Personal Posessions

[BonnieBlue]

What is the name of your state? Ohio
I am getting collection demands, but no court orders yet to pay for very old debts that have been bought recently.
I only have some old furniture, old tv, etc. maybe 20 years old furniture and a car a 1992 car that hardly runs, I rent .
What can they take away from me, no bank accounts or anthing.

 

[Debt Guy]

Ohio allows you to exempt up to $1000 of personal property.

Note that the $1000 is the cash value. Which means that for used furniture, etc, we are talking about garage sale value.

Your vehicle may exceed the $1000 limitation but I think it would be very unlikely they would even mess with it.

Based on what you have posted, I don't think you have much of a concern in this area. Your more practical problem is a wage garnishment.

 

[BL]

What is the name of your state? Ohio
I am getting collection demands, but no court orders yet to pay for very old debts that have been bought recently.I only have some old furniture, old tv, etc. maybe 20 years old furniture and a car a 1992 car that hardly runs, I rent .
What can they take away from me, no bank accounts or anthing.

Come on Debtguy .

To the poster your debts may be uncollectable because of the SOL in your state .

It depends on the type of debts .

http://www.bcsalliance.com/y_debt_sol.html

http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/Disputing_Collections/SoL-dispute-letter.html

 

[Debt Guy]

Ohio has one of the longer SOLs of all states. Very old can mean different things to different people. The posters comment debts that have been bought recently makes me think they are still within SOL.

But, your point is valid and well taken. The poster should determine the date of first default before anything else.

 

[JulieMarch]

Debt dates

These debts occured when Ilived in California between 189 and 1993, some might have been in Florida where I lived for a couple of years also in that area

 

[Ladynred]

When you INCURRED those debts means nothing, really. Where did you live when you DEFAULTED (quit paying) on those debts ??

The SOL in OH is FIFTEEN YEARS, so anything that defaulted in 1991-92 could still be within the OH SOL.

 

[Debt Guy]

Is Bonnie and Julie the same person?

 

[BonnieBlue]

Where Debts Occured

I live in Ohio now, but the debts occured in 1991 and 1992 in California and my exhusband has not paid on them since 1993 or 1994. As I never worked I never had any money to pay on them, now I have a small social security check as only source of income.
He kept all the papers and handled all payments so I dont know who the debts are from or how much, ll I know is at the time of the divorce his attorney said I owed about $40,000 in my name and there were some wuth both our names and some in his name.
I dont know where he is and have not heard from him in about 4 years.
I never let these credit card comanies know I moved from California, but some know I am in Ohio now as I recieved several demand letters from credit collection agencies where I live now.

 

[TigerD]

I live in Ohio now, but the debts occured in 1991 and 1992 in California and my exhusband has not paid on them since 1993 or 1994. As I never worked I never had any money to pay on them, now I have a small social security check as only source of income.
He kept all the papers and handled all payments so I dont know who the debts are from or how much, ll I know is at the time of the divorce his attorney said I owed about $40,000 in my name and there were some wuth both our names and some in his name.
I dont know where he is and have not heard from him in about 4 years.
I never let these credit card comanies know I moved from California, but some know I am in Ohio now as I recieved several demand letters from credit collection agencies where I live now.

Have you considered bankruptcy, or a bottle of pills and a fifth of whiskey?

 

[BL]

I live in Ohio now, but the debts occured in 1991 and 1992 in California and my exhusband has not paid on them since 1993 or 1994. As I never worked I never had any money to pay on them, now I have a small social security check as only source of income.He kept all the papers and handled all payments so I dont know who the debts are from or how much, ll I know is at the time of the divorce his attorney said I owed about $40,000 in my name and there were some wuth both our names and some in his name.
I dont know where he is and have not heard from him in about 4 years.
I never let these credit card comanies know I moved from California, but some know I am in Ohio now as I recieved several demand letters from credit collection agencies where I live now.[/QUOTE


Can Social Security benefits be garnished to pay a debt?
Answer
Section 207 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 407) protects Social Security benefits from assignment, levy, or garnishment. However, the law provides five exceptions:
Section 459 of the Act (42 U.S.C. 659) allows Social Security benefits to be garnished to enforce child support and/or alimony obligations;
Section 6334 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 6334 (c)) allows benefits to be garnished to collect unpaid Federal taxes;
Section 3402 (P) of the Internal Revenue Code allows beneficiaries to elect to have a percentage of their benefits withheld and paid to the Internal Revenue Service to satisfy their Federal income tax liability for the current year;
The Debt Collection Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-134) allows benefits to be withheld and paid to another Federal agency to pay a non-tax debt the beneficiary owes to that agency: and
The Tax Payer Relief Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-34) authorizes the Internal Revenue Service to collect overdue federal tax debts of beneficiaries by levying up to 15 percent of each monthly payment until the debt is paid.
The Social Security Administration's responsibility for protecting benefits against legal process and assignment usually ends when the beneficiary is paid. However, once paid, benefits continue to be protected under section 207 of the Act only as long as they are identifiable as Social Security benefits. This applies to money in a bank account where the only payments into the account are from direct deposit of Social Security benefits.
NOTE: Supplemental Security Income payments cannot be levied or garnished.

 

[BonnieBlue]

Social Security

Thank you for the information, so I guess they cant take away my s.s.check. It only covers my rent, utilities, food. bus fare. I get my medical from Cleveland Clinic on their Charity Assistance Program. My furniture is about 8 or 10 years old, but nothing I own was purchased on the credit cards that the debt is on.
I read the SOL in California and in Florida aging stops when you leave the state.
I never intend to go back to these states so does it mean they will never age to the states Statutes of Limitation because I dont live there and never will again?
I am retired to Ohio now. So will the 4 year California one never ever reach the 4 year limitation and the same for Florida. I dont remember when I left there.
I grew up in Ohio then moved for 2 years to California, then moved to Florida for about 4 years then back to California for another 4 or 5 years and then finaly back to Ohio.
Somewhere in that time period the debts occured in those states.
I nevr paid any attention to the bills, my ex husband always took care of it. I never knew when he paid them or did not. I believe there were about 14 credit cards in all, but I dont know to who they were.
When will the statute of limitations be finaly over for me as I dont have the money to pay for bankruptcy. If I pay an attorney I have no food to eat, or cannot buy my medications or pay my heat bill.

 

[BL]

Get the name of the collection agency's/firms and the addresses .

Send them a cease and desist contact letter .

In that letter state that your only source of income is Soc. Security and exempt from garnishment , also you have nothing of value and it would also be exempt .

This might save you from bank seizers . You would have to get the bank to lift the freeze/sizer with the proof , and you would be charged the bank cost associated with it .

Once the Creditors receive your info. ( as they were bought ) , they probably won't waste money on pursuing the debts .

 

[BonnieBlue]

Bank Seizers?

Thank you, I dont understand what that is? I have no savings accounts and no checking accounts. I cash my s.s.check at a local grocery store, so I have no contact with any banks what so ever. The check is mailed to my apartment each month then I cash it at the store. Can they take any furniture, Tv, Computer, books, as they are not new but 8 to 10 years old. I have no reciepts for anything, as I always threw them out.
I realy never kept anything to prove what I own.
My circumstances wont be changing any time in the future, because you cant do much on a $1,040. s.s.check. It barely covers utilies, rent, food
My car is a 1992 in bad shape, full of rust, needs lots of repairs I cant pay for. In fact it sits in the garage because I cant afford to pay for car insurance so I take buses, but the title is in my name and I renew the registration and my drivers licence each year .
So is there anything t all they can take from me?
I never answer these collection letters because I heard if you do they can get you for something. Next month in March I can check my free credit report.
Lasy year this collection agency each month made an inquery on my credit report so there was a long string of inquereies one for each month for the whole year.
What are they looking for or inquireing about?

 

[Debt Guy]

So is there anything t all they can take from me?

Short answer is "no". But it is not all so simple. You will be sued. Once the judgment is granted they will levy your bank account. Technically, those funds are exempt from levy since they are social security. But, it just gets to be a real mess because you will have to petition the court to order a refund of and funds seized. It takes time.

As suggested earlier, send each of the collection agencies and letter. Say "I have no exempt assets" and "my sole source of income is social security which is exempt from levy" and "cease and desist all contact with me". Send the letter each time you are contacted by someone new.​

I never answer these collection letters because I heard if you do they can get you for something.

You heard wrong. Send the responsive letter I described above.​

Lasy year this collection agency each month made an inquery on my credit report so there was a long string of inquereies one for each month for the whole year.
What are they looking for or inquireing about?

They are trying to figure out if you are worth suing. They have the right to look at your credit report. It is no big deal so don't worry about it.​

 

[BonnieBlue]

Thank You

Thank you, I will do as you have advised. I have NO bank accounts,
No savings, no checking and I cash my social security check at the local grocery store.
So when these 2 collection agencies send more laters, and more agencies to come I will send the letter you have suggested.