Can Creditors Still Contact Me After I File For Bankruptcy?

Immediately upon filing for bankruptcy protection, creditors are absolutely not permitted to contact you with regard to collection on the outstanding debt. The protection of the Automatic Stay of Bankruptcy expressly prohibits such contact. This protection will remain until your bankruptcy discharge is granted. After that, the discharge injunction prohibits any creditors whose debt was discharged in the bankruptcy from ever taking any collection action against you, including communications. If a creditor persists in contact you, they can be subject to damages for willful violation of the Automatic Stay and/or the Discharge Injunction.

As in most cases, there are exceptions to this. First and foremost, the creditor must have reasonable notice of the bankruptcy filing. In most cases, this notice is executed by regular first-class mail upon the filing of the bankruptcy case, so creditors will often unknowingly violate the Automatic Stay early in the case. You can give them actual notice of the filing by telling them that you have filed for bankruptcy and giving them the case number, filing date and your attorney’s contact information, at which time that are on notice of the filing and prohibited from contacting you again. Often, your attorney will provide immediate notice by fax, email or a phone call to creditors in order to make them aware of the filing and avoid a post-filing action such as a repossession or wage garnishment.

Additionally, and particularly in Chapter 13 cases, some creditors having contact with you after the bankruptcy filing will benefit everyone. The most common example of this is when you are trying to keep your home in Chapter 13 and your mortgage includes insurance and tax escrows. When these escrows change, as they do annually, the mortgage company has to be able to notify you of these changes, as they often lead to a change in the monthly mortgage payment. There are procedures within the Bankruptcy Rules that allow for this communication, but they still prohibit any efforts to collect on the outstanding debt. These notices must be purely informational.

Keep in mind that once your bankruptcy case is discharged, any creditors who hold debts not subject to the bankruptcy discharge are free to pursue collection actions again and have contact with you. For many years, this was a huge issue for those with student loan debt. The student loan lender, upon receiving notice of the bankruptcy, would place the debt in “administrative forbearance” and would then disappear from the debtor’s life while the case was pending. As soon as the case was discharged, however, they would reappear with aggressive collection action. Since interest accrued during the pendency of the bankruptcy, the debtor would not only be pursued for this debt again, but the debt would be much higher than it was when the bankruptcy was initially filed. Now, many student loans can be discharged in bankruptcy through an adversary proceeding, eliminating this risk.

Need Help With Bankruptcy?

Take the first step toward financial freedom. Answer a few questions to get started with your free evaluation.

Why are you considering bankruptcy? *

Company

How much unsecured debt do you have?^ⓘ *

Is an attorney helping you? *

Please describe your current financial situation. *

Contact Information *

Please share your contact information below so we can match you with a local bankruptcy firm. A representative from that firm will call you to explain your options.

There is no charge to speak with an attorney, and your conversation will be kept completely confidential.

First Name Last Name Email Phone Number Zip Code By submitting this form, I expressly consent to receive calls and text/SMS messages from Bankruptcy.com and/or its participating sponsors using automated technology, prerecorded and artificial voice messages. My consent to such contact is not a condition of purchase. I agree to the use of electronic signatures, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service, including its requirement to arbitrate disputes.