Still being harassed....

[annamollie]

My dad called me today and said that someone from "a" court came to his door looking for me. My dad wouldn't give out any info...just took a phone number and then called me. I'm waiting for a callback from my attorney. Hopefully he can take care of this for me. Anyway, I've read so much here that I'm having trouble recalling... Are the creditors allowed to contact me right now? I filed in May and my 341 was April 19th. I have just over a month to go. Why do you suppose they would do this, considering the fact that I'm about to be discharged? TIA.

Btw...will this stop after discharge? I know some people still have problems with collections, but what are the chances this might actually stop? I don't want to live with this for the rest of my life!!! My parents don't even know I filed.

Edited to add: I haven't ever been harassed like this before. My debt is really old and no one has ever done more than call me. Why are they so much more aggressive now?

[tradewiz50]

My dad called me today and said that someone from "a" court came to his door looking for me. My dad wouldn't give out any info...just took a phone number and then called me. I'm waiting for a callback from my attorney. Hopefully he can take care of this for me. Anyway, I've read so much here that I'm having trouble recalling... Are the creditors allowed to contact me right now? I filed in May and my 341 was April 19th. I have just over a month to go. Why do you suppose they would do this, considering the fact that I'm about to be discharged? TIA.

Btw...will this stop after discharge? I know some people still have problems with collections, but what are the chances this might actually stop? I don't want to live with this for the rest of my life!!! My parents don't even know I filed.

All collection efforts need to cease once you filed with the courts. Creditors cannot contact you after filing.

After your discharge if they contact just advise them that the debt was discharged. If there persistant than you may have grounds for a possible suit.

[Hopeless]

Is it a collection agency or a direct creditor? More than one? Once you file BK there is that "automatic stay" put into place that is meant to prevent this sort of thing. No one should be harassing you! At least that's my understanding!

As for after the discharge - I used to work in an office that helped people who were being garnished or in other ways hassled AFTER they had a bankruptcy discharged. One of the major offenders that came across my desk was Chase, the other that stands out in my memory was Capital One.

I cannot speak to how common or rare it is percentage wise, but I can say that in my personal experience I was handling one-three per WEEK on average. But again, this is in the larger context of however many people in the tri-state area filed for bk and have no further collection problems.

[annamollie]

All collection efforts need to cease once you filed with the courts. Creditors cannot contact you after filing.

After your discharge if they contact just advise them that the debt was discharged. If there persistant than you may have grounds for a possible suit.

Thank you...that's what I needed to know.

Is it a collection agency or a direct creditor? More than one? Once you file BK there is that "automatic stay" put into place that is meant to prevent this sort of thing. No one should be harassing you! At least that's my understanding!

As for after the discharge - I used to work in an office that helped people who were being garnished or in other ways hassled AFTER they had a bankruptcy discharged. One of the major offenders that came across my desk was Chase, the other that stands out in my memory was Capital One.

I cannot speak to how common or rare it is percentage wise, but I can say that in my personal experience I was handling one-three per WEEK on average. But again, this is in the larger context of however many people in the tri-state area filed for bk and have no further collection problems.

There is only one as far as I know. I asked my dad who it was, but he said he didn't know. Since all of my debt is so old, most of them were handed off to collections. I couldn't even venture a guess as to who it could be. I paid Capital One off a long time ago, so I know it's not them. I keep wracking my brain, but there's no one. My debt was all unsecured. There were no assets.

Thanks for the info. I wish it was as easy as being discharged to send them all away for good. I'll just have to wait and see what my attorney says now.

[brokeinmichigan]

If I were you, I'd call the number that the person gave your father. Give them your attorney's name & contact info, as well as your BK case #. Tell them you are fully aware of the law and your rights, and that they are breaking the law by contacting you in an attempt to collect this debt. Let your attorney know about this, too.

Good luck!

Hoping for brighter skies ahead...

[annamollie]

If I were you, I'd call the number that the person gave your father. Give them your attorney's name & contact info, as well as your BK case #. Tell them you are fully aware of the law and your rights, and that they are breaking the law by contacting you in an attempt to collect this debt. Let your attorney know about this, too.

Good luck!

Hoping for brighter skies ahead...

I contacted my attorney today, but all I was able to do was leave the information with the secretary. He never called me back, so I assumed he would just go ahead and take care of it. I was going to call him again tomorrow to make sure. I'm in MI too and considering that it's already after 6 pm, I'll wait until tomorrow and if I can't get ahold of my attorney I'll call there myself and do as you suggested. Thank you. That sounds like a good idea.

[SinkingFast]

As Trade said, once you filed, you came under the protection of the Automatic Stay. All Creditors must cease collections activities.

Once you're Discharged, a permanent injunction goes in effect. If Creditors of debts discharged in BK attempt to collect, they are in violation of the permanent injunction.

Personally,............. I'd use a pay phone if you can find one. Some Collections offices track incoming phone calls and numbers. That way you won't be giving them a number to contact you at in the future.

Just a paranoia CYA suggestion.

[annamollie]

Thanks SF. I agree about the pay phone (lol) if I can find one. Paranoia or not, that is a great suggestion. I was going to use *67 on my cell, but the pay phone sounds better.

[SinkingFast]

I did the *67 thing with a Collections office.

They called our house and I wanted to know who they were. Caller ID showed the number but not the name of the company. So I called them hoping whoever answered the phone would say "ABC Collections". But they didn't. The guy who answered just said, "Hello" like he was at home. So I said "Sorry. I dialed the wrong number." and hung up.

Then I called back again. *67 again. This time when a different guy answered, I asked him the name of the company he worked for. The 2nd guy said, "You just called here." I said, "No, I didn't." A lie. He said "Yes, you did. Our log shows your number just called here." And then he said my phone number right back to me.

So I was like "OK. I did call. I wanna know who you guys are." And he told me the name of the company. He said they were a law firm hired to represent Chase. We had just filed BK so I was more than happy to inform him of that piece of information. You shoulda heard his voice wilt on the phone.

Some how, some of the Creditors are able to get around the *67 thing.

[annamollie]

"You shoulda heard his voice wilt on the phone. "

LOL!

"Some how, some of the Creditors are able to get around the *67 thing."

Wow, I didn't know that. I'm glad you told me to use a pay phone before I went and called them with my cell. We got rid of our home phone to save on the bills. I'd hate to have anyone calling my cell phone all the time. Those people are relentless.

[jal1129]

I've heard that creditors can see your number when you use *67 also, so I have never bothered using it.