After you’ve filed for bankruptcy, creditors must immediately put an end to their collection efforts. Unfortunately, this does not always occur, and you may continue to be harassed by creditors calling after bankruptcy.
Understanding Stay of Proceedings
Once you file your bankruptcy case, a stay of proceedings goes into effect. A stay of proceedings means that creditors cannot contact you to collect debts after you’ve filed for bankruptcy. It protects you from harassing phone calls, emails, and letters.
When you file for bankruptcy, you should notice an immediate decrease in collection efforts. Since some creditors have some difficulty integrating bankruptcy notices into their systems, they may continue to call you. Other creditors may simply disregard the law and continue to harass individuals who have filed for bankruptcy.
If you continue to receive calls from creditors after you’ve officially filed your case, you should take action. You can’t assume these creditors will stop since they likely are not aware nor care that you are undergoing bankruptcy.
How to Stop Creditor Harassment After Bankruptcy
You likely filed for bankruptcy because you are ready for a fresh start. If you are still dealing with creditor harassment, you should not have to deal with this illegal and unpleasant behavior. Some tips to end creditor calls include:
Explain that you’ve filed for bankruptcy: You should notify any creditor that calls that you have filed for bankruptcy. Although most creditors will stop contacting you once they discover you filed, a few may persist.
Get their information: If a debt collector calls, tell the debt collector that you filed for bankruptcy and give them the name and phone number of your trustee. Your trustee will communicate directly with them.
If you want a fresh financial start and are considering filing bankruptcy, contact our office today. We’re here to help!
