[casmom3]

My mother has started getting phones calls from a company trying to collect a debt that she thought was written off. The last payment made on this credit card account was in 1999 and since her financial situation changed she was not able to pay back the $2000 dollar bill and the company told her that they were going to write it off. Just this week a company has started calling her wanting settlement of this account in the amount of $1100 dollars. They said if she does not pay that they will turn this over to the IRS. They also told me that she had received a summons to court on this matter and that she had not
Showed up. I knew nothing about any of this until this week. I don't know what to do. My mother is 80 years old and is living just on her social security check. She has no assets at all. What should I do?

[ScottGem]

First, a written off debt simply means that the original creditor has taken a tax writeoff for the amount of the debt as a business loss. It does NOT mean the debt is no longer owed. What subsequently happens, is that another company will purchase the debt for pennies on the dollar speculating they can collect some of it.

Second, their threats to turn anything over to the IRS are empty. The IRS has nothing to do with this.

Third, its possible they obtained a judgement within the Statue of Limitations (SOL). If so, they can try to collect on the debt by seizing your mom's cash assets. If she has none, then there is little she can do.

What YOU need to do is have her write a letter to the company advising them to contact her ONLY via mail. Then ask for proof of the debt and any judgements. You can find many threads here with examples of what to wrote.

You can proceed from there.

[mr.yet]

For your information about Social Security Benfits


Safe from Garnishment



Federal law makes Social Security benefits exempt from levy, garnishment, and assignment- 42 USC 407(a) states. "In general the right of any future payments under this sub chapter SHALL NOT be Transferable or assignable. AND NONE of the moneys paid or payable or rights existing under this subchapter shall be subject to execution, levey, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process, or to the operation of any bankruptcy or insolvency law".

This means that even if a creditor or debt attorney, collection agency has a judgement against you they CAN NOT garnish your SS payments nor can they take the money from you after it has been paid to you; for example, the portion of your bank account that is attributable to your SS benefits is EXEMPT from LEVY OR ATTACHMENT.

[ScottGem]

There is one caveat to the great info Mr Yet provided. If you have your SSI benefits direct deposited into an account, they CAN attach that account and you will have to prove that it has only your benefits in it.

I would make sure that the only amounts you deposit in that account are what the SSI direct deposits. I would also let your bank know that someone is trying to attach your assets and that the account where your SSI is deposited should be exempt.