Another Bank Account Question

[naboomboo]

New York.

I Filed my paperwork for Bankruptcy (Chapter 7) on October 6, 2005 and my creditor meeting is Nov 16, 2005. On October 14th, I received a letter from one of my creditor's attorneys claiming that a judgement was made against me (it indicates the judgement was made on September 19, 2005) for the balance of the debt ($1,825.66). The letter reads that money or property has been taken in order to satisfy a judgement which has been entered against you.

Six days later (October 24, 2005) I receive another letter from the attorney of this same creditor (dated October 18, 2005) demanding I hand over 10% of all gross wages, or they will contact my employer and garnish the full amount they can obtain in this manner. This letter also gave a Office of the Marshal information and a docket number.

I knew the Bankruptcy Courtcourt had already sent out information about the meeting date on November 16th to all listed creditors, but I wanted to make sure that the information had not been lost or did not reach them for some reason. I mailed a letter and a copy of the state's documents that supplies all information about the meeting and I mailed in to the Marshal the very next day.

Now, on October 28th, I call my bank account and check my balance (it was low, as my payday direct deposit does not happen until October 30th), and it was a mere $26.24 I call later that night to see if a money deposit I had made had cleared and my account was now at NEGATIVE $3,624.83!! I do not write checks and have only one auto-payment for my student loan each month (17th) that had already been taken out prior to this.

I called my bank (Chase) and they said "A judgement was made on your account that is why my account was negative."

I can see where the judgement date filing was September 19th and my Bankruptcy date filing was October 6th and this could very possibly mean I am out of luck for the judgement amount, but if the judgement is for $1,825.66 can this creditor legally take $3,624.83 out of a bank account that has only $26.24 in it to begin with? For the record, I do not hav overdraft protection and I did not authorize this attorney to take ANY payment for anything!

Any help would be great as I don't know which direction to go now. Do I call this creditor's attorney and question the grossly, over inflated, ripping off of my checking account? My paycheck is $1260 and would be auto-depositied on October 29th, but rent is now ($800) due as are bills and I can't even get to work now!?

What happened to the garnishment they claimed they would pursue?

Is this legal?

Thanks for any help you can provide!

[bigun]

Do you have a lawyer?

[SleeplessInMI]

It is surprising that the bank would give them that money. They are actually giving them their own money since your account didn't have enough in it to cover it... regardless, I hope you have a lawyer. You will have a hard time fighting this on your own.

[naboomboo]

New York.

I will be getting a lawyer this morning (10/31/05).

[bigun]

Good to hear you're getting a lawyer.


I can see where the judgement date filing was September 19th and my Bankruptcy date filing was October 6th and this could very possibly mean I am out of luck for the judgement amount

If you listed the creditor in the petition you're not out of luck. They have violated the automatic stay.

[naboomboo]

New York

RESOLUTION:

First I called the bank (CHASE) and they said that it was in fact a judgement and that under New York law, the creditor can sieze exactly TWICE the amount (which is held until resolved) for any possible court fees, etc.

I then took a chance and called the actual creditor attorney and asked them about the judgement since I had already filed bankruptcy. They asked if I could fax them documented proof from the court (which I had with me at work) and I did so. I was told that the judgement would be immeditately released.

For the record, this creditor was the first one listed on my bankruptcy filing.

It took this attorney and my bank 2 days (and me calling non-stop to see that it got done!!) but it was released back to normal.

One helluva scary Halloween!

[bigun]

This is good news.
I've seen more than a few posts on several sites where pro se filers are getting treated badly. I honestly believe that had you filed using a lawyer they'd never have pulled a stunt like that.

[CAB in CA]

I am glad to read the the resolve worked out well for you!

CAB in CA