Hey all, Here's the situation--My AMEX Blue account (never paid late) has been included in my pending BK7. The CRAs are already showing it as 0 balance and IIB (we haven't even had the 341 meeting yet) but I have received a letter from NCO trying to take a %29 "settlement" on the account. It seems that AMEX sold this debt to a junk debt resale and I'm determined to nip this in the bud before they start reporting or resale it themselves. Here is the response letter to NCO. Tell me what you think--suggestions, etc. ------------------------------------------------------- August 11, 2004 NCO Financial Systems Inc. 507 Prudential Road Horsham, PA 19044 RE: Account #XXXXXXX Dear Sir or Madam: I recently received your letter pertaining to the American Express account numbered xxxxxx and your proposed offer to settle this account for $619.35. I cannot accept this proposal. American Express was notified that I had retained an attorney and have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy before placing this account with you. This was an inappropriate action on their part and constitutes a continued collection effort in violation of the automatic stay provided under bankruptcy code. I must demand that this debt be returned to the original creditor so that it may be dealt with in the normal course of the bankruptcy proceeding. I also will remind you of your responsibilities related to this account as required under the Fair Debt Collection Practices act, 15 USC §1692c. I request that any further communications pertaining to this matter be directed in writing to my attorney at the following address unless otherwise specifically requested by myself: Attorney contact info here Additionally I have become aware of a hard inquiry on my TransUnion credit file from your group. As I believe you were unaware of the bankruptcy status of the account before this inquiry I will not contest this inquiry with the Credit Bureaus. Be aware however that any further inquiries related to this wrongfully placed account or the appearance of a negative trade line on my credit report from your group will cause me to vigorously defend my rights under the FDCPA and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Any action you take to further the illegal collection activities other than the return of the account to the original creditor may result in your encumbrance in justifying your actions to the Bankruptcy Judge. I furthermore ask that you should you determine you will continue collection efforts you consider this letter a formal request for validation and of this account pursuant to the FDCPA, 15 USC §1692g. Be aware that further collection activities under this section, as well as under the automatic stay provision of the bankruptcy code are a violation of Federal Law. Please mail all pertinent information concerning this validation to both my attorney as well as to my address that you have on file. Thank you very much for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, rondaben -------------------------------------------------------- Sound ok? Thanks for the feedback. I'm not shy about taking them to the woodshed if need be. I just won my non-pp lawsuit about a month and a half ago. Nice to have that extra cash
Just curious. Why would your lawyer include an account in good standing (i.e. never paid later) in your CH 7 filing? Your letter to the creditor is too wordy. Don't try to sound like a legal expert. Simply tell them you have filed CH 7, give the docket number and they will back off. Demand removal of the inquiry and cc: your lawyer. Why make it more complicated than necessary? With this info no creditor will dare incur the wrath of a BK judge.
I think your letter is fine. Wordy is good, it wears them down a bit. Also...to other poster, you include all debts in a BK7 filing, thats the law. its not just past due debts, all debts. now, if he wanted to avoid putting amex in the filing, he could have paid them down to zero....you don't have to list all tradelines...if its zero balance, its not a debt. but it might be too late to pay it now...a payment over $600 6 months previous to filing, might make someone a preferred creditor.
thanks guys Yeah, you have to include all creditors in your BK7 proceeding. The point is that AMEX knew i filed BK before they sold it to NCO. Now NCO is trying to collect a debt that is IIB. My goal was to force NCO to return the uncollectable debt back to AMEX so that it will die with the BK discharge and not get involved on the junk debt merry go round.
You were grossly misinformed. There is NO obligation to include all the creditors. With any BK you only include the one that are delinquent. For CH 7 it would be the ones you want fully discharged, for CH 13 it is the ones you want included in the payment plan. It should be malpractice for a lawyer to toss accounts in good standing into the BK for no legitimate reason. Those accounts are the ones that are helpful in rebuilding your credit history. There is nothing in the code that says good accounts must be in the BK matrix.
Re: Re: AMEX IIB sold to NCO from instructions for completing Schedule F - US Bankruptcy Filings: "Schedule F requires the debtor to list unsecured non-priority claims as of the date of the filing of the petition" technically, all debts must be listed, then selected debts can be re-affirmed
Re: Re: AMEX IIB sold to NCO lbrown, I am curious....what part of the FDCPA, FCRA, or FBRA prohibits the sale during a stay. FirstUSA sold my acct to Weinstein 1 month after I filed Chap 7....They never tried to collect, but I am curious what part of the Chap. 7 code prohibits these sales?
I am speaking from practical experience, not reading from a form. I have prepared over 100 filings under 7 and 13 AND also had meetings with two Trustees who agee with this. Also, the law firms that specialize only in BK, whom I have prepared filings for over and above the ones I did as a petition preparer, also recommend leaving good accounts out of the filing. I guess it depends on the advice you get and how literally you want to interpret the regs. It kinda like people who think negs must stay on a CR for 7 years; it just ain't true.
