Dell Violated Automatic Stay - I think

[viking64]

Lawyer filed ch 7 on 10/28.

I've had a $55 monthly payment to Dell on auto-pay from checking account. Contacting Dell to stop the payment has been a hassle and a half. (The voice system goes into an automatic loop of circling you around to various departments and then hangs up on you. When I speak to a sales person, they put me into the same loop. When I speak to a tech-support person, they put me in the same loop. Talking to a human being has been impossible after several months of trying.)

I finally found a form to fax on the website to stop the auto-pay, which I faxed on 10/29 and have confirmation that the fax went through.

Dell includes my account in bankruptcy on my credit report so they clearly know the status and that the auto-stay is in effect.

On 11/25, they deduct the auto-pay again.

I'll tell my lawyer on Monday, but what happens? Does Dell say "ooops" and put the money back in? Do they get penalized? Could this be a hassle for my lawyer and result in more fees to me?

I won't bounce checks because of it, but it is frustrating that I can't get something to stop that, by now, is legally required to stop.

[LimpDisc]

Call your bank to see if they can stop the auto withdrawal. I had auto pay set up with Dell's DataSafe Backup and my bank put a stop to it. Same issues for me trying to get in contact with Dell.

Never again will I buy anything from Dell. They used to have some of the best customer service, but now it's nothing but crap.

[backtoschool]

It is very difficult to get ACH payments stopped. Most banks won't stop them. You have to get Dell to stop it, and it usually will take several months to get it completely stopped.

[viking64]

It is very difficult to get ACH payments stopped. Most banks won't stop them. You have to get Dell to stop it, and it usually will take several months to get it completely stopped.

That's frustrating. Other creditors I've had on auto-pay have been able to stop instantly, including Chase, upon my request. I followed Dell's procedures AND they received my BK filing notice, and they still haven't acted. One more unauthorized payment and they'll be over the $600 limit before preferential status kicks in ( though I guess that only applies to payments before filing?).

It's a no-asset case, too.

[music12]

if your lawyer gets involved in this, they should get dell to pay their fees, not you. if dell doesn't stop after one phone call from your lawyer, they could also get sanctioned by the court, if your lawyer pursues that. then they would have to pay fees (to your lawyer) and penalties (to you). but my guess is that one phonecall or letter from your lawyer will do the trick.

[LimpDisc]

Did you call your bank? ING Direct stopped any further transactions from Dell for me and actually refunded the most recent withdrawal. I just told them it was no longer an authorized transaction.

Maybe it's because ING is a great bank to work with on any issue so far.

[fireworks]

Bank of America and American Express both debited my checking account for payments after I had told them to stop auto-drafting my payments. My bank refunded the latest withdrawal (I assume taking it back from BoA/AMEX) and blocked future withdrawals from them. It hasn't been a problem since.

[viking64]

Thanks for all the suggestions and advice. Interesting that Dell has a history of this.

I just discovered this yesterday (the draft is on the 25th of each month) so I haven't had a business day to talk to anyone. My bank is TD Bank - they'll probably work with me, but I'm going to go through lawyer and Dell first. TD has a history of losing my deposits and having less than eager customer service reps at my local branch.

If the lawyer is willing to make a call for free, then that's probably the fastest way to get results. Otherwise, I'm happy to send a certified letter to Dell. Then, I can just make sure I have the $55 for the next hit in case they do it again, and let the lawyer go to town. Since the next draft would be Christmas day, sanctions could be holiday fun. At that point, I'd also try to get the bank to work with me.

At least this is a good distraction as I count down 18 days until my 341. I pass the means test fairly well and have a net income of $135, which my attorney is comfortable with, but I'm still not counting my 7s until they're hatched.

Nearly 50% of my debit is back taxes and student loans, so I'll still be in debt after discharge, just able to do something about it.

OK, rambling over. . .