You are enjoying a relaxing Sunday afternoon. The phone rings. The number is unavailable, but you answer it anyway. It is a creditor demanding money. You get that sinking feeling. You know you owe the money, but you can’t pay it. If only the creditors would stop calling. Then they start calling the people who you listed as references on the loan documents and telling them that you owe money and asking how they can get in touch with you. You feel embarrassed and taken advantage of. Then all that seems to come in the mail are past due notices and collection demands. Now you are really getting depressed. The reality is that creditors can and do make demands. This feels like they are harassing you and doing things they can’t do, but as long as they stay within the law, creditors can ask you to pay what you owe until it is paid.
Now the good news. As soon as you file a chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy, Utah creditor harassment law requires all communication from creditors must STOP. That is the law. As soon as you file, the court issues an order called an automatic stay which stops all collection activities including foreclosures, repossessions, garnishments, license suspensions, lawsuits, and creditor harassment. An automatic stay is immediately granted when bankruptcy is filed, regardless of whether it is a chapter 7 or chapter 13.
The automatic stay means that creditors cannot contact you in any way. They cannot call or write or email or text. If any creditor contacts you after you file, you simply tell them that you have filed, give them your case number and the date you filed and they must stop. If a creditor continues to harass you after you have filed bankruptcy, they can be forced to stop by the bankruptcy court.
If you are experiencing aggressive collection activity and want to make it stop, call us today, your Utah creditor harassment law experts, for a free initial consultation. We will look at your situation and tell you what will give you the most relief. We have been helping stop debt collection harassment for three decades. We want to do the same for you.