[this8384]

Sorry for the long story, just want to include all the details:
We fixed a vehicle for a customer; they signed the invoice agreeing there was a mechanic's lien on the property. We weren't aware until recently that we needed to file with the court in order for the lien to be recognized, so that was our first mistake. Anyway... customer's husband passed away. We were going to file a claim against his estate; she started making payments promising she would give us the full amount once she got his estate settlement. Big shocker, she lied. She sold the car we repaired, bought a new truck and moved in with her boyfriend. We located her, she came in and signed a promissary note agreeing to make payments on a structured basis. She followed through for awhile, then eventually the payments tapered off. Now she filed for bankruptcy and her debt with us has been discharged.

We try to help people out when we can; sometimes fixing their car costs an entire week's pay and they've got a family to feed. We worked with her for over 4 years on this; we finally turned it over to collections in October 2007 because she hadn't sent a payment in over a year and refused to return our phone calls.

So my question is: while I realize that we cannot legally contact her asking for payment, would it be violating the law if we send more of a personal letter stating that we're offended by her decision to more or less walk all over us after we've been a lot more generous and patient with her than other creditors have been? Not asking for payment, just more of a "I can't really believe this" kind of thing.

[twinkiedooter]

You said she filed bankruptcy. Did you get notice of this bankruptcy and contest the discharge of this debt?

[this8384]

We wrote a letter stating that we objected to the discharge and got a response letter saying we'd have to pay $250 just to formally file an objection, hire an attorney and then it still wouldn't be guaranteed that they'd exempt it from discharge.

[Fr_Chuck]

Yes, you can not have "contact" with her about the debt,

It is not personal and can not be, he has to be business.

Once you were notified of the first appearance, you had the right to show up and object.

But a few errors

You should have made estate liable, so you got paid when and before estate could be final.

Once you allowed her to do a new note that paid off the old, made her liable but without any right for a lien, so it went from what could have been a secured debt to a non secured debt.
And the estate was not longer liable, she was.

Now she went bankrupt you write it off as charged off, and go on, she no longer owes you any money.

BUT
1. be sure she filed, were you mailed papers that you were listed

2. you have the right to show up and object showing all the reasons ( history of loan)

A side note, our company gets 1000s of dollars of write offs each year due to this. Some companies reform in a month or two and actually come back in for a new credit line.

[Fr_Chuck]

We wrote a letter stating that we objected to the discharge and got a response letter saying we'd have to pay $250 just to formally file an objection, hire an attorney and then it still wouldn't be guaranteed that they'd exempt it from discharge.

Who did you write a 'letter" to, you can do it without an attorney, they do it everyday, if you have never been to a bankruptcy hearing, go to one, it is sad alot of lawyers don't file or do things right,
But in other cases, you just show up, don't have to "file" anything, they call anybody interested in the case and you have the right to appera.

[this8384]

I sent a letter to the United States Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of Wisconsin along with a completed Proof of Claim form. We got a letter back from the judge stating that if we "wish to object to the discharge of a debt, that must be done in the form of an adversary proceeding, which requires the filing of a sumons, complaint and adversary proceeding cover sheet together with a $250.00 filing fee."

We then got the letter today stating that the debtor is granted a discharge under section 727 of title 11, United States Code.

We know we should have made the estate liable; hindsight is always 20/20, right? We were trying to do the right thing and give her a chance and like I said, she was keeping good on her word... until of course, she didn't.

We're just a small-town car repair shop. Like I said earlier, we try to give people the benefit of the doubt and help out when we can. We'll float people interest-free as long as they make regular payments. At the risk of sounding completely dramatic, I guess it's another case of nice guys finishing last.

[this8384]

Speaking of writing off debts, do you know how we'd go about doing that? My husband got screwed over by a company "cancelling" a debt; we owe $1935 back from our taxes because we got the 1099-C after he had already filed. Does that apply in bankruptcy? Can I still "cancel" a debt even though she isn't liable to pay?