Creditor Abuse Attorney in Chicago

Protection from Creditor Abuse

All creditors are supposed to stop attempting to collect debts from you once a bankruptcy is filed. As soon as a bankruptcy is filed, an "automatic stay" is ordered by the court, which protects you from your creditors. After filing a case, all creditors should receive notice about the bankruptcy from the court to inform creditors it is illegal for them to contact you in any manner.

Unfortunately, there are times when creditors still contact you, which violates the protections of the automatic stay in your case. In situations like this, you may be eligible to receive compensation for the harassment that you have endured.

Deliberate Violations of Automatic Stay

If a creditor willfully violates the automatic stay, the court can sanction the creditor. There does not need to be intent to violate the automatic stay order, only an intention to collect in violation of the order. The court has a power of contempt with which it can sanction a violation of the automatic stay.

According to Section 524 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, after you file bankruptcy no one can take action against you if the debt has been discharged. It is illegal for creditors to contact you about payments for the discharged debts. There are many courses of action that a lawyer can take if a creditor violates the automatic stay protection in your case.

In some instances, a lawyer may suggest simply writing a letter to the creditor informing them that you have filed for bankruptcy and hope that they stop contacting you. Once a creditor is made aware of the bankruptcy, collection efforts must immediately stop. In other cases, a lawyer may go back to bankruptcy court and sue the creditor for violating the court order.

Compensation for Harassment

The discharge injunction that the court orders in a bankruptcy claim is a legal order to the creditor that forbids them from collecting the debt ever again. Violating this order subjects a debt collector to be sued under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. We can help you receive possible compensation for their wrongful actions.

If a creditor violates the automatic stay by continuing collection actions, it is important to seek to assistance of a Chicago bankruptcy lawyer right away. You may likely receive compensation for legal charges of your lawyer in additional to compensation based on your particular situation. In addition to basic bankruptcy laws, the creditor may also be violating other specific state or federal laws as well.

The other possible violations may include:

• The Fair Credit Reporting Act
• The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
• The state unfair trade practice laws
• The state fair debt collection practices laws

You are protected from harassment by creditors after filing for bankruptcy. The U.S. Bankruptcy Code protects against collecting action from all collectors.