The Bankruptcy Code prohibits your creditors from contacting you or otherwise collecting against you as soon as they receive notice that your case has been filed with the Court. Creditors are specifically precluded from contacting you at either your home or place of work.  Please note, however, that it takes some time for the Court to print and send the notices to your creditors.  Simply inform any creditor that contacts you in the meantime that you have filed bankruptcy; provide them with your case number and our phone number (614.223.1444); and direct any future inquiries to our office.

Of course, creditors are always able to legally collect against you in the time before your case is filed.  If you are concerned about your exposure to creditors during this time, you may wish to inform your creditors that you have retained our office in connection with a bankruptcy case.  It has been our experience that most creditors will stop harassing phone calls when they verify through our office that you have in fact retained us; however, you may not inform creditors that you have retained our office until we have executed a fee agreement and formally commenced representation in your case.  Moreover, your decision to inform “secured” creditors that you have retained a lawyer for bankruptcy may prompt them to quickly repossess the property before the case is commenced.  Also note that a creditor bank that also maintains your checking and/or savings account may have certain rights to “set off” any debt owed to them by simply deducting the amount from your account with them.  A bank’s right to “set off” requires no formal notice or court action and can be achieved swiftly.  Please contact our office so we may help you decide which creditors to inform in advance.