Can a collections service take out money from your bank?

Question

Can a collections service take out money from your bank?

Answer 1

Yes, but not without a court order.  They have to sue you in court and the court has to serve you.  Once you're served, your bank account will be frozen really fast.

Answer 2

Yes with a court order, they will take money out of your bank account then if all the funds are not there then they will put a freeze on it til you pay them the remaining balance

Answer 3

Not without your permission or a court order.  Also, they cannot freeze your account without a court order mandating it.  They would have to take you to court to get a judgement in their favor and then subsequently get a court order allowing them to either freeze the account (until you pay)  OR automatically deduct the money from your paycheck and/or tax refunds.  It's not often that a court will order the deduct straight from a savings or checking account (invasion of privacy issues) nor do they usually "freeze" accounts.  Normally if an automatic deduction is required due to lack of payment, it's done out of a paycheck or tax refunds.  But it would all depend on who you owe, what you owe, and your financial situation in general.

Answer 4

they can put a freeze on your account

Answer 5

Certainly if you authorize them to, they can, but even then, they are required to give you 10 days notice in advance of debiting the money.  Otherwise, without your permission, they can still take money from your bank account if they have obtained a judgment against you.  This requires suing somebody in court.  After you obtain a judgment, most state laws allow the creditor to take the judgment against the debtor's will.  This can be done simply by sending an execution to the Sheriff or Marshal identifying where the funds are.  I obtain this knowledge by simply sending banks a list of debtors and asking them to identify which debtor maintain accounts at the bank.  

You should also be aware that certain funds are exempt from a judgment creditors execution.  Such funds include Child Support, social security and other pension funds.  

Answer 6

yes. but not without your permission

Answer 7

yes if they have a judgement

PAY your bills..simple solution

Answer 8

There are several good answers here. I agree that they need a judgement so they can garnish. If they are not the government, no way they can freeze your account. They can investigate the bank, find when you have money and dip into it, since they won the judgment and asked for garnishment.

One IMPORTANT way they CAN take money out of your account without suing is if you EVER gave them a check by phone or allowed them access to your account in the past. Once that is done, watch out...you have to change your checking account.

Answer 9

Yes..they sure can, had a friend that de-faulted on credit cards & they pulled the money right out of her account..better to make arrangements w/ them to what you can afford & pay them, you can also ask for a settlement & that will usually knock off some money you owe them.