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Bankruptcy doesn’t just help you get a fresh start financially. It also provides specific legal rights designed to protect consumers from creditor efforts to collect on pre-bankruptcy debts while they are in a bankruptcy. During bankruptcy, these protections are called the “automatic stay” (11 U.S.C. § 362). Congress included the automatic stay in the bankruptcy code specifically to allow consumers breathing room from creditor’s collections efforts as they work to get back on a solid financial footing. After completing their bankruptcy the Bankruptcy Code provides consumer debtors with a similar, permanent right to be free from creditors’ attempts to collect on certain pre-bankruptcy debts, which is called the “discharge injunction” (11 U.S.C. . § 524).

Stay Violations

A “stay” is one of the special protections afforded when you file for bankruptcy. Under a stay, your creditors are prohibited from contacting you about pre-bankruptcy debts and from trying to collect on those debts. In addition, a stay stops actions like foreclosures, repossessions and legal actions to lay claim to collateral used to secure a debt. When a creditor violates a stay, you have the legal right to compensation for your damages.

Discharge Violations