Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Arizona

Re: collection agency access

A collection company itself cannot access anything without a valid judgment against you.

To get a judgment a lawsuit will need to be filed. Once a money judgment is entered in favor of a party, that party becomes a judgment creditor. The judgment creditor is responsible for collecting the money, if the judgment debtor fails to pay voluntarily. The creditor has a number of options available to collect a judgment. One of these options is known as a garnishment, by which a money judgment may be collected from the following:

� Earnings: wages, commissions, pensions or bonuses paid or payable to the judgment debtor

� Non-earnings: money or property owed to the judgment debtor that is in possession of a third party such as rent or a bank account or the contents of a safe deposit box.

If a lawsuit is filed against you, I would advise speaking with an attorney to determine your rights and defenses available to you.