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Bankruptcy Law/Capital One after BK discharge

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Expert: - 8/30/2009


Question
This question has to do with Capital One charge account.  Filed BK on 3-30-09 and was discharged 7-15-09.  I know through attorney that Capital One and NCO were notifed of the filing by mail on 4-2-09.  NCO was trying to collect this account.  On 4-6-09 I informed NCO of the filing but the collector hung up on me as I was giving her attorney information.  The calls continued up to 6 times a day until 4-21-09.  On 6-5-09 we started to get calls from CollectCorp for the same account.  They stopped calling after our attorney finally wrote them.  I noticed that Capital One made a credit inquiry on 4-17-09.  From what I have read Capital One has a history of eventually sending discharged BK debt to junk buyers.  I am concerned that this will happen to me.  Is there any recourse I have here for Capital One violating the BK stay in continuing to have someone collect on the account?  My BK attorney was really not help at the time this was going on.

Answer
When a debt has been discharged in bankruptcy, the court has made an injunction against the creditor prohibiting them from collecting it ever again. A creditor who violates the injunction can be in serious trouble, and you may be able to sue them for alot of money.

It sounds like nothing has happened since 4/21. Most likely it simply took that long for the official court notice to reach them and for them to match it up with your account.  However, just to be on the safe side get a complete copy of your bankruptcy schedules and make sure this debt was listed, and keep those papers along with your discharge notice for 20 years. Junk buyers know they are buying junk, but they don't want to buy debts discharged in bankruptcy. I doubt you will have any further trouble over this. But just in case you do, you will have all the necessary documentation to establish the discharge of this debt.

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Los Angeles Bankruptcy Lawyer Leon D. Bayer

Expertise

Leon Bayer has successfully represented clients in bankruptcy for over 30 years. He is frequently called upon by the media, the California Bar and other associations to provide insight and help educate attorneys on bankruptcy issues. If you or other readers want to keep up with my blog postings about life in and out of bankruptcy, you can follow my blog at http://www.bankruptcyblogger.org/ and my personal web site at http://www.debt-relief-bankruptcy.com and A Human Guide to Bankruptcy at http://www.thebankruptcyguide.net/ Leon also writes about bankruptcy law for Nolo, see http://www.nolo.com/law-authors/leon-bayer.html and his "Ask Leon" bankruptcy law blog column at http://blog.nolo.com/bankruptcy/

Experience

Leon is a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the State Bar of California, and has been a practicing bankruptcy lawyer in Los Angeles, California for 33 years.

Organizations
National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Lawyers, California Bar Association, Los Angeles County Bar Association.

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.


Education/Credentials
B.A., J.D.

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.

Past/Present Clients
I have probably handled something on the order of about 15,000 bankruptcy cases thropughout my career.

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