Pacer is a Blessing and a Curse

[6ftladycop]

Recently I received a credit card bill from Pacer for over 66.00. I could not believe it especially since I check the same five items every day and then I check how many pages each item I,m checking has and I try and do the math from there. It seems that Pacer has another math procedure. I am not sure how they come up with the amount owed, but they had something different from me.

I called their customer service to see if I could get some help. They told me that whenever I log in, whatever items I,m checking, I should make sure the date is for the day I,m checking only and that sometimes people log into Pacer and they will put the ending date for the present without changing the beginning date on items they are checking not realizing that Pacer will check all the days that you have been registered up until the present date if you do not make sure date is correct.

ex: 07/31/2007 thru 11/22/2007 on a check of Case Summary will generate a check of all the days you see before you from July to November at 8 cents each for all those days. They told me what I should have done if I were checking Case Summary was to have the dates 11/22/2007 thru 11/22/2007 so that Pacer will only check todays date. I know its my own fault that I only changed the ending date, but seems to me this could have been explained to a new comer to the site. They told me if I wanted to dispute it, I would have to go through hell and back....lol...or check all my information detail for detail, make a copy of it, underline or highlight the items I think are incorrect and mail it to them at the listed address and they would get back to me as to wether they would give me a credit.

[PaKettle]

Yeah, Pacer seems like a really buggy web site, that is, fraught with potential errors. I bet even experienced attorneys rack up big bills unknowingly.

I would guess they make a LOT of money off the fact that they have a buggy site. They could easily program it to WARN you: clicking on the next page will cost you $xx.xx. But they don't want to, they'd rather make money off your lack of knowledge. I went on there the first time, today, to make sure my case was filed, and I felt like I was walking through a mine field!

[HHM]

FIRST THING...there is NO reason to check pacer everyday.

PA, there is nothing inherently buggy about pacer and it is not fraught with potential errors (no more so than any other database). But the site was not designed with the average person in mind. Keep in mind, every attorney and their staff must take a training course (half a day) before they are allowed to use PACER.

There are only 4 times when you need to check PACER...
1-3 days after you file to see if the clerk has placed any flags on the account for missing documents.
2-4 days before the 341 meeting to see if any creditor has filed a notice of appearance.
10-11 days after the 341...to see the Trustee's intitial determination of your case.
5-10 days after the expiration of the 60 day objection period to pull you discharge.

Also, the most important documents get mailed to you anyway.

The problem, as you encountered, is that debtors get obsessive compulsive with PACER...mostly due to a lack of understanding of the process of BK (that is not your fault). In the average BK case, not much happens on PACER
1. BK Case is Filed
2. Initial report of trustee (within 10 days of 341 meeting
3. Final report of Trustee (prior to discharge)
4. Discharge.
The time from step 1 to step 4 is three to four months.

[tadbitconfused]

when checking the notice of appearance what would I look under.

[JasonK94Z]

Damn! I check my history for the entire time too. That sucks!

[PaKettle]

FIRST THING...there is NO reason to check pacer everyday.

PA, there is nothing inherently buggy about pacer and it is not fraught with potential errors. But the site was not designed with the average person in mind. Keep in mind, every attorney and their staff must take a training course (half a day) before they are allowed to use PACER.

There are only 4 times when you need to check PACER...
1-3 days after you file to see if the clerk has placed any flags on the account for missing documents.
2-4 days before the 341 meeting to see if any creditor has filed a notice of appearance.
...[snip]

And what if you do find creditor(s) have filed a notice of appearance? Is this information valuable in some way?

I only went on there to make sure my case was filed correctly. Now I'm going to go back on there once to print screen shots of my documents, to prove they were indeed filed, in case later the court says they weren't.

Then I plan to go on again the days following my 341 to see how the judge ruled on my case...

Not again until after the 60 days, probably.

While I understand that the site was not made for lay people, I still think that it could easily be made more easy to navigate without incurring unintended charges. It's a sloppy, badly built web site.

[HHM]

I agree, it is not the most user friendly website. The thing was designed in the mid-late 90's.

DO NOT go make screen shots of your documents...that is a waste of time and money.

Regarding notice of appearances. The notice, itself, is useless to you, but it does give you a heads up that the person filing the notice of appearance "might" show up to the 341 meeting (if the notice is filed before the 341 meeting). All that notice informs you about is that a creditor as taking a passing interest in your case. When a creditor files a notice of appearance, they will not get an e-mail notice of every document filed in your case.

[BKOnce]

Pacer Simple Truth = Each mouse click (with nervous/random/search/explore mode) = Each web link access = Each access cost per access page!... Now, multiply that by each day, each week, each month... until 6 months discharged... well, you can guess by now your bill is how much already...

[BKOnce]

Second simple truth = Pacer will let you click as much as you can until your fingers get tired.. but will not update costs instantly by always show up final exit cost per day as ... $0.0!... It hides its ugly accounting cost per day!!....

[songbird81]

I check PACER every couple days to see if anything new has happened, but I'm not racking up a bill doing it. When you look up your case, look at the top of the page where it says "Date of Last Filing" and note the date. If the date hasn't changed the next time you log in, then nothing's new. I only click the Documents link if the last filing date changed since my last visit. That's how you do it on the cheap. ;)

[SinkingFast]

I check PACER every couple days to see if anything new has happened, but I'm not racking up a bill doing it. When you look up your case, look at the top of the page where it says "Date of Last Filing" and note the date. If the date hasn't changed the next time you log in, then nothing's new. I only click the Documents link if the last filing date changed since my last visit. That's how you do it on the cheap. ;)

Yep, Yep!!

After you check thru your case,........... Make note of the "Last Date of Filing". Unless or until that date changes, nothing has happened in your Case. No need to go looking at Documents, History, Claims,............ Nothing.

Looking at the main page of your Case costs nothing to see if there have been any changes.

[6ftladycop]

This is some real good information that you have just given us concerning Pacer, and because its your opinion, I,ll leave that alone...however I will make a comment about what you just said.....I learned so much on this website when filing Pro Se in July 2007. You guys had so much good advice that I thought I was an actual lawyer. Everything you told me happen, everything you said to do turned out o.k., every book you told me to read was more than helpful....but you know what I never saw here.....this information you just gave about Pacer because believe me, had I known this info when I first got on Pacer, I would not have been one of those obsessive log in folks.

[6ftladycop]

This is what I discovered. I checked immediately after I looked at something and the amount was always either 8 cent or zero until I get my bill.....then I get the correct amount charged.....also I was told that the way I log into Pacer was incorrect even though I end up in the same spot as the alleged correct way the Pacer call taker told me to get in. Can someone tell me what you guys consider the correct way to log into pacer? Do you just go to www.pacer.org or some other way?