Bankruptcy Indiana

As a debt consolidation lawyer and consumer bankruptcy specialist, I find that, in just about every bankruptcy case I've ever filed on behalf of a client (my Columbus bankruptcy lawyer colleagues tell me it's the same for them), credit card debt plays a major role. In recent months, however, bill collection seems to have taken on a new, very deceptive tactic. 

While I was being interviewed about the bankruptcy services I provide in Indiana  for the article "Protecting You From Creditors" in the October issue of the Indianapolis Star, I explained that a paralegal in my Indiana bankruptcy law office mainly works on cases in which bill collectors continue to go after clients whose debts have already been cleared through bankruptcy!

Any source of Indiana bankruptcy information confirms this: my clients are not the only victims of deceptive bill collection efforts.  As the Star article explains, since the recession began, aggressive debt collectors have taken the tack of "It doesn't hurt to ask!", dunning people who don't owe them money at all.  Federal laws already prohibit collection agencies from harassing debtors.  Once a debt has been discharged in bankruptcy, that debt is erased, and no collectors have the right to demand any payment.

Often the harassment has to do with payday loan debt. In several states, additional laws have been enacted that punish abusive debt collectors.  Indiana has not created such a law, instead relying on the Federal Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.

I consider it sad that, when times are tough, scammers prey on the most vulnerable citizens.  As part of my interview with the Star, I suggested that our General Assembly create a law requiring creditors to prove that they are owed money by those specific debtors. "If there were tougher laws," I remarked, would would think twice before they call and harass our citizens." I added that, just about every day, we receive calls from clients who are continuing to get threats from bill collectors, even after those debts have been dismissed in bankruptcy.

The problem is compounded by the fact that consumer debt is being sold from one creditor to another. Often the second company is simply unaware the debt has either been paid off or discharged in bankruptcy.  A parallel problem is occuring with mortgages, where foreclosed properties have been "flipped" many times, so that the creditor no longer knows who actually has title to the property.

One mission of my work as a board-certified consumer bankruptcy specialist is to offer free, no-obligation consultations to people facing financial challenges and especially to offer payday loan debt help.  Whether bill collectors are coming after clients before or post-bankruptcy, there's no excuse for harassment!