Is it illegal for a company to garnish you're bank account when you're making payments monthly?

Your question about when a creditor may and may not garnish a bank account raises a number of important issues that may be of broad general interest to readers of this site. I have been representing clients on both sides of these issues in Maryland and D.C. for over 20 years. One common question is whether we're talking about a debt that is or isn't a "consumer debt". Consumer debts are governed by the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Actions taken on consumer debts that are not in accordance with the FDCPA could be "illegal", with penalties against the creditor more severe than just a civil remedy. While it is not guaranteed to be the most recent version of the statute, you can read a version of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act at http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.shtm Another question is whether a judgment has already been entered in a court and, if so, whether that judgment is "final". Without a judgment, the court process of garnishment would not be permitted and would be "illegal". In Maryland, generally, garnishment can begin as soon as a few days after a judgment is entered. During a brief period after entry of a judgment, the creditor legally may not seek to garnish a bank account or other property. I am not writing that time period here because these time periods can change and vary by court. Many creditors wait for any appeal period from the entry of judgment to expire to see if there is an appeal of the judgment and therefore whether the judgment has or has not become "final". A creditor might legally be allowed to begin garnishment on a judgment that was "on appeal" but would be in legal peril if the judgment were reversed on appeal and if the creditor had taken the defendant's property through that judgment that was reversed. Once there is a "final" judgment, and if the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is being followed, one of the best protections for the defendant/judgment debtor would be a written agreement with the creditor to "stay" execution on the judgment while payments were being made. If the payments were being made in accordance with that agreement, a court might be able to intervene if the creditor was abusing that agreement. There are many details that can go into such a settlement agreement. Such a settlement agreement can be entered into before or after entry of a judgment and the possible terms are probably as varied as the number of deals that have ever been done. Of course, other factors can also intervene, like a bankruptcy filing, that would alter the above. Section 362 of Title 11 of the United States Code, sometimes called the "Automatic Stay", generally bars collection activity if any kind without permission of the bankruptcy court. This is at best a general overview. I encourage you, and all other readers, before you act (or decide not to take some action) to seek competent, local legal counsel who can address the specific facts of your particular situation.