WASHINGTON — The reports just keep coming that consumers are still having difficulty paying their debts.

One of the latest is from the Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin of the American Bankers Association. The bulletin found the percentage of home equity lines of credit that were more than 30 days past due rose 14 basis points to 1.10 percent during the first quarter (seasonally adjusted). This was the highest recorded rate for this category since 1997. Bank card delinquencies rose 13 basis points to 4.51 percent. Auto and personal loan delinquencies also increased.

“It was a tough quarter for some people,” said James Chessen, the ABA’s chief economist. “Faced with rising food and gas prices and little income growth, fewer resources have been available to manage debt.”

As many people struggle to pay for necessities, they skip making debt payments. Many creditors are seeking relief by taking borrowers to court. But in some cases the actions of the financial institutions in carrying out court orders are of questionable legality, according to a new report out by the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General.

The inspector general found that some financial institutions are apparently violating federal law by garnisheeing accounts that receive electronic deposits of Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance, and/or Supplemental Security Income payments. These funds are supposed to be protected from creditors except under certain conditions.

Last summer, Senators Herb Kohl, D-Wis., Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., asked the inspector general to investigate what they believed was a widespread practice of improperly deducting service fees and garnishments from beneficiaries’ direct-deposit accounts.

Although the sample size in this investigation was relatively small, the inspector general’s report concluded that if all financial institutions followed the pattern of those investigated, as much as $177.7 million in garnishments could be attributable to beneficiaries receiving direct deposit of Social Security benefits.

Nessa Feddis, vice president and senior counsel for the American Bankers Association, said the financial institutions aren’t acting heartlessly by taking or freezing funds from people receiving government benefits. The banks are just obeying court orders.

A financial institution can take protected benefits only under the following five conditions, according to the Social Security Administration:

•To collect child support and/or alimony obligations.

•To collect unpaid federal taxes as the result of an IRS levy.

•If the government beneficiaries elect to have a percentage of their benefits withheld and paid to the IRS to satisfy their federal income tax liability for the current year.

•To pay a federal agency a non-tax debt the beneficiary owes to that agency.

•To collect overdue federal tax debts by levying up to 15 percent of each monthly payment until the debt is paid.

The Social Security Administration recommends that if your benefits have been taken from your bank account or a creditor tries to garnishee your Social Security check, inform those involved that unless one of the five conditions apply, your benefits cannot be garnisheed. And, if needed, seek legal assistance.

Michelle Singletary is a personal finance columnist for The Washington Post, 1150 15th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20071 and may be e-mailed at singletary@washpost.com