Turned over to collections after filing chapter 13

[Dj1995]

Filed Chapter 13 on 09/14/10. Hospital bill was listed as a creditor, and served notice of the BK filing. Hospital has been mailing me statements, and last month, threatened to turn us over to collections. I have forwarded all responses to our attorney. Today, I received a letter from a collection agency that this bill has indeed been placed with collections, and they want their money now. I will be going to the attorney's office first thing Monday morning, but I'm curious; has anyone else had this happen after filing and what was the outcome? There is another hospital who called for payment, and when I told them I filed for bankruptcy and tried to give them my case number, said she wouldn't accept that - any thoughts?

[shark66]

Nothing for them "not to accept".

If you listed them on creditor's matrix, they are a part of your BK proceedings just like any other unsecured creditor.

That being the case, they're violating the automatic stay right now, and should be set straight by your attorney - yesterday.

Good luck.

[Dj1995]

I checked Pacer to verify, and both hospitals are listed as creditors on the creditor's matrix. I received a bill from another collection agency from the 2nd hospital today. So, now I've been sent to collections twice after the filing of the 13. So, now what? Who is in violation of the automatic stay - the hospitals, the collection agency's or both? The one is asking that I validate the debt, and if I don't do so in 30 days, it's considered valid - since it's part of the 13, I don't need to do anything other than give this info to my attorney, right?

[bkdone]

I had this happen several times in the beginning of my BK. When the collection agency would send me a bill and the envelope, I'd mail them back a copy of my creditor's matrix (with all the other creditors blacked out), a copy of my filing notice, and my attorney's number. I'd put a simple note inside the envelope letting them know that they are part of my BK case and they may not attempt to collect this bill any further. I know it was my attorney's job to do this, but we all know that it takes the attorney forever to do anything...plus they charge office hours for it. I found this to be very beneficial and they stopped bothering me.

[Dj1995]

This sounds like something I could do very easily, and might acutally stop a lot of frustration on my part. Our attorney is extremely busy with filings - it seems like everyone is filing some sort of bankruptcy right now. Ok, I have the creditor matrix, and I hope this doesn't sound stupid, but what is the "copy of my filing notice?" Is this the paper I received in the mail from the Bankruptcy court right after my case case was filed, or would this be something in my petition?

[frogger]

Sounds like sheer stupidity or just someone being plain lazy and not doing their job. If they don't get it, turn your attorney loose on them.

[bkdone]

Not stupid...I couldnt think of the name of the paper, but yes, a copy of the front page of the petition. Something that shows your name, the date that you filed, and that you are now in BK.

[free2breathe]

I had the same thing happen. A doctor's office had turned the bill over for collections, we filed, notices went out, the paperwork had just crossed in the mail. I sent them a copy of the Notice of Bankruptcy Case Filing and that was the end of it.

[Nicollette]

I've had this happen to me shortly after my filing also. I had one collection agency call me, and I tried to give them my case # and attorney's number, and the collector I was talking to had the nerve to say, he wasn't calling my attorney about anything, and my attorney needed to call him! Needless to say, I never heard back from them again

[Pandora]

I checked Pacer to verify, and both hospitals are listed as creditors on the creditor's matrix. I received a bill from another collection agency from the 2nd hospital today. So, now I've been sent to collections twice after the filing of the 13. So, now what? Who is in violation of the automatic stay - the hospitals, the collection agency's or both? The one is asking that I validate the debt, and if I don't do so in 30 days, it's considered valid - since it's part of the 13, I don't need to do anything other than give this info to my attorney, right?

Been there and doing that myself - have a court date next week for BK violations from a creditor in a very similar situation to you - blatant purposeful violations. What I can tell you is the first thing you need to do is look on your paperwork / PACER and see WHO filed the claim - if it was the hospital(s) themselves who filed proof of claim and then they forwarded onto a Collection agency (not in-house) - then you can actually file for 2 separate actions - one against the hospital and one against the collection agency.

Every notice you receive is that much more evidence against the creditor - and each one is a violation. Did you notify your lawyer every time you received a bill and/or demand for payment (that includes phone calls)? Did he/she send a written request for a Cease and Desist, noting they were in violation of the BK Code, date and amount the proof of claim was made, and any subsequent attempts to collect will/may result in a suit being brought forth by you?

If you haven't done so, do it now - and hopefully any time you've talked to the collection agency / hospital, you've written down who you've spoken to (first and last name), what department, and dates. Its an uphill battle to be able to prove blatant violations, but if you have many notices sent to you after your creditor filed proof of claim, then chances are you will win your case for stay violations. Make sure you ask your attorney if there is any fee associated with filing against them and if he/she gets any part of any award monies that may be issued to you. Our attorney does it for free and any monies won we split 50/50.

Good luck to you!

[Dj1995]

Thanks for info. I'm waiting on a call back from the attorney. These 2 hospitals never filed proof of claim, and the last day to file is 1/4/11. When they called, I tried to give them our case number, and the rep on the other end told me, "we don't accept bankruptcy case numbers." At this point, I didn't know what to tell her, so I tried to give her my attorney number, and she told me they wouldn't accept that either. I have notified the attorney of every instance of contact, but I've heard nothing back. I will have to look through my petition, as I'm not sure if going after them for stay violations are part of the agreement. I am assuming that if this would be the case, the Trustee would receive the money, and not us, but I don't know.