Garnishments, subpenas, oh my

*Short Rant*I can't wait until I make it through one entire cycle and everything I touch isn't a foreign language anymore!

OK - Working on Right to Financial Privacy Act and trying to make sure the governmental authorities are in compliance when they serve papers on us.

#1 - I want to make sure I'm aware of everything they can serve. I have summons, subpena, search warrant, levy, garnishment. Missing anything?

#2 - Who can authorize/sign? How do you know they are the head of the agency/department and they have the authority to request the information?

#3 - How do you know they have complied with the Right to Financial Privacy Act? Do they provide you with something when they serve? Do you request it special? Do you make them sign a certificate of compliance that you have provided? Have you had anyone refuse to sign? Did you provide the information anyway?

Call me clueless - sometimes I think I'm in a black hole.

Tackling this Christmas Eve Eve, God bless you.

#1 -- Restraining Notices (they sometimes come with Q & A's
#2 -- Good Question, no answer
#3 -- The agency requesting the information should provide you with a certificate of compliance

Also, watch out for the court orders that have "gag" clauses, where you are not allowed to notify the customer.

Hope this helps, Merry Christmas -- go home, relax.

Regarding #1 - The toughie is knowing what each looks like from each agency. For instance, I was once sent a Subpoena from the Customs Service office half a planet away. We received it via FAX. So all kinds of lights go off. Does Customs have subpoena powers? If so, what should their subpoena look like? Is a subpoena served by FAX valid? I'm thinking to myself ... is this a scam by some joker trying to get info on our customer? Many long distance calls and staff time later we determined we had to respond.

Now I'm wondering after becoming a fan of "24"....is there a Counter Terrorism Unit and what the heck would their subpoena look like?

My understanding is that once you have received the request and you believe that the document is valid, you do not have to press further to determine if the person who actually signed the request is legitimate, simply because you have verified the authenticity of the document itself and are working under "good faith" that the agency has properly authorized individuals to sign the warrant, supena, etc... You will know they are in compliance when you obtain a certificate of compliance from that agency BEFORE releasing your documentation, and this is where your bank obtains the protection from wrongdoing. There may be a sample Certificate of Compliance on the BOL tools page, if not I know Mary Beth has one that she might be willing to send you.

These opinions are mine and not that of my employer.

Certificate of Compliance with the
Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978
TO: ____________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
(Name and Address of Financial Institution)
FROM: _________________________________________________
(Name of Government Agency)
I hereby certify that the applicable provisions of the Right To Financial Privacy Act of 1978, 12 U.S.C. Secs.3401-3422, have been complied with as to the
_________________________________________________________
(Summons, Subpoena or Formal Written Request)
presented on ____________ _____ , 20 ___ for the following
(Date)
financial records of _________________________________________ :
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
____________ __, 20__ _____________________________________
(Date) (Signature)
___________________________ ___________________________
(Name and Title of Official)
___________________________ ___________________________
(Address) (Government Agency)
___________________________
(Telephone)
Pursuant to the Right To Financial Privacy Act of 1978, good faith reliance upon this certificate relieves your institution and its employees and agents of any possible liability to the customer in connection with the disclosure of these financial records.

Post deleted by ahou

Thanks to everyone for replying so close to the holiday! I now feel better about what I get and who signs it, but I'm still a little fuzzy on the certificate of compliance. I did grab the copy off the BOL site. However, do you find that the agency already has it filled out and served up on the proverbial platter waiting for you? In looking through most of our requests there is no mention of any compliance with the privacy act. In talking with our operations people the agencies are not aware of anything extra they need to provide and let us know that we had better comply or we will be assessed a penalty. Just would like to get a feel for what other banks do. In short, I guess my question is - Do you ask them to sign the certificate or do they provide it with the request? Thanks again - I don't know what I'd do without you guys!

What you might be experiencing is ignorance of the RFPA, if the agencies you are dealing with are state or local. RFPA doesn't apply to them; you need to look to state law for that.

If we get a federal government request that does not contain a certification, we fax a certification form to the agency requesting the info and require that they complete it.

I agree with John Burnett, a lot of agencies may or may not fully understand their obligations under the RTFP. What you might consider is preparing a standard letter requesting the certificate of compliance when you do not receive one in advance(and you can provide them one if you want to). In the letter I would cite the language and section of the Right to Financial Privacy laws. We have used this method in the past and it has worked well. Either they knew they had to give you one and this is just a reminder to them or it lets them know "hey, here is what the law says you have to do before we are giving you the documents."
I think there is also a matrix on the Bankers Tools that is a quick reference to the RTFP. It might be helpful.

Be sure to read the document closely first. Some of the federal agencies are placing the certification language in their subpoena/summons/etc.