Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia

Re: garnishment by credit card companies

The rules are the same for every creditor, whether a credit card or any other type of creditor. No one can garnish out of your bank account (except maybe the tax authorities) without first getting a court judgment against you. So if someone is garnishing your bank account, it is because they have already won a court judgment against you (or someone else and they think it is you). It is possible that you lost this lawsuit by "default" because you did not show up at the court hearing. It is also possibly that they sent the notice to an old address where you do not live. You should go to the court and check the entire file and see what happened. If they sent the notice to the wrong address, you should file a "motion to vacate the judgment" on the grounds that you did not live at the address where they sent the notice.

Can they garnish your bank account without giving you notice? Of course not. However, again, they may have an old address or the wrong address for you, and may be sending the notice to the wrong place.

How much can they take? They can take the entire amount up to the total that you owe. However, you were supposed to receive notices as to possible exemptions that apply, for example if you are on social security or disability, etc. If the account is a joint account with someone else. If you are receiving direct deposit, it is possible that they will only be allowed to take 25% of the amount in the account, if that is entirely made up of your wages.