An issue after creditor's meeting

[Dawn1970]

My creditor's meeting was Monday, 09/27, and yesterday I received in the mail a collection attempt that I had long forgotten about for around $400. I did not list this on my list of creditors. However, I called the number on the collection notice and told them, well. . . . kind-of a little fib. I said "I've included this debt in my Chapter 7 bankruptcy." And I gave him the court petition number and my lawyer's info. I spoke with my lawyer today and asked him did he think they would just verify that I was indeed bankrupt and not bother to make sure that they are listed as one of the creditors. He said that was possible but then got a little sarcastic and said "If you want to list another creditor in your BK it's only a $26 fee. If you don't want to pay the $26 then I guess you can just wait and see if they contact you again." I tried to explain that I wasn't fretting over $26, obviously it would make sense to invest that rather than worry about paying the $400 debt. But I am just wondering, in most cases when a collection agency can verify that you are bankrupt, do they actually make certain that they are listed or will they probably just chalk it up to a loss and move on?

Thanks to anybody who may know the answer to this.

[HRx]

My creditor's meeting was Monday, 09/27, and yesterday I received in the mail a collection attempt that I had long forgotten about for around $400. I did not list this on my list of creditors. However, I called the number on the collection notice and told them, well. . . . kind-of a little fib. I said "I've included this debt in my Chapter 7 bankruptcy." And I gave him the court petition number and my lawyer's info. I spoke with my lawyer today and asked him did he think they would just verify that I was indeed bankrupt and not bother to make sure that they are listed as one of the creditors. He said that was possible but then got a little sarcastic and said "If you want to list another creditor in your BK it's only a $26 fee. If you don't want to pay the $26 then I guess you can just wait and see if they contact you again." I tried to explain that I wasn't fretting over $26, obviously it would make sense to invest that rather than worry about paying the $400 debt. But I am just wondering, in most cases when a collection agency can verify that you are bankrupt, do they actually make certain that they are listed or will they probably just chalk it up to a loss and move on?

Thanks to anybody who may know the answer to this.

What the creditor/collection agency does really depends on thier collection philosphy. Some creditors/ca's will simply write the debt off, and never bother with you again. Other will continue to make collection efforts against you for months on end.

The only downfall to this is, if the debt was never added to your BK filing, you are technically still responsible for the debt, and the credit will/may continue reporting your debt with them as being deliquent to all three CRA's. Which will only cause your credit score to be reduced while you're trying to rebuild it. If you're willing to deal with these basic downfalls, and just wait until this debt reaches it's statue of limitations and "falls" off your credit report, dont worry to much about it. If this will be a problem for you, see what your attorney can realistically do for you.

Good Luck!

[Dawn1970]

Thanks Todd. From the sound of the phone call it would seem that they will just verify the BK and leave me alone without bothering to check the list of defaulted creditors. When I told the guy on the phone that I was Chapter 7 he said, "Okay, let me just get your BK petition number and I can get this wiped out for you." Lawyer says I won't be officially discharged until some time in November and that up until then I can add a creditor, as he said, for $26. If they make another collection effort within the next month I will go ahead and have the lawyer add them in. I honestly think they're going to give up and go away, though. Doesn't it cost them a buck or two to obtain a list of my defaulted creditors, and for just $400 maybe they won't bother to do that.

[robivi3]

Sounds like your Lawyer is busy, but he did give you a positive answer. They get tired of little hassles just as if they were REGULAR human beings. They shouldn't be kept in cages overnite though, makes them cranky.