much is owed now? About the only thing you can do is file for bankruptcy, they would give it back to t be court until your be goes thru, o r its dismissed.  It's up to the be court if you eventually get it back.

or you could try to set up payments with them.  Those are your choices

[Clydesmom]

5 hours ago, drj said:

A law firm Michael Kahn filed an Entry of Default, Clerks Judgment for a $24000.00 AMEX bill.

Were you served notice on this that you were being sued?  That is the first set of papers you needed to respond to.  If you were served and never defended the suit then there is nothing you can do about the judgment now.  If you were never served and they got the default judgment there is a slim chance to get it vacated now.  The problem is after a year (and knowing about it) the chances of setting it aside are not good.

4 minutes ago, drj said:

Don't they have to leave money for people to live on, rent, food?

No.  When they levy a bank account they can take all money in the account that is not exempt (i.e. pension SSI) up to the amount owed on the judgment.  Under the new federal laws the bank must determine if the funds are exempt before freezing the account.  Since you are not on disability, a pension, or SSI those funds are simply money when it comes to a levy and the bank is required to freeze them and release them to the court.  

5 minutes ago, drj said:

 Certainly there is something I can do?

Other than opening another account that they cannot easily find and/or filing bankruptcy:  no.  Further bad news is that most states allow an annual 10% post judgment interest rate so by now after 7 years that $24k debt has likely ballooned to $42k or more.  

[drj]

I appreciate the straight talk, thanks 

[shellieh98]

Good luck

[drj]

I appreciate that, thanks

[neweuquol]

1 hour ago, drj said:

I was mailed the papers in 2010 by the first attorney.  Nothing ever came of it.

I received the papers from this attorney on Monday and they took the money on Thursday.

Don't they have to leave money for people to live on, rent, food?

I'm not on SSI.

How do I buy groceries this week.  Certainly there is something I can do?

In most states, they can attach your bank accounts and leave you with nothing.  Once a debt is reduced to judgment, the SOL changes to whatever the SOL is for judgments.   Some states allow you to claim an exemption for certain assets but it is up to you to bring a claim for an exemption to get some of the money back.   Unfortunately, no they do not have to leave you with anything to live on if they have a judgment and your state does not have a valid exemption for bank accounts.

if the amount they seized does not satisfy the judgment they can seize non-exempt asset after non-exempt asset, including your bank account again and again, until the judgment is satisfied.   With a debt that large, have you considered bankruptcy or talking to an attorney to get that judgment settled?

[drj]

I appreciate that, thanks...pretty bleak.  Calling an attorney today.