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Stop Debt Collectors

Carrying the burden of debts that you are struggling to repay can affect every aspect of your life. Your phone may be ringing insistently with calls from angry creditors, threatening letters may be piling up outside your door, and you may even start to feel harassed at work. The stress is almost unimaginable, but no matter how bleak your situation may seem, it is important to remember that there are always options for financial relief.

By contacting the Cleveland Bankruptcy Attorneys you can stop debt collectors from disrupting your life and take the first step to regaining control of your financial future. Call us at (216) 586-6600 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.

Protect Yourself from Unfair Debt Collection Practices

The fact that you owe money to various companies or organizations does not give anyone the right to relentlessly harass you for payment. There are protections in place under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCA) that protect you from unfair debt collection practices, and the regulations creditors must follow are rather strict. To get around these guidelines, some companies employ third party collectors who may be more brazen in their attempts to recover a debt.

This often leads to serious mistakes and violations on their part. With the help of an experienced lawyer who thoroughly understands your rights as a consumer and the protections afforded by the FDCA you may be able to put a stop to their unfair behavior in addition to possibly achieving financial restitution for the harm they may have caused.

Benefits of Bankruptcy

If you decide that filing for bankruptcy protection in Ohio is in your best long-term interest, you should remember that once you file you can end collection activity once and for all. No more threatening phone calls, letters, emails, or texts from creditors. Regardless of whether you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, once you file, creditors are required to immediately stop contacting you to collect any more debt.

The decision to file for bankruptcy can be fraught with uncertainties. The better you understand what to do and what not to do when filing for bankruptcy, the better you can understand your situation. Visit our guide for what to do before filing bankruptcy.

Learn more about how and why collection activities will cease when you file for bankruptcy through the following:

Automatic Stay
Automatic stay puts an instant halt to any impending legal action, and most actions by creditors or collection agencies. An automatic stay is a strong shield that’s put up around you once you have filed bankruptcy to stop your creditors from having any sort of contact with you. For some, it provides a compelling reason on its own to file for bankruptcy.

Stop Home Foreclosure
Bankruptcy is a good way to thwart home foreclosure. Although the effect could be permanent or temporary, it is a powerful tool for anyone behind on payments and needs more time in their home. When you file for bankruptcy, an automatic stay is issued and if your home is going to be foreclosed upon or is in an active foreclosure case, the automatic stay will legally stall the action.

Stop Car Repossession
Filing for bankruptcy may be able to help you avoid having your car repossessed. Depending on whether you file for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, your car loan lender may or may not be able to repossess your car.

Stop Creditor Harassment
Typically, when you file for bankruptcy, creditors are legally required by automatic stay to stop contacting you immediately. Automatic stay is intended to stop all communication from creditors, foreclosures, repossession, wage garnishment, and lawsuits against you. 

Stop Wage Garnishment
If you are facing wage garnishment, bankruptcy may be a solution to stop your wages from being garnished and even a way to get them back. Wage garnishment is the deduction of money from an individual’s income to pay off existing debts. Garnishments typically require a court mandated order and employers usually must give notification prior to the garnishment taking effect. Once a court order is filed by whomever the money is owed, those documents are sent to the debtor’s employer. The employer then withholds money from the paycheck, and sends this to the court. The court then forwards a check to whomever the debtor owes money. 

Stop Bill Collectors
Once you successfully filed a bankruptcy petition and an automatic stay is in place, the bankruptcy court should notify any bill collectors referenced in your filing and all communication with you should cease. This can provide you with some much-needed relief as well as the time you need to complete your bankruptcy plan.

Stop Payday Loans
For individuals that have fallen behind on monthly bills, a payday loan may seem like a great solution. Also, known as cash advances or paycheck advances these are short-term loans offered at very high interest rates. When people rely on these services regularly, the person’s situation can quickly become unmanageable. These loans are still considered unsecured debts and can be included in a bankruptcy filing and can be addressed through a repayment plan or a discharge.

Stop Lawsuits
One way creditors recover what they are owed is by filing lawsuits against debtors. If you are ever sued, the protection offered by bankruptcy extends to actions that a may have been filed before the bankruptcy started, in addition to any pending lawsuits. By filing bankruptcy, it puts the case on hold until the matter is resolved. If the debt is successfully discharged, a creditor will not be able to recover it. On the other hand, if the debt is determined to be non-dischargeable during the proceeding, then the creditor may continue to pursue their claim. A knowledgeable attorney will be able to explain your specific situation and how any judgments against you can be affected.

Stop Bad Credit
There are a lot of misconceptions about bankruptcy and how it influences your credit. Truthfully, when people stay in unsustainable financial positions and are constantly being pursued by creditors, oftentimes, more harm is done. It is important to act quickly to erase or rearrange your debt. By mitigating the effect to your credit through bankruptcy, your debt to income ratio can have a chance to improve.

Avoiding Holiday Debt
A major contributing factor in many bankruptcy cases is peoples’ reliance on credit cards for everyday expenses and when they overextend themselves during popular shopping seasons.

When they are used appropriately and balances are paid on time, credit cards can offer benefits such as improving credit ratings and purchasing items when you need them without having cash on hand. What people often forget about is that credit cards come with high interest rates and if you are ever ill-equipped to pay the balance, this amount is added to next month’s statement and people find themselves in a difficult cycle.

This is usually when bill collectors start calling. By consulting with an experienced lawyer, you may be able to eliminate or reduce your debts, but you can also learn how to stop holiday debt this year and avoid falling into a similar pattern.

Stop Debt Collectors by Calling the Ohio Bankruptcy Lawyers with Cleveland Bankruptcy Attorneys

Whether you’re deep in debt or struggling to stay up with bills, there’s a solution to your financial situation. The Ohio bankruptcy attorneys with Cleveland Bankruptcy Attorneys have the knowledge and experience to fight for your best interest.

Contact us today to discuss your options at (216) 586-6600, or contact us online for a free case consultation.

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