tell creditors that I WILL file for Chapter 7???

[Pandora]

Thanks TOBEE!!! That's kind of what I'm thinking - let them call and keep you cards close to your vest....

(I would LOVE to ask the atty but wife said don't email/bother him with stuff like this...sheesh - he's VERY expensive - he does nothing BUT bankruptcy for over 20 years - and I'm thinking why not ask...)

....Lawyer gave us guide to tell creditors to call him.

In most instances, if you haven't filed BK yet but just retained counsel, a creditor can continue to call you until you actually have a case number to provide to them; however according to what you've written, your attorney has directed otherwise. Stay violations are only awarded if intentional and egregious - and only after written notification from your lawyer is provided and documented telling the creditor to cease and desist. Getting awarded monies for stay violations isnt as easy as it sounds and is a very long process; we're set to go to court for this very thing in the next 2 weeks and it's been 6 months since our AP was filed to pursue it. Long long process.

It's best to call your attorney and discuss what they will provide to you prior to actually filing/paying in full; the attorney represents you, therefore if you have questions on what to do in the interim before actually filing and receiving a case number, its perfectly acceptable to ask him/her or their paralegal.

[Jacey]

I used google voice, and that took care of 90% of the calls.

[ulita]

if you know it is a creditor when they ask for you just put them on hold. they will hang up quickly they got others to call or i let all my calls go to the house phone, the people i want to talk to got my cell

[tobee43]

oh!! my favorites.........you get these auto calls...asking you to HOLD....excuse me?? LOL...yes, i'll HOLD for 15 minutes so you can ask me for money i don't have and then yell at me about it...right!

[catleg]

Under FDCPA, a debt collector (non-OC) must stop calling you if they are given an attorney contact info.
An OC can call you until the end of time,they are not required to honor FDCPA or C&D letters.
That said, I was able to get Capital One to stop calling me by giving them notice that I planned to file BK 2 or 3 months ahead of time.
It really surprised me, but Cap1 was one of the better behaved creditors.

[discouraged]

I did not tell them until my attorney actually filed the case. The firm said to advise creditors to call them but I just felt more comfortable once I knew I would have a case number. I let everything go to my answering machine and unplugged it when it got rough, then plugged it back in after 9:00 pm. It was a hassle but once my case was filed, I could confidently answer the phone, tell them I filed and they could call my lawyer. Gave the lawyer's name and number and if they asked any more questions, just repeated, call my atorney and hung up. No harrasing phone calls this weekend. It was wonderful to have that silence.