Filed years ago and now getting asked to pay?

[LegallyStumped]

What is the name of your state? Michigan

I have to dig the old records up, but I filed for bankruptcy years ago. I'd like to say somewhere in the 5-7 range and after doing that, things have been calm.

Medical debts have kept me from saving any sort of money and one debt came back to bite (my wife was on this one as well, which most of everything we took out was in my name alone as she has no credible credit to speak of) and we paid that off. That had to have been only a year or so after we declared.

Now, a few months ago calls started coming in from one of those old debts. Not sure which one as it's an unnatural fear I have to not talk to these people and I figured they were scamming or trying something they shouldn't have and would just stop.

So then a month or so ago another one calls "from the law offices of..." about collecting on a debt. Well, I talked to my wife on this and the other one to determine what they were trying to collect on. We've avoided credit cards and the like and have struggled to rebuild our credit, basically living pay check to pay check, but getting by. So I know we haven't racked up new debt and suddenly defaulted on it.. it's the old stuff.

Why are they doing this? Can they do this? My wife talked to the law office group, at least they leave a name and number if you don't answer... but since we hadn't called back they started calling anyone with a name similar to mine and got my parents. (They have also made it a habit to call and leave messages at work on my line, which I don't know how they can assume is JUST mine...luckily it is..) and for a while were even calling my cell phone. They come up as one of the private callers numbers, something else I thought wasn't completely allowed these days.

My wife did talk briefly to someone else who pretended he wasn't the one managing the account.. but he started throwing around the "garnishment" and how Michigan law allows that - sure it does, but I do not believe they have any sort of legal claim. That's the reason I declared was to get out from under that burden, not have it rear it's ugly head years later... and nobody called in between.

If you can't tell at this point, I'm rambling, I don't like the situation I ever was in, I find it embarassing (my father is a circuit court judge who may have some insightful information, but I'd rather post "anonymously" on a forum and trust in the people who read it because of that!) and I want it to stop, but until I know more, I don't want to call these people back.

[LegallyStumped]

See.. in my haste and frustration, I posted this in the business bankruptcy.. this should be in personal. *sigh*

[ihatearizona]

You do NOT owe this creditor ANYTHING (unless the debt was for: child support, alimony, student loans or taxes). You need to send them a cease and desist letter ASAP letting them know that they are violating the bankruptcy discharge and you could sue them for contempt of court (not to mention how many of the other FDCPA laws they have broken).

If I were you, I would also pull my credit reports (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) to find out what has been placed on there by these idiots.

Go to [url]http://www.creditinfocenter.com[/url] and click on their letter section to pull down the letter you will need. You'll probably need to modify it a little to include the bankruptcy.

[LegallyStumped]

I'll check for that form and tweak it.

Is this normal though? It just doesn't seem right. My wife claims another of those callers is the same thing. I suspect she's right on target because they simply did not call for YEARS.. wasn't the case prior to the bankruptcy and it was so nice and quiet after we filed.

I know we're not strong financially, but we're much better than we used to be and until we can get her medical situation under control (amazing how copays for visits and perscriptions can eat away at your foundation, they add up fast!) we will always struggle.

Thanks for the advice.

[ihatearizona]

There are a lot of junk debt buyers out there that try to intimidate debtors into paying what they are no longer obligated to pay.

I'm sorry to hear about your wife. My father-in-law was just diagnosed with cancer and I know how expensive medications can be. Prior to the cancer his insurance was enough to pay for his meds for 11 months, which left him liable for $1000+ just for December. Now that he has cancer, on top of the other ailments, it's only going to get worse.

[DerbyGirl]

Are you positive this is from your pre-BK days?
I'd find out first, I mean you can't go spouting off FDCPA violations without knowing what it is they are collecting on.
Call them back, ask them what it's for, and if it was covered under your BK - tell them that.
Trust me, they don't want to waste their time on something discharged in BK.

Out of curiosity, did you have the same cell number & work number before your BK?
I ask because normally on way older accounts, you get basic info - not usually cell & work info.
That's what leads me to believe these may not be so old.

My $1.02 anyways...

Regards,
DG

[LegallyStumped]

I still work at the same place I've always worked at.. and the home phone number has been the same ever since we moved here. It's apparent they called where I work to obtain the numbers - I think I've even mentioned they've been calling anyone similarly named.

I can't imagine it not being related to the bankruptcy... and like I said, up until this last summer there haven't been any calls, but I really think I'm close to 7 years going by since this was all done.

My wife talked to someone there and they rattled off 4 different company names that this was or has been.. it can't be anything new.

Arizone - Sorry to hear about your father too. Would be nice to not have to worry about expenses when you're dealing with those kinds of things, at least insurance takes the edge off, but for those without, ouch....

[ihatearizona]

Do not call the collection agency. If they have sent you anything in writing, then WRITE to them. Stay off the phone as it will only get you into trouble!