Can You Get Arrested When Claiming Unclaimed Money

You can't be arrested just because you owe money on what you might think of as consumer debt: a credit card, loan or medical bill. Legally, debt collectors tin't fifty-fifty threaten you with abort. But they practise accept other legal recourse, such as suing you for payment.

In some rare cases, this kind of debt can lead to arrest on other charges, such equally fraud, theft or defying a court social club.

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Threats of arrest past collectors are illegal

At once, people could be jailed simply for attributable money, but debtors prisons accept been illegal in the Usa since the mid-1800s.

In addition, the Fair Debt Drove Practices Deed of 1977 prohibits debt collectors from threatening or misleading consumers, which includes threatening arrest. In addition to rules on what collectors can say, it limits how and when they can contact y'all.

But debt collectors tin use the legal system

Debt collectors tin't arrest you, only they can sue you lot for payment, and that'south frequently their most constructive legal recourse. Hundreds of thousands of ceremonious suits over debt are filed annually, sometimes with little documentation to ensure accuracy about how much is owed and who owes it.

Fewer than x% of debtors are represented by an attorney when they're sued for a debt. Many more don't respond to lawsuits at all, usually resulting in a default judgment that can lead to wage garnishment , a bank levy or both.

If yous get a court summons, don't ignore it. Often, simply going to court and asking the collector to evidence that it has sued the right person for the right corporeality is enough to get the example dismissed or settled for less.

Legal loopholes can atomic number 82 to abort

There are a couple of instances in which aggressive creditors can exploit legal loopholes to seek or threaten arrest for debt-related problems:

In about 1-third of states, debtors tin be arrested if they fail to comply with a courtroom judgment that resulted from a lawsuit. In other words, a debtor lost the court case or didn't appear, was ordered to pay and did not. The arrest is for defying the court, not for attributable the coin.
Some payday lenders pursue or threaten abort if a consumer's payment bank check bounces, typically claiming intentional fraud.
Rent-to-own furniture companies sometimes pursue arrest for consumers who fail to pay yet won't return the furniture.