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  1. #1

    Angry Contact from a Creditor After Filing Chapter Seven

    Hello all.I sure hope someone can help me out here!!!!!!

    O.K. I will be as complete as possible about my case......

    I just filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy a few days ago.I have one debt in paticular that was listed and had to send there attourney a fax with my letter of filling becuase I was supposed to show up before the court commissioner in two days before I filed my bankruptcy,the reason was, to give detail to all my assets because the client who hired this attourney was pursuing this debt for his client which I owed for some automobile service they provided.Ok everything is going fine and then I recieved a letter!!!!

    Low and behold it was from this attourney that was pursing his case to get money for his client.I am assuming that this lawyer is on top of this cause he has put alot of time into this to get his money owed to him to,any ways...

    In his letter he stats to me that he had recieved the fax for my bankruptcy and stated that the court proceidings will stop.He then goes on to state that he reviewed my bankruptcy schedules.

    He further goes on to say that he trully understands why I filed becuse I am in a great bit of debt and dont make much money.He further states to me that bankruptcy filers often cause problems for them selfs becuse the individual who initiates the action on his or her behalf doesnt really understand the bankruptcy code....

    He then goes on further to state to me that he noticed that I listed my vehicle as one of my primary assets.He says..that I fraudulently wrote out a personal check for repairs on my vehicle,,,but I stoped payment on the check because of faulty service which they wouldnt work out with me so I stoped the payment through my bank.

    Let me back up a minute.....about this check I wrote out...I had my vehicle in a shop to get some service done to it about 6 months back.After I left and paid them with a personal check I noticed in a day or two that there was a funny noise and then my car wouldnt turn anymore to the right.So I had it towed to a gm dealearship and there mechanic said some one broke the hub assembly on my car recently.So I called up the shop that had worked on my tires the day before and told them this they denied it and said they were not responsible for anything and hung up on me.So I stopped payment on the check.Maybe about a month or two went buy I never heard a thing from them(the shop).I moved away to relocate for work.Never heard a thing about anything.Then around five months later I get served from the sherriffs department with a suppena----wrong spelling---lol...for me to appear before the court commisioner to give detail about all my assets because I had been sued and found gulty in small claims court.Now I had been sued and never even knew about it.This was the first time I knew anything about this so I called the county in which this was for and talked to the clerk of courts and for sure I had been sued even thought they never served me for it.The reason why they served me after wards to give detail to my assets was because I had re-registered with the dmv of my new address so thats how they finally found me.

    Anyways I was in the process of filling for bankruptcy before I was served and got it filled a few days before this hearing,to hear about my assets.And thats how I got this letter.Now back to the letter.

    He further goes on to say that I claimed my statutory exemption in that vehicle and but for the fact that your fraudulently issued check deprived his client of its statutory lien in that vehicle a lien which comes ahead of my bankruptcy exemption and that his client would still have my vehicle.Instead his client surrendered the vehicle when i tendered a check that subsequently turned out to be a violation both civilay and criminally.

    He further states that the bad news for me is that if I dont call him and work this out he will file the documentation necessary to ask the court for a finding of non dischargeability and all of the taxable costs involved in that process will be added to your underlying judgement which now totals $1700.He writes further that whether or not such a action might result in a finding by the court that you should not receive any discharge is something that he cannot comment on but is something about I should speak to a attourney with.

    Wait theres more......he writes....Rather than expose me to the considerable costs and risks of a non-dischargeability complaint I am more than willing to eneter into a stipulation with you which will on the one hand specifically find that my debt with his client is not dischargeable and on the other hand will provide for an agrred upon payment arangement.This does however depend on me calling him.

    He further states that my bankruptcy will not stop him from persueing criminal charges because I passed a bad check.

    He writes further that he looks forward to hearing from me within the next 7 buisness days and I would be smart to contact him other wise he will not feel sorry for me and I will then realise it was a poor decision to not call him.

    Ok my question is can he do this and can he stop me from getting not only his clients debt deemed not dischargeable but as well as all my debt?Should I responed to him or am I protected and let him file what ever he feels he needs to.

    I wonder if I commited a criminal act than why did they pursue civil action and now that I filed for bankruptcy he now says I commited a crime.If it was a crime in my state they dont sue you than file a criminal complaint after you file for protection under bankruptcy.

    I just want to know if he is bluffing me to scare me or does he have a case with the non discharge and the criminal complaint.Sorry for the long reading but I thought I would be very specific.

    I live in wisconsin I hope I gave enough info.Thank you for any help!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    354

    Default Re: chapter seven

    First of all do you have an attorney representing you? Did you provide your attorney's info in the letter you faxed to the lawyer for the repair shop? If so, then the lawyer is in violation of the bankruptcy stay by contacting you directly rather than your counsel. If you filed Ch 7 yourself, without an attorney, then he is not. The bankruptcy stay protects you against suits and collection harassment, but not contact from a creditor's counsel in connection with your pending bankruptcy case. If you do not have an attorney, get one as soon as possible. The creditor can, in fact, file a motion to lift the stay with the court to address the issue of nonpayment for services rendered. At that hearing, you will have to show that you did in fact stop payment for damages to your vehicle while in their possession, rather than simply skipping out on paying them (aka "theft of service").

    When the GM dealership evaluated the damage to your vehicle, did you contact the first repair shop in writing and inform them of your claim for damages and the reason for your stop payment? I hope you kept copies of the repair bills.

  3. #3

    Default Re: Contact from a creditor after filing Chapter Seven

    Thank you for your response.

    Yes I do have copies of the repair done by gm after the shop screwed up my car.No I did not send them a letter but I was in contact with them about it the next day.Also would it be criminal if I can prove that I had enough funds in my checking account at that time to cover that check when I stopped payment on it?If I could afford a attourney I would have gotten one already.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    28,906

    Default Re: Contact from a creditor after filing Chapter Seven

    I doubt that the police or a prosecutor would have much interest in pursuing the matter as a criminal case, given that it has already been handled in civil court. Also, if I were a prosecutor and saw that letter, I would probably not be too eager on authorizing charges which were threatened as part of a collections effort. (I can't say that charges wouldn't be authorized, but there are factors which would weigh against it.)

  5. #5

    Default Re: Contact from a creditor after filing Chapter Seven

    Again thank you for the quick reply.

    Ok I understand that this attourney could get criminal charges maybe against me but if I understand the law I could prove it was not criminal for the simple fact that at the time of writing out the check I had plenty of funds to cover the check in question,but still more time in court and a big hassle for me,lost wages gas money ect.

    So,what about him filing a lawsuit through the bankruptcy courts?I know it is in his rights to do so but what are the chances he could obtain a non discharge against his client.Would the bankruptcy courts grant that on fraud if in fact I stopped payment on his check?

    I am wondering if entering into a stipulation to make payment arrangements would be the easier course of action but then if this attourney had such a strong fraud case then why is he trying so hard to make payment arrangements with me.This is why I was thinking this was a scare tactic on his part.I dont know I am not an attourney.I just know that this is the first time he has taken his time to contact me about anything to do with the lawsuit he won and now that I have filed for bankruptcy he all of the sudden is writting letters to me and wanting to make out a payment arrangement.

  6. #6

    Default Re: Contact from a creditor after filing Chapter Seven

    Ok I have been reading alot today into non dischargeable claims and I read that certain claims are not dischargeable and this attourney is refering to fraud as a reason.He clearly states this in his letter.What I would like to know is how hard is it for him to prove fraud in the bankruptcy court hearing and does he even have a case seeing as I was only civily sued and never was there any criminal charges.

    Also how many days does he have to file this isnt it 90?But I also read that he has to right to file this also even after my debts are discharged?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    28,906

    Default Re: Contact from a creditor after filing Chapter Seven

    If you voluntarily pay, the creditor gets the money. If you don't, the bankruptcy court will decide. Of course he's trying to intimidate you - its cheaper and easier if you simply pay, and they don't have to take the risk that the bankruptcy court will hold that the debt is dischargeable.

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