CREDITOR CALLS AND BILLINGS BEFORE YOUR CASE IS FILED

You may be able to reduce and stop harassing collection activity by claiming your rights and protections under federal laws regarding collection.  Here is a Fact Sheet about that process in Word format.  Here is the same Fact Sheet in PDF format.  Here is a link to the Federal Trade Commission page on the Fair Debt Collection Act.

Lawsuits before your case is filed:  If you are served with a lawsuit you may need to move forward quickly to get your case filed to avoid a judgment and possible garnishment of wages and bank accounts or the placement of a judgment lien on your real property.  

PERHAPS YOU ARE "JUDGMENT-PROOF" AND MAY NOT NEED TO WORRY OUT A CREDITOR SUING YOU AND GETTING A JUDGMENT AGAINST YOU

If you do not own real property and your sole source of income is from a source that cannot be garnished, such as Social Security, then you may be judgment proof.  Here is a Handout about being judgment proof in Word format.  Here is the same Handout in PDF format. 

CREDITOR CALLS AND BILLINGS AFTER YOUR CASE IS FILED

Once your bankruptcy has been filed the Court enters an order stopping creditors from engaging in collection activity against you.   

If a creditor calls you after your case has been filed, give them your case number and remind them that there is an order of automatic stay against collection activity in effect. If they persist, ask them to send you a billing, get a name and phone number and bring that information to our office. 

Creditor billing statements: If you receive a billing statement from a creditor after your case has been filed, write a message to the creditor that you have filed bankruptcy,  provide your case number, our phone number and mail it back to the creditor.  If you receive more than two statements from the same creditor after your Creditors Hearing, contact our office.

Lawsuits: If you are served with a lawsuit for a bill listed in your bankruptcy petition, bring the lawsuit to our office immediately.

We are located at 1235 Fourth Avenue East, Suite 200 in  Olympia, Washington 98506. 

You can reach us by telephone at (360) 943-6200. 

Our fax number is (360) 943-4827. 

We are a debt relief agency.

                       We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the bankruptcy code.