Have You Been a Victim of Bankruptcy Creditor Harassment?

Have you been a victim of bankruptcy creditor harassment? If you think this is the case, you should contact your bankruptcy attorney immediately and report the incident(s) to him or her. If you filed for bankruptcy yourself, without representation by counsel then you should contact a competent bankruptcy attorney and tell them what has happened.

Bankruptcy attorneys are experienced and skilled when it comes to handling aggressive creditors and they can take steps to ensure the harassment stops.

Don't they call it bankruptcy "protection"?

One benefit of filing bankruptcy is that as soon as your creditors are notified that you have filed bankruptcy, they must stop contacting you for debt collection. As a debtor in bankruptcy, you are protected by the law from further direct contact with your creditors. If they want to talk to someone, they can call your attorney.

If you have one or more creditors or debt collectors who persistently contact you regarding debt collection please realize that their notification is not instantaneous, so you may continue to get collection calls for a period of time right after you file. If that happens, you can politely inform them that you have just filed bankruptcy and that they can contact your attorney if they have have not received their notification yet. Give them your attorney's contact information and relax.

Once you tell a creditor that you are represented by an attorney they have to stop directly contacting you.

Fair Debt Collection Act

The Fair Debt Collection Act prohibits harassment from creditors and collection agencies at all times, but if the harassment is continuing after you have filed bankruptcy you need to contact your attorney immediately so they can intervene on your behalf.

These things are considered harassment:

Calling your before 8 in the morning or after 9 at night.
Calling you at work if you have told them not to do so.
Calling you at all if you have sent a written letter (via certified mail please) telling them to stop calling.
Calling your relatives in an attempt to get them to embarrass you into paying your debt.
Yelling at you over the phone or using profanity
Sending you documents that pretend to look like "official" government documents

Get Legal Help

Harassment is never acceptable, and never legal in any context. Yes, you may owe a great deal of money to a variety of creditors but that does not mean you should accept harassment as part of your "punishment" for being in debt. Call a local bankruptcy attorney, and get help and relief. They can stop the harassment and help you find solutions to your debt problems.

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