The phone rings three days after you filed for bankruptcy, and the number belongs to the same collector who was calling before. Maybe it isn't a call. Maybe it's a letter about a repossession, or a paycheck that came in short because a garnishment never got the message. Either way, you're left wondering if any of this is even legal.
It isn't. The moment your bankruptcy petition lands with the court, an automatic stay locks nearly every creditor out of collecting from you, and one that ignores that order can be made to pay for the trouble it caused.
Steele Law Firm PLLC works directly with Fort Worth clients on this problem, from the first sign of a violation through whatever it takes to make it stop.
The automatic stay is a federal injunction that takes effect the instant your bankruptcy petition is filed, no judge's signature or waiting period required.
One thing to know: if you had a case dismissed in the past year, the stay may be shorter or may need a judge to turn it on. 11 U.S.C. ยง 362 is the law behind it, and once it kicks in, wage garnishments, foreclosure sales, repossessions, and most phone calls from creditors have to stop.
Some creditors find out within hours, since some creditor harassment lawyers watch court filings closely. Others don't check anything, and keep collecting anyway. That's where the trouble starts, and where federal law switches sides.
Almost any collection effort that continues after you file counts as a violation, and the Bankruptcy Basics Glossary published by the federal courts treats the stay as one of the case's core protections.
Common violations include:
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau confirms a discharged debt can't be chased by mail, phone, or credit report either. If you're not sure whether what happened qualifies, a quick call to our firm can help settle it fast.
A stay violation is a timing problem before it's a legal one. The gap between calling an answering service and calling the person who filed your case can be the gap between a violation fixed by Friday and one still dragging three weeks later.
At Steele Law Firm PLLC, clients reach Lindsay Steele directly, and that access matters most in the hours right after a creditor breaks the rule.
Once a violation is proven willful, meaning the creditor knew about your case and acted anyway, the law gives you real ground to stand on.
You can recover your actual losses: wages lost to a garnishment that should have stopped, the cost of getting a repossessed car back, fees to reconnect a service that got cut off. Attorney fees and court costs typically get added on top of that once a violation is proven.
When a creditor's conduct is reckless, blatant, or repeated, a court can add punitive damages meant to punish it and stop it from happening again. Amounts vary case by case, and the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas can hold a creditor in contempt on top of whatever damages get awarded.
A free consultation with Steele Law Firm PLLC is the fastest way to find out what a specific violation might be worth.
Move fast, and write everything down. Here's the order that protects you best:
If it doesn't end there, a motion can be filed with the Fort Worth Division of the Northern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act may open a second path to relief if a third-party collector is involved.
Steele Law Firm PLLC handles these motions in Fort Worth regularly and can start on yours the same week you call.
There's no set deadline written into the bankruptcy law for this. Courts don't all treat the timing the same way, so don't wait. Contact us right away. The sooner you call it in, the easier it is to prove and the less damage piles up.
Yes, the stay applies the moment your case is filed, whether or not the creditor got the memo yet. A creditor who had no real way of knowing usually isn't on the hook for the same damages as one who ignored the notice on purpose. Either way, tell them right away and get it in writing.
It's possible, though a single call is a tougher case than a pattern of them. Courts look at whether the creditor knew about your filing and chose to act anyway, not just how many times they called. One documented, willful call is still worth a conversation with our firm.
That's a different rule, called the discharge injunction, but it works the same way in practice. A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy discharge debt can't be chased by phone, letter, or lawsuit, and a collector who tries anyway faces the same kind of consequences. Bring it to us either way, since the fix looks almost identical.
You filed bankruptcy to get creditors off your back, and one that keeps calling, garnishing, or threatening you anyway hasn't just broken a rule, it's broken the one protection that was supposed to give you room to breathe.
Attorney Lindsay Steele has represented Fort Worth clients through this kind of violation, and she handles these violations herself, from that first phone call through whatever motion it takes to make the creditor stop (and pay for the trouble it caused).
If a creditor has crossed the line since you filed, contact our firm today and let's put a stop to it.
