Tracy Flood (Attorney At Law) My husband and I filed bankruptcy and half of the things we thought was on there was not. Port Orchard Washington
My husband and I filed bankruptcy about 5 years ago and went to pull our credit report the other day and saw that half the things that we had on the bankruptcy or wanted on it was still outstanding debt on our credit report. So now it makes it look very bad on our credit let alone the bankruptcy that we already had and we thought that it would all be taken care of little did we know.
We tried so many times to meet with her and she was never available or wanted alot more money after we already paid her for the lawyer fees. It was an all around bad experience for my husband and I. We had hardly no clue when it came to filing and she was not any help in letting us in on what was going on or how it all worked.
I don't recommend anyone to go to her for any legal action that you might need taken care of because you won't get any help in the matter.
Jane doe
Port Orchard, Washington
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Tim
Grand Haven,Michigan,
U.S.A.
A bit more advice
#3Consumer Comment
Fri, October 09, 2009
As noted in the above rebuttal, there is a "split" regarding whther a creditor in a no-asset chapter 7, who was not notified of the filing, can continue any collection activities (i.e. reporting as "open" on your credit report).
That's a technical point of law that few RoR readers are going to understand.
Generally, when you file a bankruptcy petition, there is a duty on the part of your attorney/petition preparer to ensure that EVERY debt, including potential debts (i.e. tax debts) are included in the petition. This duty is met by looking to the materials provided by the client and by reviewing the client's credit reports.
In geographical regions where the case cited above applies, and assuming that you have no non-exxempt assets, I guess it doesn't matter whether a creditor is on the mailing matrix, assuming that the above interpretation of this case is correct.
In such a case, I would simply send a copy of your discharge notice to any creditor that is causing you trouble. This should do the trick. If it doesn't, I would report any further collection activities to your attorney and the bankrutpcy court.
Keep in mind, however, that creditors whose debts are discharged can still make remarks on your credit report. The debt can still be listed, but it must be remarked with "discharged in bankruptcy" or something to that effect.
Best regards!
Mick
Troutdale,Oregon,
U.S.A.
Debts Were Still Discharged!
#3Consumer Suggestion
Thu, October 08, 2009
Dear "Jane": Even though your attorney failed to list those debts on your bankruptcy, they were likely covered by the discharge order anyway. This is in line with a court case titled "In Re Beezley", in which the 9th Federal Circuit determined that, even if a creditor is not listed on a Chapter 7, the underlying debt is STILL covered by the discharge, UNLESS your trustee was able to take something from you, for distribution to the listed creditors. In other words, the bankruptcy law treats it as a "no harm, no foul" matter. So, unless there was a financial "pie" that the listed creditors got to partake of, while the other's didn't, then the law looks to the underlying character of the debt. If it was one that WOULD have been discharged IF you had listed, then it WAS discharged, even though you DIDN'T list it! I know that seems kind of confusing, but here's the kicker. Since this was a decision by the 9th Circuit, it ONLY applies to bankruptcies filed in the 9th circuit (which encompasses Washington). In Florida, for instance, the standard is exactly the opposite! What you need to do, is to get ahold of a copy of "Beezley" (shouldn't be hard, it's often cited in other cases), and then contact the credit reporting agencies, and demand that they list those debts as discharged, in conformance with "Beezley". Good Luck!