Garnished Social Security

by Toni
(Sarasota, FL, US)

I have a large unpaid debt with American Express... They hired a law firm, took me to court and have a judgment against me. Now they have confiscated my bank account. My only source of income is my Social Security Check... so they have taken all I have. What can I do? I thought it was illegal to confiscate SS?

Reply from DebtCollectionAnswers.com:

Toni - You need to talk with an attorney right away. Social Security income generally is protected from creditors, and if the debt collection law firm acted illegally you may be entitled to damages and attorney's fees. (For that reason, some attorneys who sue debt collectors will take these cases on a contingent fee basis, where you pay no fee upfront.)

You can contact a local consumer law attorney with experience in debt collection cases (NACA.net is often a good place to find one).

Hang in there - hopefully you can get this resolved fairly quickly.