Posted on
June 9, 2009
at
3:31 am
what happens when a family member only has social security benefits to rely on and they have no other means of income, yet debt collectors are after them and calls are not stopping? i've heard that collectors can sue and take some stuff away. i'm just concerned that they maight take away social security benefits too. hope someone can help
Posted on
June 9, 2009
at
3:51 am
Hi PrettyLara, I'm sorry to hear about your situation. Social Security benefits are exempt from creditor garnishment, aside from other federal benefits such as SSI, veterans' benefits, and service members' pay, to name a few. However there may be circumstances that these funds can also be garnished, as in the case of paying for delinquent taxes, child support, alimony, or student loans.
Posted on
June 9, 2009
at
4:04 am
does your family member have any assets that they can sell in order to pay for the debt? it can be a big help for them especially if they've been hard-up on expenses and such. also try to find out if your family member has co-signed the loan with someone--either a spouse, another family member, or whoever. of course i'm assuming that it's not you. because if s/he co-sgined the loan with someone they have equal responsibility over the payments.
Posted on
June 9, 2009
at
4:21 am
Social Security benefits--all 100% of them--cannot be garnished for unsecured debt. In fact any debt collector cannot just garnish anything from any debtor unless they have filed a lawsuit against them. It is against the law for these individuals to seize any property belonging to the debtor. If the creditor wins the lawsuit, a judgment is entered against the debtor, and it is only then that they can gain access to certain property.
Posted on
June 9, 2009
at
4:40 am
Something that I'd like to touch here are the debt collection calls. You need to instruct your family member to write a cease and desist letter to the debt collection agency and request that all calls be stopped. They need to send the letter through certified mail, too. Wait a couple weeks and the calls will definitely stop. Unfortunately that won't give you leeway in not paying the debt, nor does it prevent them from filing a lawsuit against you.
Posted on
June 9, 2009
at
4:52 am
I agree with Cheetos Lover, if you want the collection calls to stop, you need to write a Cease and Desist letter to the collection company. Verbal requests for calls to stop will not suffice; they will still continue to persist in contacting you.If you want help in taking care of your family member's debts, you can actually instruct her to fill out a form on DestroyDebt.com and they will be provided with a qualified provider suited for their needs.
Posted on
June 16, 2009
at
7:48 am
Right- and in regards to a co-signer- if there is not one on any of the cards you should also see if anyone is an authorized user. Authorized users, unlike co-signers, may be removed from the account if the primary cardholder contact the creditor and instructs them to do so.
Posted on
July 10, 2009
at
2:36 am
Take a U turn. Let the unscrupulous
debt collector pay you money damages for the collection harassment unleashed on you. The debt collector would pay your attorney fees for the collection harassment he subjected you to. You may owe the Money; the debt collector cannot break the law to subject you to any kind of collection harassment. The debt collection law protects you, nevertheless. The debt collector would end up owing you the money. We make debt collectors pay you.
Posted on
July 13, 2009
at
2:31 pm
I am curious Victor Kevin how does your company go about doing that? And by that I mean making people's creditors pay them money.
