Withdrew w/o Notice HELP!!!!!

[NolanSW]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Oregon

A local collection agency withdrew close to $3000 from me and my wife's checking account . This came as a complete surprise since we were never notified by mail or phone of any debt owed. We called the bank and they informed us that the transaction was COURT ORDERED. This happened on a Thursday and did not find out till after 6pm on Friday. I will be going to this agency monday morning to correct this but what legal action can I take so that does not happen to someone else.

I've done the research and can see that they violated sections 807-809. The one thing that worries me is that they might get off with section 813 subsection

(c)A debt collector may not be held liable in any action brought under this title if the debt collector shows by a preponderance of evidence that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adapted to avoid any such error.

PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP ME.

 

[Ladynred]

If the bank said the withdrawl was court ordered, then the collection agency, or the creditor they were collecting for, has sued you and been awarded a judgment. Going down to the agency's office isn't going to straighten out anything - you have to go to the courthouse. You need to get a copy of the case file for the judgment that is most likely sitting there against you. In the case file will be all the details of the lawsuit, who sued and when, and there should also be a proof of service form or affidavit. That will tell you when, where, and to whom the summons and complaint (lawsuit) was served.

Didn't you ever get any certified letters, or perhaps a visit from a process server or sheriff's office ? If not, then you may not have been properly served and you MAY have grounds to challenge the judgment. That also depends on how long its been since the judgment was entered against you.

Once you find out EXACTLY what happened with the lawsuit, THEN you can take it up with the attorney for the plaintiff that sued you.

The bank levy was legal, they were not obligated to TELL you they were going to do it. Of course, getting the summons would normally have been the ultimate warning.

 

[NolanSW]

Well see, that's the thing. We were never served with any papers or phoned about being sued. No attorneys, nothing. I've asked around and for it to have gotten to this stage, I would have had the chance to contest to debit in court. One of two things have happend. That someone in the Levy dept. at the bank made a huge error and enter in a wrong number OR the collection agency have someone similar to me or also wrote some number down wrong. If the this is the banks fault, then all I can do is complain and make sure they correct it. If it's the collection agency's fault then I know I have legal recourse under section 807, 808, and 809 under the Fair debit collection act. (Done a little research). ONe more day and all should be cleared up. Tommorrow is Monday and all the offices will be open.

 

[Ladynred]

If someone, no matter who it is, made an error, then it should be much easier to clear up. However, your first stop should still be the courthouse to find out if there is a judgment and all the details about it. There's really no point in making a fuss at the bank - they had no choice, it was a court order - until you find out WHY there was a court order. There's also no point in talking to the collection agency before going to the courthouse. How you handle them will depend solely on what you find at the courthouse.

Its NOT unusual for a summons to be served to an old address or even to the WRONG house on the right street. Its also not unusual for dunning letters to be sent to wrong addresses, especially if you've moved around.

Have you looked at your credit reports lately ??

As for suing using the FDCPA, just keep in mind that they DO often get out from under such lawsuits using the 'bona fide error' defense.

 

[JETX]

I agree with Ladynred. Based on your post (that it was done under court order), your first stop should be to the bank itself and ask for a copy of the paperwork that ordered them to do so. The paperwork from the bank should tell you what court and case number.
With that information, your next stop should be the courthouse. As noted by Ladynred, you want to review the case file.
Only after taking these steps and being 'armed' with the facts, should you try to contact the creditor or collector.

 

[NolanSW]

Thank you both for the advice. I will post an update on this by tomorrow. Yea, the first thing I will do is call the bank and speak with someone in the Levy dept. Thanks again.

 

[NolanSW]

Well, this has to go down as the most bizarre cases of mistaken identity. I went over to the collection agency and found out that it WAS their mistake. In their investigation on a person with the same name somehow pulled up my SSN#. But, the address was different which belongs to the other person. So, the collection agent did a blind attempt to withdraw from two bank accounts, Bank A( the other guy) and Bank B( Me ). This was poor investgative procedures and after a phone call with the president of the company, will I remind him of this. Also, I will add that how easy would have it been to pull another credit report with my SSN# to verify that there was in fact a debt owed. If they did, they would see that thier was nothing and that should be a clue that they have the wrong guy. Happy ending but WOW, what a F#&@ up!