Q: A Judgment Enforcer cleaned out my bank account! – I can’t pay my rent! What kind of people are you guys? – Why would someone do that to me?

A: The Judgment Enforcer’s job (and legal right) is to enforce this judgment against you.

It is not personal – it is business. This is because a court case that you lost became a final judgment. You almost certainly knew about it, and that a Judgment Enforcer (JE) was trying to get the judgment paid. Because you were noticed about the judgment ou could have contacted the original judgment creditor or the judgment enforcer before this levy happened.

If you had called, emailed, faxed, or mailed the JE – to start a discussion on how to start to pay this judgment over time – this would not have happened.

Maybe you ignored the JE’s letters. Sometimes you also got notice of liens being recorded and Memorandum Of Costs mailed to you. In all cases the JE’s contact information was very obvious.

JEs are very good at finding bank accounts and jobs – and other assets. One “problem” is JEs must follow laws. If they knew how much money was in your bank account – most would have not taken all of it. However, current laws mean JEs cannot really know how much you have until the levy hits the bank account.

When a JE has the Sheriff take your money – they cannot say “take 70% of it”. Current laws require that a JE take as much as will satisfy the judgment – or as much as your bank account has. (And if this was not a surprise – you could have moved the money before the JE could get it.)

Some judgment debtors keep all their money on reloadable charge cards, so there is very little money in their bank account. This can work, but it is a hassle and costs money to do.