question about charged off accounts & filing ch 7 bk

[leander03]

I met with my lawyer yesterday. I paid him his retainer. He ran my credit report & started inputing my collections into his system.

I need to talk to him, but I have a few credit cards that are charged off. It shows the original debt, but doesn't say who the collection was sold to. I am wondering, should I try to call the original creditors & find out who they sold the debt to?

Or-
does the lawyer usually input the charged off account info in my filing?

Help. I am confused & I don't want to file & leave any info out.

[Clabbergirl]

I don't have a real answer for this, but I thought that charged off accounts are debts that you no longer owe for - the original creditor (or whatever collection agency they sold your account to) agreed to write your debt off as a loss and no longer want anything from you. It's not a 'charge off' until the collection company has dealt with you for what they can?

[leander03]

Oh, I think they want what I owe them. I mean, if I wasn't filing bankruptcy I'm pretty sure I'd have a couple options. Settle the debt with whoever bought the account or get sued.

I haven't been served yet, so I guess I haven't been sued. Just wondering if I have to track down these low life collection agencies...

[AngelinaCatHub]

A charge off is misunderstood. It is a clerical thing to settle their books. Yes the account is still in default not forgiven. It does not matter if you list a CA agency as long as the original account is listed. I could be sold many times. In fact some CA companies sell to smaller CA's and take a bit of profit and never call you. The bad debt is sold for a ridiculously small amount, so that is why many will bargain a low discount to pay it. That money is all theirs as they purchased that item from the original holder. Your lawyer knows what he's doing (unlike some) and let him do his thing. You will have your opportunity to go over the paper work and ask questions before you sign off on it. READ it good you are signing an oath that it is correct and complete. The Trustee always asks you if your paperwork is ready and proper.

[leander03]

So, if he just lists the original account & not the collection agency it was sold to - will that work?

[df04527]

No - list everyone -- original creditors, collectors -- list everybody so your covered.

[leander03]

the thing is i don't know who the collection agencies are that the debts were sold to. if i call the orginal credit card who had the debt - can they tell me who they sold it to?

[Clabbergirl]

Angelina gives good advice, and I agree with df04527 as well. I listed all my creditors and the collection agencies I thought were calling for them - and grouped them together on a spreadsheet. But I made it clear to my attorney these were all people contacting me and I did not know in some cases for which account. You can pull a credit report from the 3 agencies and cross-reference your original creditors if you're unsure about that. The collection agencies won't show up on them though.

I even listed a family member that long ago told me my debt was forgiven...you never know. I don't want my family member to come back in a few years and say hey, where's that money I said you owed.

[tcreegan]

Hi leander03,

Just list what you can find, no heroics on tracking down debts bought and sold. If you have heard from a collection agency, list them Anyone on your credit report, list them.

This is not a big deal w/ unsecured debts. Courts have consistently ruled that unsecured prepetition debt gets discharged even if you forgot about it, made an error, or the debt got sold and you didn't know it. Unless you left them out deliberately, it should get discharged.

And 'Hub has it right, a "charge-off" is an internal accounting measure. Doesn't mean they sold the debt, doesn't mean they kept it, doesn't mean they won't try to collect on it in the future.

And you have your attorney leander, they have your back!

Tom in Colo