No. If you have filed for bankruptcy, a debt collector cannot try to collect debts included in the bankruptcy.
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.
Even though debt collectors cannot collect on debts included in your bankrupcty, some complications may occur that make it so that thye continue to call. Within five days of your filing, your trustee will notify your creditors of your bankruptcy. Most trustees will mail the notice of bankruptcy to your creditors, so it may be two weeks before they are aware of your bankruptcy. Many trustees are now faxing or even e-mailing bankruptcy notices to creditors, so these times may be reduced.
Also, just because the creditor has received the notice from the trustee, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they have entered the bankruptcy into their system, so calls may continue until they do.
Another complication that may occur is when a creditor has turned your account over to a collection agency. The creditor may be notified of your bankruptcy, but if they are slow to notify the collection agency, the calls will continue.
Just remember that once you file bankruptcy, debt collectors should not be contacting you, so just let them know that you’ve filed bankruptcy and they should stop.
