*Anyone with a judgment against them for credit-card debt, medical debt or any other kind of private debt may never get to actually see or touch their stimulus check, as it will likely go straight to a debt collector.
The CARES Act made clear that the stimulus checks were not subject to most state and federal debt, but did not address the issue of private debt that includes everything from doctor bills to education loans.
CBS News reports:
Since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, lenders have stepped up their efforts to collect. The Boston Consulting Group issued a memo in March advising clients how to maximize their collections in lean times.
“It’s not just business as usual but it’s even more aggressive — [creditors] are trying to rush to get people’s money before they run out,” said Susan Shin, legal director at the New Economy Project, a New York-based nonprofit that also runs a financial help hotline. Some of their clients have had their bank accounts frozen over a debt, while others are physically walking to bank locations, despite the pandemic, to try to resolve a collection issue.
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Shalae Morgan, a “self-proclaimed thrift queen” YouTuber, talks more about the debt collection situation below.
