What Can a Credit Card Company Do With a Judgment?

If a credit card company sues you in court and wins, the court issues a judgment in the company's favor. A judgment is a court order that gives the company the right to compel you to pay the debt owed. Credit card judgments and the laws involved with them differ between states, so talk to a lawyer if you need legal advice or help with a credit card judgment.

Collections

Once a credit card company wins a judgment, the company can still attempt to collect the debt through a debt collector or collections agent. These agents try to pursue you to pay the debt in a variety of ways, but they all try to do so through persuasion. For example, a credit card company has the right to garnish your wages after winning a judgment, and the debt collector can threaten you with garnishment in an attempt to persuade you to pay a debt.

Garnishments

One of the primary ways a creditor recovers the funds granted to it by the court's judgment is through a wage garnishment. A garnishment order is when the credit card company takes some of the money from your paycheck every pay period until the judgment is paid off. The credit card company can get order your employer to pay the money to the company directly, without that money first going to you.

Levies

Creditors can also use a judgment to levy your bank accounts. A bank levy, commonly known as freezing a bank account, is when the creditor goes to your bank and orders it to pay the amount you owe directly from your bank account without your permission. The judgment allows the creditor to order a bank to do this, and a bank can seize as much money as the judgment allows even if that wipes out your bank account.

Liens

Another option available to creditors is to use the judgment to place a lien on your property, such as your home. A lien is a secured interest in a piece of property, typically a car or home, that prevents that property from being sold without the lien holder's agreement. If, for example, your credit card company puts a lien on your house, you cannot sell the house until you pay the judgment amount.