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If a collection letter, billing statement, phone call, email, or text is sent to you indicating that a debt is due and payable when your debt has been discharged by bankruptcy, it is a violation of North Carolina state and federal unfair debt collection laws, and you recover between $500 – $4000 for each violation (every phone call, letter, etc. is a separate violation). It could also violate the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act if the credit repair companies report your discharge inaccurately. Receiving additional bills adds unwanted stress to you and your family, and a failure to clean up the credit can be even worse — harming you from obtaining a mortgage or a car loan in the future. Our firm has recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars for our post-bankruptcy discharge clients dealing with improper debt collection efforts and credit reporting mistakes following bankruptcy. As an ex-debtor, you can recover their attorney fees for such violations.
Filing a bankruptcy petition is an experience filled with emotion for debtors. You didn’t take on a debt with the expectation that you wouldn’t be able to pay it back. Many debtors feel a sense of embarrassment or worthlessness associated with utilizing the protections provided by the Bankruptcy Code. The one saving grace associated with a bankruptcy filing for you is that, when it’s over and the debtor has received their discharge, you will have a “fresh start.” You can move forward with your life without having to deal with bill collectors, collection agencies, and creditors harassing you with phone calls, letters, text messages, and emails regarding making payments that you simply don’t have.
Unfortunately, many collection agencies and creditors choose to willfully ignore the existence of bankruptcy discharges, robbing debtors of the fresh start that our laws allow for. Creditors continue to send statements to you demanding payment post-bankruptcy discharge debt or send the debt to collection agencies without noting the bankruptcy. Collection agencies contact you without checking for bankruptcy filing because it costs time and money. Creditors note in credit reports that you were in bankruptcy but give a misleading picture regarding the debt status. Some credit reports will completely ignore the bankruptcy filing.
Many credit furnishers have intentionally failed to correct reports to consumer reporting agencies to pressure debtors like yourself into paying post-bankruptcy discharge debt. Debt collectors will buy debt from other parties and attempt to collect it even after a bankruptcy has been filed, claiming ignorance about bankruptcy or insisting that it’s not their job to know about your bankruptcy.
Some will stop after being told about the bankruptcy (which still violates state law and is subject to a lawsuit), and some will not. If you have been contacted by a debt collector regarding post-bankruptcy discharge debt, even if it was just once, Maginnis Howard may be able to assist. Make sure you save any communications and keep track of any phone calls, text messages, emails, letters, or billing statements received. North Carolina assesses violations of the state’s unfair debt collection laws on a “per violation” basis, meaning that every letter, call, email, or text is a separate violation subject to penalties under state law. Access our contact page or visit our Raleigh, Charlotte, or Fayetteville offices today.
Contact the firm if you are struggling with a post bankruptcy discharge violation. If we can take the case, we are always to take the case on a contingency basis, meaning that no fees are owed unless you can recover funds. We serve clients across the Carolinas from our offices in Charlotte, Fayetteville, and Raleigh.
