Sacramento Bankruptcy Lawyer serving Galt talks about debt collector tactics versus the protection from an automatic stay of a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.

Are debt collectors getting pushier?  More and more say “yes” as a growing percentage of people are facing insurmountable debt problems, often accompanied by overly aggressive collection efforts from debt collection agencies.  Many consumers report that harassment by collectors is in fact one of the main reasons they finally decided to seek either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection.

• Creditors seem to assume that debtors can come up with extra money to pay their debts if only they become “strongly motivated” to do so.  Unfortunately, many debt collectors are resorting to overly aggressive collection efforts.
  • Debt collectors often take advantage of the guilt or fear that consumers feel when they can’t keep up debt payments.
  • Some overly aggressive collectors are in the habit of contacting debtors every day, multiple times a day, and late at night in order to harass or frighten consumers into making larger debt payments.
  • Some will go even farther and contact every possible phone number, calling debtors at work or even harassing their family members and colleagues.
  • One woman recently reported that a debt collector was looking for a person with a name similar to hers.  Despite multiple attempts to convince the debt collector that he was not talking to the right person, the woman continues to receive contacts from the debt collection agency.
  • One debtor tells of an aggressive rent-to-own furniture store: a few days after missing just one payment, debt collection agents showed up in a moving van to repossess the rented furniture.
• The Automatic Stay of a bankruptcy will prohibit creditors and debt collectors from contacting you. This protection goes into effect as soon as the bankruptcy is filed, and puts a stop to almost all collection attempts, including most wage garnishments and lawsuits.
• Just the act of hiring a Bankruptcy Attorney will decrease creditor harassment.  Once the attorney is retained you can direct creditors to their office (ask the attorney for their contact info), and someone from the office can confirm that they will be filing on your behalf

Financial Freedom Law focuses on Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 debt relief and invites anyone who is spending too much time dealing with creditors, and not enough time dealing with the next steps to financial recovery, to call or email to discuss your individual circumstances.  Please contact our Sacramento law firm at 916-313-9069 or via email at info@california-bankruptcyattorney.com