First time posting. I really need help trying to understand this. I apologize if this is long. But am I desperate for answers. & I have a lot of questions. & I really want to understand this once & for all. How your account can be frozen without any notification to the person?

My grandmother who is in her 80's, has perfect credit, never has owned a credit card in her life, pays everything in cash and never has any debt. She pays everything immediately. She never even had a bank account until recently. She kept her money in a sock hidden in the house. We finally talked her into getting a bank account with WaMu because we figured its way more safe & secure.

She had the account with no problems for one year and 2 days ago she goes to withdraw money and her account is frozen. Some collection agency has put a lien against her account. She has no idea why. I mean it when I say she DOES NOT owe anyone any past debts. She never believed in credit and she always had excellent health insurance and never had any substantial medical debt or anything like that.

So WaMu gives her the name & number of the company. She calls them and gives them her name and the collection agency said they don't even have her name in their files!? My grandmothers name is Mary Wilson (not her real name), but the collection agency said they froze her account because of a guy named Ronald Wilson. Same last name as my grandmother, but no relation. My grandmother has no nephews or brothers. We have no idea who this man is. Even the collection agency didn't give her a clear reason as to why her account has been frozen and they don't even her name in their records.

This is so unfair. WaMu refuses to unfreeze her account. & my grandmother has no idea what to do in this situation. She is elderly and needs her money. I have no idea how to help her rectify this situation. She never received any court papers in the mail. Never was notififed by this agency.

1 - how can a judge just grant a judgement without the person ever being notified? I hear of this happening all the time. & how do you prove that you were never notified. That is so unfair. I really think that these bill collector companies are lying about notifying the person. How do you prove this? The courts & banks seem to always side against the person.

2 - what is the next step that my grandmother has to do to get her money. I am in tears over this. Cause I feel horrible for her.

3- and I'm scared now to keep my money in the bank. I pay all my bills through my banking account. What if something like this happens to me, and all my checks bounce and I can't get access to my money. How am I suppose to eat, pay bills, live? This really scares me that collection agencies have this power to freeze your accounts without any notification from anyone.

Ok, what you need to do is get a copy of the order served on WaMu. This will list the court and docket # of the case. You then go to that court and file a Motion to Vacate on the grounds of mistaken identity.

This is an uusual situation where up to three entities goofed. But a lot depends on how the writ of attachment was worded. Its possible the collection agency just asked for a writ against this account, but they should have had to prove to the court that Ronald was an owner. If the Writ listed Ronald as the debtor, then WaMu should never have accepted the writ since he's not a listed owner.

So once you get a copy of the writ, you will know how to proceed further.

P.S.Please don't post the same question in multiple forums. This is the appropriate forum, your other posts were removed.

Thank you scottgem. Your answer about requesting a copy of the writ was extremely helpful. Now if someone can just explain to me how this is such a widespread acceptable practice that people's accounts are frozen without any notification or proof that the person was notified.

Ok, first this is NOT a widespread practice. Like I said, its actually unusual. It really depends on how the writ and the application for it was worded.

It IS acceptable practice to not warn a debtor that an attachment or garnishment is going to take place. If they were prewarned they would withdraw the money. The court system is supposed to protect here because they have to issue a court order and the holder of the judgement is supposed to show proof that the asset being attached is the debtor's.

Since an account can't be frozen without a judgement in place, there is the assumption that the debtor knows a) they reneged on a debt and b) a judgement was obtained. In such a case, the debtor shouldn't be surprised when their assets are attached.

Your grandmother's case is unusual. If Ronald's name is listed on the writ as the debtor, then the judge never should have singed it (however most judges just rubber stamp these things), and the bank shouldn't have honored it.

Hello Ellehcin

I can relate to how you feel about your grandmother's account. Like ScottGem said it is unusual.but it does happen The same thing happened to me. I had never ever had a credit card.{ supposedly this was for a cc debt} On day I went to the bank and my account was frozen It was the banks mistake. If you have a legal aid office in your area go to them and explain what happened. With your grandmother being 80 years old they should help you get this straighten out. May also be a case of some kind of identity theft