AboutLos Angeles Bankruptcy Lawyer Leon D. Bayer Expertise Personal and small business bankruptcy. Mr. Bayer has successfully handled thousands of bankruptcy cases. You can view his personal web site at:
Publications Author, ?The Essentials Of Chapter 13,? Daily Journal Report, December 18, 1987.
Contributing Editor, Basic Bankruptcy, California Practice Handbook, Matthew Bender 1992, 1993.
CEB Consultant, CEB-Personal and Small Business Bankruptcy Practice in California, 2003.
Awards and Honors President, 1995-1996-Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum; Member - Los Angeles County Bar Association Committee on Commercial Law & Bankruptcy, 1988. Law Advisory
Commission-Personal & Small Business Bankruptcy Law of the State Bar of California, 1996-2000
MR. BAYER SAYS: The big banks and credit card companys have been working overtime for many years to undermine the Consitutional right of the American people to be able to claim bankruptcy protection. In 2005 the banking lobby successfully convinced Congress and the President to make the laws and proceedures more complicated, hopeing that it will stymie legitimate people from filing bankruptcy. They succeeded in gaining these complex new legal proceedures by greasing the legislative system with hundreds of millions of dollars in "campaign contributions." The good news for the American people is that while the new laws have made the proceedures needlessly complex to the point where inexperienced people can't help but trip over the maze of new rules and regulations, the process is still doable, especially with a lawyer who is well trained and experienced in this specialty.
Question AFTER WE FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY, SALLIE MAE DECIDED WE COULD NO LONGER MAKE PAYMENTS ONLINE OR CHECK THE STATUS OF OUR LOAN, WHICH BY THE WAY WE STILL PAY. NO STATEMENTS ARE SENT. WE HAVE NO PROOF THEY ARE APPLYING THE MONEY TO THE LOAN AND THEY REFUSE TO SPEAK WITH US.
THEY SAID BECAUSE WE ARE IN BANKRUPTCY THEY CANNOT SPEAK OR COMMUNICATE WITH US.
PLEASE ADVISE.
Sallie Mae is at least partially right, but they could do a far better job at providing an explanation. I went to the Sallie Mae web site looking for information I could point you to on their bankruptcy collection practices, and while I found a page discussing bankruptcy in general terms, (it took a long time to find even that), it said absolutely nothing about Sallie Mae's procedures for dealing with an account during the duration of a bankruptcy case.
You are absolutely right to be frustrated with them.
The filing of a bankruptcy case automatically creates an immediate restraining order against all creditors, prohibiting debt collection, (even billing and normal payment collection procedures), EVEN on debts that are non dischargeable, like student loans.
If Sallie Mae sent you statements during the bankruptcy, they will leave themselves open to a charge that they are in violation of the court Order, called the Automatic Stay.
After a person gets a bankruptcy discharge, normal procedures can resume with Sallie Mae. A letter from your attorney to Sallie Mae authorizing them to communicate with you in a normal manner not withstanding the bankruptcy should do the trick.
In many cases, student loan lenders will put an account on a temporary payment deferment during a bankruptcy. If you canget them to speak to you, ask if they have done that.
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