Trying to collect discharged debt...

[b_girl]

Recently several posters have reported that they have been contacted about repaying discharged debt. Here's an article from last year regarding this disturbing trend:

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/oct2007/db20071031_039775.htm

[b_girl]

Here's another article:

http://www.************************/...-debt-and-why/

[b_girl]

The remedy to this isn't clear, either:

http://www.************************/...debt-now-what/

I fully expect some of our discharged debts to boomerang back to us over the next few years...by then, I sure hope the courts have developed an effective course of action against this clearly illegal maneuver.

[JRScott]

Its best to keep your discharge letter where you can find it.

That way if these bottom feeders call you can get the info to them immediately.

[b_girl]

Agreed. The part that disturbs me, though, is that the 'new' creditors have been assigning new account numbers to old debts to hide that it is discharged debt....scary stuff.

[duplantisjj]

Wow! This is some scary stuff. I mean some cases occurrred a few years after discharge where they (worse than loan shark scum) purchased the debt, assigned new numbers and report you as deliquent if you don't pay! Yeah, sad to say, I have accounts to be discharged with Capital One and they seem to be named in every one of these articles. So I suppose I can expect to have this wonderful experience somewhere down the road of these jerks hounding me for a discharged debt.

BTW thanks for the interesting read b girl..

[jessegirl]

Can't these companies be sued? Especially Capital One for example? What scums..... So i guess is this what we will call "The long Haul"..... Unreal..

[b_girl]

You're welcome, duplantis. I was really shocked when I first read an article about this (during my pre-BK filing days), but didn't get concerned until I read some recent posts from people who are dealing with this very issue.

And jessegirl, the last article I posted describes how one court actually ruled AGAINST debtors who attempted to sue these 'creditors'....something about how it amounts to 'terrorizing' the creditors. I think it's the other way around myself...discharged means discharged, so why are they being allowed to harass post BK filers for non-existent debt?

[Pizza]

I don't get something here... if it's clearly illegal to collect on discharged debt, how are these folks able to even attempt it? Throughout the first story are these opening statements that read 'so-and-so is planning on rolling out such-and-such collection scheme'... why aren't these people being interviewed behind bars?

[b_girl]

Exactly. That's why this is so scary...why is it even happening? and why aren't they being stopped?? Unfortunately, I think part of the answer to why it's happening is 'because it works'...somehow they are successful in bullying people into re-paying clearly discharged debt. As for why it's being allowed...I have some theories...

[Gabriel_S]

Man this is crazy !!!! But there is a way to fix these problems. I'm using Legal helpers and they have a page dedicated to fixing credit reporting errors. They also have a sample letter to use ....

http://www.legalhelpers.com/bankrupt...t-reports.html