I just found out my bank account has been frozen, my bank has no infiormation as to who put this action on my account. I receive social security benefits, and disability pensions due to the fact I have kidney disease. Can a credit card company garnish or take funds from social security paykments and disabilty pensions

You have to notify them that your only income is social security and you might as well point out the law. If it is the government or a couple other things and I think school loans then they can but for general creditors no.

Garnishment Answers from the OCC

Generally SSI and/or disability payments are not subject to garnishment. Send a written statement to your bank to this effect, that your SSI payments are (I presume) direct deposited into your account and that's your only source of income. Also, how could the bank not know who put this action on your account? They wouldn't have frozen your account unless they received a writ of garnishment. Surely that would reflect who the plaintiff was who obtained this judgement and subsequent writ of garnishment against you.

How can the bank, who froze your account, not know who or what authority requested or demanded this action? That makes no sense.

Unless this is a tax debt, no private company can freeze your account without first taking you to court and obtaining a judgment. Were you notified that you were being sued?

You need to go to the bank in person, and demand an explanation as to what authority has frozen the account.

Once you know that, then you need to check with your local court to see if there is a judgment entered. If there is, ask to see the proof of service of the notice of the suit.

Good Luck.

Yeah they just may have been lazy and not wanted to look it up. Tell them you want to see the paper that froze your account if they are going to refuse to give you a name.

I did go to court in 2006, I explained my situation to the judge she said well you can't get blood from a stone have a nice day. We received no paper work from the court, now through a records search from the courts I see the judgement went to the plaintiff. How can this be possible we were not told this. As far as the bank is concerned this happened late Friday and they said they would not have any information until Monday. The freeze on my account is for way more then I owe. I have 200.00 in the bank and the freeze is for 5700.00. If the bank release payment through my pension ro social security are they help liable for this money?

All I know is that you need to get copies of the law and notify social security, the bank and the creditor. Take it to court if you have to.
The difference from $200. To 5700.00 is charges and interest they added on all this time.
You should have asked about a copy of the court order at the time.

A specific answer will depend upon the rules of your particular jurisdiction.

In Ontario, where we practice, social security payments are exempt from garnishment even if these monies are deposited into a bank account. In Ontario a debtor would need to bring a motion before the court advising that any and all monies in the debtor's bank account come from such sources and as such the garnishment should be lifted.

Your social security payments ARE exempt from garnishment. The problem is THEY weren't garnished. The bank would not check to see what the source of the funds in that account are.

You could have forestalled this by infoming your bank of the judgement and the fact that only exempt funds are deposited in it.

Now you need to get the information from the writ that states the court and docket number or other info that identifies the order of garnishment. Then you need to go to that court and submit a motion to quash the garnishment on the grounds that the funds deposited are exempt.