Last week I deposited a couple of thousand dollars in my bank account so that I could pay my taxes,
and this week all of a sudden I get a letter and phone call from a local law office hired by the credit card company to collect
back payment for a thousand something.
That made me wonder if they know that I placed money in my account and acted quickly to collect payment.

Do they?

It's totally amazing how anyone you owe tends to be able to know when you come into some money

They may have info on your bank. If they wanted to they could garnishee your bank account through legal means. They don't have access to your bank account monies as that would be illegal to take. Dunno if you had an automatic debit arrangement on your bank accounts.

I would tend to think they have access to some files on you and may know what you get and will phone or mail you I assume.

Rather than avoid them, you can make a deal on how you can pay (cannot get blood outta stone). Most will work with you to work out some type of agreement so you can repay what you owe. There are creditor companies that will help you budget and work with you and also contact those you owe money to on your behalf to arrange payments.

And when it's all paid off get a letter from them saying it's paid off.

Your credit history is very important. Affects things like buying a home/car etc.

I agree.
And I am so amazed that with my very bad bad bad credit history, I was able to get this apartment I have now.
I'm thinking that my bank account balance must be on my credit report and the bank must have reported it to the credit bureaus or something.

I have made deals with the credit card companies and have slowly paid one company at at time.
Just have a few more to go, but I can't do it with the minimum monthly payments they set up for me, it goes over my budget.

wildgoldenhoney said:

Paying your rent on time every month is good for your credit history. And having a roof over your head comes first.

Call them. Tell them that payments go over your budget. You can bargain with them. You have to eat too.

You may have to make a new budget and cut alot of corners till you get financially stable again.

One time I had 3 credit cards. 1 MC and 2 store cards. I was receiving 3 bills each month, my money going 3 ways.

I was like wtf I could just use my MC to pay for stuff and that way I know what I have spent, I can control my spending, etc. So I cut up the 2 department store cards and kept my MC. A co-worker saw me cutting up my cards and said wtf are you doing? I explained to her that I only wanted one bill, that way I know how much I am spending, and that way I can control my spending, etc.

She and my supervisor thought that was a very good idea and they both cut up their cards and kept one!!

You are also entitled and should get a copy of your credit history report. That way you can correct anything that is incorrect. They make mistakes sometimes.

Mine had an address that I have never lived at

In Michigan, they can use how your pay your utilities on a credit application or to renting an apartment. You can go up on the courts website and know a person's record even if they they had a speeding ticket.

It's amazing how your records are made public, that's a bit scary.

luv4u said:

What happened there?

wildgoldenhoney said:

It would be illegal for them to do so but beginning in March, people do get refund checks. . . . The universe could've brought them together . . . .

wildgoldenhoney said:

thats why ive never had a credit card.

cheers!
~svn seven

i have had a few prepaid debit cards however... but they expire when they run out of money

I'm sure they can check for funds if they have an account #. They can't ask for the amount in your account but they can ask if a $100 check will clear.

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

Arn't bank accounts confidential and private???

Beware of certified letters from a creditor and be sure to read it carefully if you receive one... they can legally sieze funds from an account (if available, of course) once a formal levy or garnishment is issued. I unfortunately had to initiate these types of legal actions in the past.

They can't take your money out of your account. That would be illegal.


Smooches;)

MsMisha319 said:

If the bank gets a court order or a court document for seizing funds then the bank has to comply with the legal document or be fined.

luv4u said:

luv4u said:

Well, in that case, I would take my money out of the bank and place it underneath my mattress



Smooches;)

MsMisha319 said:

That's where it was, I just put in in there to pay my taxes.
So government gonna get it first.




.
[Edited 4/16/09 17:58pm]

wildgoldenhoney said:

Take it back out. Did they take the money already or are they just scaring you?


Smooches;)
[Edited 4/16/09 18:01pm]

luv4u said:

in truth... no

cheers!
~svn seven

luv4u said:

Back in the day, when I worked at a bank, businesses would call in to check if a check would clear. We wouldn't say how much they had in their account. We would just tell them if the check would clear.

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

We call that an "in hand,in order" check. If i have a cheque in my hand that is in order will it clear? No guarantee that the money will be there when i present it but it is an idea of what the score is.

wildgoldenhoney said:

If they have your bank account number and have won a jurisdiction from court to collect money, sure they can.

mdiver said:

Exactly. Now it's done automatically. I hate that I can't write a check with no money in the bank. I used to write a check a day or two before my paycheck was going to go in and cross my fingers that the check wouldn't clear until then.

A court order for a creditor? This doesn't sound right unless it was a secured debt.

luv4u said:

No

cheers!
~svn seven

Better take it back out and use money orders instead.

When I worked collections, people would pay by check, so we would have their acct number, and periodically(as well as illegally i think) we would check the balance to figure out when paydays were and whatnot....yeah, I totally see a creditor knowing u came into money.

I even went as far to call local Pizza Huts to get customers real phone numbers. They would give us bad phone numbers of course, but people want their pizza, so the local pizza hut would usually have a good number for them.

BobGeorge909 said:

That makes a lot of sense, because it was just too coincidental,
and they asked for almost the same amount I have left after the federal automatically deducted their funds from my account.
And that's funny that you had to go the pizza hut route to get their #.