Very Upset; Petition is a Mess

[ApresMoi]

After a LONG wait, I finally got the petition and some other papers for review. I sat down tonight to go over things. First thing I notice, is that the petition is for the Eastern District of CA. I live in a city which, when I look it up, says I should file in the Central District of CA. WTH?? Why would they do this? Because they are dumb? Don't you have to file in the BK court that handles your city?

There's more, so much more that I don't know where to start. They overstated my liabilities by listing the debt with the original creditor and then listing again that same debt as being owed to a debt collector. They did this a few times, so that instead of having liabilities of $40K, they show I have liabilities of $65K. Is this to 'play it safe' in case the debt collection agencies have actually bought the debt? I do not understand.

They also left off ALL the property that I listed out (took forever to fill out their questionnaire) that is in a different location from my residence. I looked and none of that appears on the schedules.

Comments anyone? Can they file me in Eastern District? Can they double up on the debt and show it as owed to the original creditor AND a debt collection agency?

[AngelinaCatHub]

First of all: WHO ARE THEY???

You are ultimately responsible for the accuracy of your own forms. If you do not have Nolo's Press C7 book, get it. You also could go to pacer look up a 7 in your district and find one in your city and look at their forms. See how it was done for another in your area.

Remember, when you sign that bottom line, it is an implied sworn statement and in your 341 you attest that you read and UNDERSTAND your forms.

We were no different than you. Our lawyer was absent even if she was present, if you know what I mean? 'Hub

[ApresMoi]

I am not naming the firm on this website. I just read that each bankruptcy court serves a certain geographic area, and my geographic area is CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CA. Needless to say, we will be having a conversation. I realize I am responsible, which is why I am going over this with a fine tooth comb. Of course they will make the corrections, that is not the point. The point is, had I not been an INFORMED petitioner, they would have screwed this up royally, as far as I can tell. I am now checking the codes they used for the exemptions (we have two sets) to see if they even go that right!!

[ApresMoi]

Also, since they will have to redo this pile of crap, MORE DELAY.

[AngelinaCatHub]

I am not naming the firm on this website. I just read that each bankruptcy court serves a certain geographic area, and my geographic area is CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CA. Needless to say, we will be having a conversation. I realize I am responsible, which is why I am going over this with a fine tooth comb. Of course they will make the corrections, that is not the point. The point is, had I not been an INFORMED petitioner, they would have screwed this up royally, as far as I can tell. I am now checking the codes they used for the exemptions (we have two sets) to see if they even go that right!!

Clap, Clap, Clap, you are a winner as we were so misinformed, it cost us 10.5K in lost money. So I can safely assume it is a law firm and you have a single lawyer representing you??? If so, it would be prudent to call and insist on having that person make corrections right NOW, as he/she is wasting your time. It is also apparent that they are too busy and are being sloppy and others are being affected as well as you. You have been around long enough that you have to have an iron fist to some of these guys and squeak loudly to get that grease you deserve. If you don't file till later, you get 341 later then you get discharge later and you endure stress LONGER. Let us all know. 'Hub

[AngelinaCatHub]

Also, since they will have to redo this pile of crap, MORE DELAY.

You beat me to what I just said. Good for you. 'Hub

[ApresMoi]

Can't believe you lost $10.5K due to an idiot!! Yes, I have an attorney, who took over my petition after the other attorney left the firm. They gave me a VERY good rate on the filing, so I guess it's true, you get what you pay for.

You are right, the stress is unbelievable. I was looking forward to getting this over with. It's already taken them twice as long as they said it would take to file, and now this. I am very disappointed.

My case is so simple, they really have very LITTLE TO DO. You would think they could have at least gotten what little they had to do RIGHT. But no.

Looks like they did use the right set of exemption codes. That's something.

Yes, I do have the NOLO book.

Thank you for your support and good advice! Onwards...

You beat me to what I just said. Good for you. 'Hub

[HHM]

Not sure about the district issue, but the issue about naming the original creditors and the collections IS NOT A PROBLEM. Most attorneys auto populate the schedule of creditors from your credit report. On your credit report, each creditor and collection agency is listed separately. The amounts listed as owed DO NOT MATTER.

This sounds like a molehill you are turning into a mountain for no reason.

[AngelinaCatHub]

Not sure about the district issue, but the issue about naming the original creditors and the collections IS NOT A PROBLEM. Most attorneys auto populate the schedule of creditors from your credit report. On your credit report, each creditor and collection agency is listed separately. The amounts listed as owed DO NOT MATTER.

This sounds like a molehill you are turning into a mountain for no reason.

That is good news for our host. But I believe if he feels uncomfortable with this, he should still address it with his lawyer. Best to hear reasons from the source if he is going to codify it with his signature. After making every effort, if the Trustee says "hey what's this mess", then he can freely point the finger at the lawyer. 'Hub

[HHM]

Not to make excuses for sloppy attorneys, and there are plenty...but at the same time, I cannot be sympathetic as the old adage rings true, you get what you pay for. So, the debtor IS RESPONSIBLE if they make a bad choice on attorneys or do not review the petition before they sign it.

However, the legal world is actually very forgiving. In almost any circumstance, if a mistake is made, it can be amended and changed, nothing in the legal world is written in stone. From that perspective, there is little reason to be get bent out of shape.

You are correct, certainly talk to your attorney about this, but at the same time, none of what you reported is going to be a problem.

[justbroke]

They did this a few times, so that instead of having liabilities of $40K, they show I have liabilities of $65K. Is this to 'play it safe' in case the debt collection agencies have actually bought the debt? I do not understand.

This is irrelevant in a Chapter 7, and usually irrelevant in a Chapter 13 unless you're approaching the $360K unsecured debt limit.

Wow, a law firm. Nice. HHM has a nice spiel on using "cheap" attorneys. (Ohh... he just made it.)

[ApresMoi]

So it's not a problem if they say I owe 65K when I don't? I thought I had to sign off that everything is accurate, and that's not accurate. I would LOVE not to have to change a thing, so have a query in to them to clarify. I'm pretty sure I can't file in the wrong District though.

Not sure about the district issue, but the issue about naming the original creditors and the collections IS NOT A PROBLEM. Most attorneys auto populate the schedule of creditors from your credit report. On your credit report, each creditor and collection agency is listed separately. The amounts listed as owed DO NOT MATTER.

This sounds like a molehill you are turning into a mountain for no reason.

[ApresMoi]

Thanks. They can autopopulate as many fields as they like, as long as it's allowed. I thought maybe they double listed the debt in case a debt collector had 'bought it'.

This is irrelevant in a Chapter 7, and usually irrelevant in a Chapter 13 unless you're approaching the $360K unsecured debt limit.

Wow, a law firm. Nice. HHM has a nice spiel on using "cheap" attorneys. (Ohh... he just made it.)

[ApresMoi]

This is the part of the quote I like best. Thanks.

...none of what you reported is going to be a problem.

[justbroke]

Thanks. They can autopopulate as many fields as they like, as long as it's allowed. I thought maybe they double listed the debt in case a debt collector had 'bought it'.

It is entirely common to list everything on a credit report, which may include duplicates. Where you know it's a duplicate, you can indicate so on the petition. Also, if you dispute the amount or don't know the correct amount, there are ways to handle that as well.

I even included some CAs with a notation as "For Notification Only" and valued them at $0.00 or unknown.