Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

Re: Bank Acct. levied by Collection Agency

A judgment is required as long as it is not a tax lien. The levy on the bank should indicate the court and case number. We may be able to trace what happened and help you. Please call us if you have any questions.

Re: Bank Acct. levied by Collection Agency

There must be a judgment before they can levy on an account. The debtor would be given notice of the lawsuit (called service), as well as the judgment.

Re: Bank Acct. levied by Collection Agency

If you were never given notice of the lawsuit or judgment, and you dispute the debt, you can go to court to move to set aside the default and judgment. If there is a levy, your bank should have provided you with notice after it received it. It should contain the case information on the papers it received from the sheriff or registered process server.

Re: Bank Acct. levied by Collection Agency

With the exception of the IRS, no creditor can levy your bank account without first obtaining a judgment. In order to obtain a judgment, the creditor would first need to sue you and serve you with a copy of the lawsuit.

If you were served and did not fight the lawsuit, the creditor could obtain a default judgment against you. You should have received some sort of notice from your bank and/or the Sheriff's department when the levy was performed. You should look up the case number at the court to see how the judgment was obtained. It may be possible to have the judgment set aside judgment and allow you to have you day in court.

Time deadlines to set aside judgment are pretty strict, so you should move quickly to do this. I would consult a local attorney right away.