Post Discharge Collection Activities

Many debtors who file for bankruptcy and obtain a discharge still receive collection letters or calls from creditors.  This is a clear violation of the FDCPA.  It is anticipated that most debt collectors will claim as a defense to a FDCPA that the collection activities were a result of a bona fide error in that they had no actual knowledge of the bankruptcy.

Hyman v. Tate,  362 F.3d 965, 968 (7th Cir. 2004) holds that (a) an understanding with creditor-clients that they will not knowingly refer accounts subject to a bankruptcy filing and will notify the debt collector if they afterwards discover the fact together with (b) prompt cessation of collection efforts upon notification of a bankruptcy filing are procedures reasonably adapted to avoid errors of this kind.

In Bacelli v. MFB, Inc., 729 F. Supp. 2d 1328 (M.D. Fla. 2010), the debt collector claimed that it had no actual knowledge of the debtor's bankruptcy which fact was undisputed.   However, the Court denied summary judgment on the bona fide error defense because the debt collector/defendant presented no evidence of an agreement or understanding with the original creditor that it would not to refer accounts in bankruptcy and no evidence that its reliance on the original creditor had proved effective in avoiding errors in the past.   Lastly, the Court stated that the debt collector/defendant presented no evidence whatsoever to show that its reliance on the original creditor about knowledge of the plaintiff's bankruptcy discharge was reasonable.