A creditor did not get Notice! - All bankruptcy petitions are filed electronically. The bankruptcy noticing service automatically spits out a notice to each and every creditor listed on your petition. The system is totally automated. The only opportunity to drop the ball is if the creditor is not listed in the first place. Hence, claims from creditors that they were never notified of the bankruptcy usually reflect poor or no internal communications within the creditor company. You can be quite certain that all your listed creditors received written and/or electronic notice.
Still Getting Bills- If you are still getting bills more than 60 days after filing, forward the bills by scan/email, drop off (Monday-Friday from 8am to 5pm, even if Jeff is out of the office you can leave it with the receptionist in Ste. 205), or U.S. Mail to Jeff. No Faxes Please. We can get those stopped. We get nowhere when we call creditors by phone but if we send them a letter with a copy of the bill it seems to work. Make sure any bills you forward us are for pre-filing debt. We often get medical bills from clients that are for post-filing care which is not discharged.
Credit Report Problems- Credit report errors are very common. Although consumers tend to think the credit report is the last word, it is not. In some cases, creditors knowingly leave debt on credit reports post-discharge. They know it is difficult or impossible to remedy as a bankruptcy law violation and they hope some consumers will pay the discharged debt to avoid hassles with new credit. If your credit report is not accurate after discharge you may want to give it 90 days or so to update. After that you can contact NCBLC. NCBLC is a firm in Chicago that specializes in getting credit reports fixed at no cost to you via the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Tell them I was your bankruptcy attorney if you contact them.
10-99's from Creditors - Creditors can issue 10-99's to people for whom they write off debt or who discharge debt in bankruptcy. Under IRS rules if you file bankruptcy the discharge is not a taxable event to you. So if you receive a 10-99 from a creditor, don't worry, you are not required to pay taxes on that; so long as you did file bankruptcy.
Voluntary Surrender Agreements- If you are surrendering your home, car or other property, do not under any circumstances sign a voluntary surrender agreement. In some cases these agreements compromise your bankruptcy rights and create new liabilities for you.
Need Copies of Papers- Try to keep your copy of the petition and discharge. If you need copies later you can email Jeff and we should be able to email or mail out copies. You can also get copies online at Pacer.
Oh no! I'm broke again! - If you have another financial emergency, try to make sure it is at least 8 years after your prior case. That is when you can re-file Chapter 7.
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