Debtconsolidationcare.com - the USA consumer forum

Forums
  • Latest topic

My account was drained to the tune of $12,771.02 (Ignore other thread)

Date: Sun, 09/04/2011 - 05:48

Submitted by dexter19080
on Sun, 09/04/2011 - 05:48

Posts: 4 Credits: [Donate]

Total Replies: 11


I went to use my debit card today and it was declined. Checked my bank balance. My bank account shows a negative balance of $12,771.02. I had $442 in there.

The other day I got an envelope from a Philadelphia lawyer. I am in Delaware County PA, 20 minutes from Philly.

The paperwork in the envelope is a "Praecipe For Writ of Execution - Money Judgements" which was filled on August 15, 2011 at 11:54 am.

I unfortunately didn't see this piece of mail until about 3 days ago.
It lists me as the defendant and Wells Fargo as the garnishee, which I assume is because that's the bank I had my checking account with. However, it also has Susquehanna Bank on there as well as a garnishee. Not sure why as I have never used them. Are they a part of Wells Fargo?

Amount Due: $11,887.06
Interest: $1326.80
Total: $13,213.86

Discover Bank is the original company I had this credit card with.
Can they even take that much money out? Yes, I know I owe that much, but it's possible to go almost $13,000 in the negative?
Does this mean that I now owe Wells Fargo the $12,771.02?

By the way, yes I do owe this debt. I'm not claiming I don't. It is several years old, I'd estimate about 4 years old. But the reality is there is no way I can pay it off. I looked to file bankruptcy before but I couldn't even afford that. Pathetic, I know.

I do not own a house or a car. I have a car, but it's not in my name.
I assume I still need to fill out the writ of execution and take it to the address listed? Or no? Again, I don't own anything.

What do I do, if I can do anything, about the negative $12,771.02 in my checking account? It's not like I can pay Wells Fargo the money. I assume this means I'll be laughed at in the future if I want to open up a new account?

In case this helps, I'm currently unemployed. But that's not a surprise, is it? I'm not collecting unemployment at the time. I was fighting that because my last employer let me go for job abandonment. Long story, but it's a lie. I have proof.

I know I know, me saying it's a lie is probably hard to believe after I just said how I owe almost $13,000 in debt. But if it helps, it was a car dealership who let me go. You know how trusting they can be.

On a serious note, what in the world do I do?! I have about $220 to my name right now (cash) and no job. Obviously I need to get a job. But what about this situation, what do I do?

I clearly have no money to pay a lawyer. Should I look for someone who does pro bono work? I do know how to make websites and do internet marketing. Wonder if a lawyer will barter with me?

Any help is greatly appreciated.


Hi dexter,

Well??? I'm not sure whether or not Susquehanna Bank is a part of Wells Fargo. If you haven't taken out a loan with them, then they can't simply debit money from your account. If there is a negative balance, then you may be liable for paying it to Wells Fargo. You should discuss this whole matter with an attorney and take his opinion in this regard. As you can't afford an attorney, it will be better if you could find someone who can work pro bono.

Take care.


lrhall41

Submitted by savion.parker on Sun, 09/04/2011 - 19:51

( Posts: 117 | Credits: )


Hi dexter,

If you owe money to Discover, they can take out money form your account but in order to garnish money from your account, you need to receive notice on that. The whole thing is supposed to go through a legal process, where the creditor or the collection agency will have to sue you and win against you in order to garnish your money. However, as you have mentioned that you got to see the letter only few days ago, the collection agency must have won a default judgment against you.

As for the negative balance, I think you need to talk to the bank with which you have the debit card account. In addition to this, it is also important for you to talk to a lawyer regarding this whole issue. Other than this, also check your credit reports in order to find out the details on this account and if there???s any judgment reported against this account.


lrhall41

Submitted by marvelbecks on Sun, 09/04/2011 - 22:46

( Posts: 143 | Credits: )


Quote:

What has occurred is quite common. Give it a few days and it will zero out.
Thank you for your reply.

Do you know if Wells will now demand $12,772 from me?

I plan to stop there and talk to someone, but they haven't been open since I found out. And tomorrow is a holiday.

Quote:
If you owe money to Discover, they can take out money form your account but in order to garnish money from your account, you need to receive notice on that. The whole thing is supposed to go through a legal process, where the creditor or the collection agency will have to sue you and win against you in order to garnish your money. However, as you have mentioned that you got to see the letter only few days ago, the collection agency must have won a default judgment against you.
I know they can take it out. It's not like I don't blame them. However, the whole "taking out $13,000 when he only has $442 in there" is the thing that I find a bit odd.


lrhall41

Submitted by dexter19080 on Sun, 09/04/2011 - 23:03

( Posts: 4 | Credits: )


Hi there,
I also bank with Wells and can tell you there is no way they are going to honor a $13,000 debt in an account with only a couple of hundred in it. What will probably happen is that they will look at your account tomorrow, not pay the debt and charge you a fee for a returned debit. I would definately give them a call, but really think that you will see your money back tomorrow, minus their fees. Keep us posted.


lrhall41

Submitted by kscornell on Mon, 09/05/2011 - 19:25

( Posts: 4407 | Credits: )


wow! first time i have heard of this happening... even with overdraft protection, i still dont think that any bank would cover such a large amount...
i would close that account.. find a more "independent" bank instead of a big bank and open an account there if you have to have a bank account.

this is why we do our banking (checking and savings) with a smaller locally owned bank vs a big bank...
it is their standard policy, anything that comes thru any customer accounts that is "out of customers normal transaction history", they will not pay it until they talk to us by phone to verify we authorized it....so far, we have not had any judgements against us, but i talked to someone at the bank about our situation, and they will contact us immediately by phone if anything comes in about account levies, freezes, garnishments, etc... big banks generally dont do such....
they will also call if a customer has a check or debit comes in and there is not enough money in the account to cover it, before they will pay the transaction, when that customer has never had that happen.
we do have overdraft protection, but it is for a small limit, just in case we make an error in our bank book-which is seldom...
we use one account for paying car payments and couple other normal expenses that are not local .. any cc payments we set up, we use a different account.... i only make deposits to cover what i pay online or by phone, and i make the deposit the day before i need to pay the bill, or the day before the cc bill is set to come out o fthat account.. as soon as i check the bank after midnight and see the money has posted to the account, i am online paying the bills or next am on the phone paying using debit so it comes out asap.. and at the end there is only $5-$10 left in account..


lrhall41

Submitted by generallee on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 21:40

( Posts: 150 | Credits: )


What Wells will do is either send you an email if you are hooked up on Wells Fargo.com or a written notice. Wells Fargo.com is best because you can check your account on line and it will spell out exactly what they did and what fees were charged.
I would be interested to find out what they did and how they justified it...


lrhall41

Submitted by kscornell on Wed, 09/07/2011 - 08:12

( Posts: 4407 | Credits: )