Home > Research Legal Advice > Bankruptcy / Debt > I filed and received a Chap.7 discharge. Now someone I never knew I owe...
Asked about 1 year ago - Mount Pleasant, TX
FlagThis is a company that bought an old debt. On my credit report the original creditor shows a zero balance, that's why it was not included. The new company never in the 3 years since they bought the debt ever repored to the credit bureaus.
The debt is discharged in Texas as long as your case was a no-asset case. If there were assets and the creditor was not listed, the creditor did not get to participate in the distributions. Therefore, the debt would not be discharged. Send a copy of your discharge to the creditor that bought the debt. If the debt buyer is reporting a balance owed on your credit report, send them a letter advising them to list the amount as 0; otherwise, they are attempting to collect a debt that was discharged in bankruptcy. You should also advise the attorney who filed your bankruptcy case to see if he/she would want to bring a discharge violation.
Pamela L. Stewart
Houston, TX
Did you list the last known creditor?
If not, give them notice of bankruptcy and tell them to leave you alone.
There are some complexities on this topic that you may need to consult an attorney to understand. You did not provide enough information to be able to address the issue.
Good luck.
Jim Webster
www.jpwlegal.com
1845 S. Dobson Rd. Ste 201
Mesa, AZ 85202
(480) 464-4667
Jim@jpwlegal.com
We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for relief under the Bankruptcy Code.
In my jurisdiction, you would be able to reopen the BKC case to amend your schedules to include the inadvertently omitted creditor, then once the schedules were amended to bring an adversary proceeding to get the judge to rule that the debt is dischargeable.
There are some jurisdictions which do not permit that process because the law in that jurisdiction is that a debt that is not listed in a no-asset bankruptcy is discharged anyway, even if not listed.
You need to discuss this situation with a seasoned bankruptcy attorney in TX, or, find a TX bankruptcy attorney here on Avvo and send a specific question to that attorney.
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