Connecticut Fair Debt Consumer Guide
Learn about your legal rights when facing Debt Collector Problems. Research the applicable laws that could help protect you when a debt collector is attempting to seize your assets, garnish your wages or continue collection of a debt that is outside Connecticut's Statutes Of Limitations. Connecticut phone recording laws could assist you in gathering proof of the debt collector's illegal tactics; find out whether recording your debt collector's phone conversation is permitted in your state.
The Connecticut Fair Debt Collection Consumer Practices Guide summarizes Connecticut's laws on wage garnishment, property and asset seizures and state statutes of limitations on debt collection and could provide the ammunition you need to stop or limit creditors and collectors from harassing you, garnishing your wages or bank accounts, and from seizing your property through liens, thus limiting your overall financial exposure.
This Guide does not include information concerning the FTC's Credit Practices Rule, state consumer protection laws or information regarding exemption provisions found in laws other than the state's general exemption laws and is not intended to substitute for the advice of an attorney.
Connecticut Consumer Debt Exemption Laws
If a debt collector threatens to seize your property or your assets, you could be protected under Connecticut’s Consumer Debt Exemption Laws. Read the summarized information below to learn how to protect what you own and what you cannot protect from seizure. You could significantly strengthen your bargaining position with debt collectors by knowing your rights under Connecticut Debt Exemption Law!
Connecticut Debt Statutes
Connecticut has opted out of federal bankruptcy exemptions.
Wages: Connecticut General Statutes Annotated §§ 52-352b(d), 52-361a.
Homestead: Connecticut General Statutes Annotated § 52-352b(t).
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Tangible personal property: Connecticut General Statutes Annotated § 52-352b.
Benefits, retirement p1ans, insurance, judgments, and other intangibles:
Connecticut General Statutes Annotated § 52-352b. See §§ 5-171 and 2-321(a).
Connecticut Debt Statutes of Limitation
Your debt may have expired under Connecticut’s Statutes of Limitations, and may be considered uncollectible. Read the summary below to see the length of time certain types of debt can continue to be collected under the Connecticut Debt Statutes of Limitations, don’t let a collector threaten to take you to court over an expired debt.
Connecticut Debt Statutes of Limitation
Written contact, or on a simple or implied contract: 6 years, (CGS 52-576)
Oral contract, including any agreement wherein the party being charged has not signed a note or memorandum: 3 years, (CGS § 52- 581)
Connecticut Wage Garnishment Procedural Requirements
Wage garnishment doesn’t mean a debt collector or creditor is entitled to take all your money. Under Connecticut’s Wage Garnishment Laws, there are limits and protections on just how much can be taken from your paycheck.
Read the summary below to learn your garnishment rights under Connecticut law.
Connecticut Wage Garnishment Procedural Requirements
When any post judgment paper, other than a wage execution or property execution levied against property of a natural person, is served on a third person, the judgment creditor shall send a copy of the papers so served, together with a Statute agreement as to on whom the papers were served, to the judgment debtor at his last known address by first class mail, postage paid. Conn. Gen. Statute. Ann. _ 52351a.
Unless otherwise provided by law, service of process concerning a post judgment procedure may be made by a proper officer sending a true and attested copy thereof by certified mail, return receipt requested, to a person at his last known address, as provided for service of process by chapter 896, or as provided by rule of court for service on an appearing party if made on a party who has filed a post judgment appearance or if made within one hundred eighty days of rendition of judgment on a party who appeared in the action. Conn. Gen. Statute. Ann. _ 52 350e.
A judgment creditor may obtain discovery from the judgment debtor or from any financial institution of any matters relevant to satisfaction of the money judgment. The judgment creditor shall commence any discovery proceeding by serving an initial set of interrogatories; in a prescribed form containing such questions as to the assets and employment of the judgment debtor as may be approved by the judges of the superior court or their designee, on the person from whom discovery is sought. Service of an initial set of interrogatories relevant to obtaining satisfaction of a money judgment of a up claims session of the superior court may be made, upon request of the judgment creditor, by the clerk of the court sending such interrogatories by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the person from whom discovery is sought, provided the judgment creditor pays to such clerk a fee of five dollars for each mailing requested. Such person shall answer the interrogatories and return them to the judgment creditor within thirty days of the date of service. If interrogatories are served on a financial institution, the financial institution shall disclose only whether it holds funds of the judgment debtor on account and the balance of such funds, up to the amount necessary to satisfy the judgment. The interrogatory form shall specify the names and last known addresses of the judgment creditor and the judgment debtor, the court in which and the date on which the judgment was rendered, and the original amount of the judgment and the amount due thereon. The interrogatory form shall contain a notice of rights with respect to post judgment interrogatories as prescribed by _ 52361b.
On failure of a person served with interrogatories to, within the thirty days, return a sufficient answer or disclose sufficient assets for execution, or on objection by such person to the interrogatories, the judgment creditor may move the court for such supplemental discovery orders as may be necessary to ensure disclosure. Conn. Gen. Statute. Ann. _ 52351b.
Execution may be granted against any debts due from any banking institution to a judgment debtor who is a natural person [1], except to the extent such debt is protected as exempt or wages [2]. If execution is desired against any such debt, the plaintiff requesting the execution shall notify the clerk of the court. If the papers are in order, the clerk shall issue such execution containing a direction that the officer serving the same shall, within seven days from the receipt by the officer of such execution, make demand upon the main office of any banking institution having its main office within the county of such officer or if such main office is not within such officer's county and such banking institution has one or more branch offices within such county, upon an employee of such a branch office, such employee and branch office having been designated by the banking institution in accordance with regulations adopted by the commissioner of banking in accordance with chapter 54, for payment of any such nonexempt debt due to the judgment debtor and, after having made such demand, shall serve a true and attested copy of the execution, together with the affidavit and exemption claim form prescribed by subsection (k) of this section, with his doings endorsed thereon, with the banking institution officer upon whom such demand is made. If any such banking institution upon which such execution is served and upon which such demand is made is indebted to the judgment debtor, it shall remove from the debtor's account the amount of such indebtedness not exceeding the amount due on such execution before its midnight deadline, as defined by _ 42a4104.
Upon receipt of the execution and exemption claim form from the serving officer, the banking institution shall forthwith mail copies thereof, postage prepaid, to the judgment debtor at his last known address with respect to the affected accounts on the records of the banking institution. The institution shall hold the amount removed from the debtor's account pursuant to subsection (c) of this section for fifteen days from the date of the mailing to the judgment debtor and during such period shall not pay the serving officer. If an exemption claim is made, the banking institution shall continue to hold the amount removed from the judgment debtor's account for twenty days or until a court order is received regarding disposition of the funds, whichever occurs earlier. If no order is received within twenty days of the date the banking institution sends a copy of the exemption claim form or notice of exemption to the clerk of the court, the banking institution shall return the funds to the judgment debtor's account. If no claim of exemption is received by the banking institution within fifteen days of the mailing to the judgment debtor of the execution and exemption claim form, the banking institution shall, upon demand, forthwith pay the serving officer the amount removed from the judgment debtor's account, and the serving officer shall thereupon pay such sum, less his fees, to the judgment creditor, except to the extent otherwise ordered by a court. Conn. Gen. Statute. Ann. _ 52367b.
If records or testimony are subpoenaed from a banking institution in connection with a hearing conducted to determine an exemption claim, the reasonable costs and expenses of the banking institution in complying therewith shall be recoverable by it from the party requiring such records or testimony, provided, the banking institution shall be under no obligation to attempt to obtain records or documentation relating to the account executed against which are held by any other banking institution. If there are moneys to be removed from the debtor's account, prior to the removal of such moneys the banking institution shall receive from the serving officer as representative of the judgment creditor a fee of eight dollars for its costs in complying with these provisions which fee may be recoverable by the creditor as a taxable cost of the action. Conn. Gen. Statute. Ann. _ 52367b.
Interest Rate at which Judgments Accrue At the rate of ten per cent a year, and no more, may be recovered and allowed in civil actions, including actions to recover money loaned at a greater rate, as damages for the detention of money after it becomes payable [3]. Whenever the maker of any contract is a resident of another Statutee, any obligee or holder of such contract, residing in this Statutee, may lawfully recover any agreed rate of interest or damages on such contract until it is fully performed, not exceeding the legal rate of interest in the Statutee where such contract purports to have been made. Conn. Gen. Statute. Ann. _ 373a.
Applicable Forms 1 Conn. Gen. Statute. Ann. Sec 52367a governs executions against debts due from banking institutions when the debtor is not a natural person. 2 See Conn. Gen. Statute. Ann. Sec. 52352a, 5352b, 52361a. 3 Conn. Gen. Statute. Ann. _ 373b governs the rate of interest recoverable in negligence actions. Similarly, Conn. Gen. Statute. Ann. _ 373c governs the rate of interest recoverable in condemnation cases.
Connecticut (Debt Collector) Call Recording Law
Under Connecticut State and Federal Call Recording Laws, you could record the actual recorded conversation with a debt collector in your efforts to stop debt collectors from calling! Connecticut is a one party consent state, meaning only the permission of one person on the call is necessary to record. YOU ALONE can be considered the one party to give consent, thus you do not need a debt collectors permission to record the phone conversation in the state of Connecticut.
Research and find additional information about Federal Call Recording Laws and learn what call recording procedures are legal in other states.
