A growing number of Texans could unknowingly have their bank accounts frozen or emptied...
Tarrant County Judge Ralph Swearingin Jr. speaks to a member of his staff in his Fort Worth courtroom. Defendants appear in court to dispute or settle debt lawsuits.As impartial officers, judges say they must be fair. Their role prohibits them from providing legal advice or doubling as the debtor’s attorney.
Next, another Fort Worth woman told him she wasn’t aware that she had a $6,700 judgment against her. Court records showed an attorney had filed a response to the court on her behalf in December 2020. But she said she had been battling COVID while trying to fax information to the attorney.All he could do, Swearingin told her, was to place her in a breakout room, where she could join other debtors trying to cut deals with receivers who had been appointed in their case to collect on their debts.
The concern, however, is with debt collectors who zero in on wage earners who have limited disposable income to support basic needs. Other times, they may be living with a family member or friend, who steals their identity to apply for cash loans, said Clark-Downing, who is also the manager of the consumer protection team at the Legal Aid office.
Three months after the pandemic started, Deanna Bleacher received a letter from her bank saying $1,900 had been removed from her checking and savings account, court records showed. The Webster woman learned that a turnover receiver had been appointed to recover a default in her name on a loan with a principal amount of $1,300.
“These life events happen,” Daic said. “And that’s on top of health and medical issues, divorce. That’s usually what seems to happen, people just end up in this tough spot.” Not too long ago, a debt collector in Delgado’s court seized the bank account of a mother who paid her daughter’s college tuition with child support.
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