Can someone take personal prop completely unrelated to a previous debt?

Answer 1

I don't believe that they can; it depends on who is collecting for a debt, and/or the laws in the state in which you live. I would consult a local attorney who practices this type of law in your area. You can more than likely find out in a free consultation whether or not you have any ground to stand on; The Fair Credit Reporting Act and other Federal collections protections in place could potentially deem whoever confiscated your property as unlawful and you may have the opportunity to press criminal charges for state laws pertaining to whether or not you they were legally entitled to take that property as collateral for whatever debt you may have owed them. It all depends on the debt and the debtor to which you owed the money and whether or not they are lawfully confiscating collateral to pay that previous debt. I would say if it is another person, chances are you may have a criminal case, but as I said, you need to consult a local attorney or call your state or local bar association and they can more than likely refer you to an attorney or service whom offers free legal advice. There is also websites which have lawyers in your state that can answer these questions online. You would have to go to a search engine and ask where can I obtain free legal advice from an attorney in (your state)? and it should give you a few websites where you can ask attorneys that are linked up to attorneys in your state whom can answer your question with 100% certainty because every case is different, and there's no specific answer anyone besides an attorney practicing law in your state can give you... Hope this helps, but anyone who gives you legal advice with certainty that isn't a lawyer has no business doing so, unless they are an attorney in your state.