Charleston Creditor Harassment Attorney
Stop Debt Collectors in Charleston South Carolina
When you are facing an overwhelming amount of debt, the last thing you need is a constant reminder. Yet, your telephone won't stop ringing. Collection notices fill your mailbox. And while debt collectors and creditors reserve the right to ask for payment, they must obey the laws that govern your privacy. If you are being harassed by creditors, bankruptcy may be an option for you to get rid of these problems. Once you have filed for bankruptcy, creditors must stop calling altogether.
At the law office of Ingrid H. Rudolph, P.C., I advocate for people throughout the low country in South Carolina facing debt problems. As an experienced Charleston bankruptcy attorney, I understand that many debts were caused by unforeseen circumstances such as job loss or personal injury. I work personally with you to address your debt concerns and help you obtain the fresh start you need.
Stop Creditors in their tracks!
Unfortunately, many creditors or debt collection agencies have resorted to outright lies in order to get debtors to pay up. At my Charleston South Carolina law office I work directly with clients to dispel fears of job loss due to unpaid debts and other concerns.
If your wages or bank accounts have been garnished, as your bankruptcy attorney, I will work with your employer and creditor to remove it so your bankruptcy can proceed. You have many options at your disposal for attaining debt relief in South Carolina. I will help you through the process to find the one that works best for your situation.
Stopping Fraudulent Collection Practices
When you hire me as your bankruptcy lawyer, you can give your creditors my phone number. Under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, once you file for bankruptcy, creditors cannot contact you or your loved ones again to collect on unpaid debts. As your bankruptcy attorney, I will handle their concerns, so you can concentrate on your own.
If you continue to receive phone calls or continue to be harassed by creditors in any way, such as other threatening correspondence from either creditors or debt collection agencies, we may be able to seek statutory damages for collection harassment. I am an aggressive bankruptcy lawyer, never afraid to defend your privacy and represent your interests in any South Carolina court.
Why You Need to Know What a Preferential Transfer Is
As defined in the Bankruptcy Code, a preferential transfer is this:
A transfer of property of the debtor
to or for a creditor
for or on an account of an antecedent debt owed by the debtor
made in the 90 days prior to the debtor’s filing bankruptcy
that allows the creditor to receive more than it would have under a Chapter 7 liquidation
An antecedent debt is an old debt, and is one that was owed by the debtor prior to the filing of bankruptcy. The Bankruptcy Code presumes that all payments made to creditors within ninety (90) days before a debtor files his or her Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition were made at a time when that debtor was insolvent, or basically, unable to pay all their debts, and were likely aware that bankruptcy was a probability. For the creditor, avoidance of preferential payments is a matter that must be swiftly handled. The trustee will send a letter to any creditor who received a preferential payment in the 90 days prior to the bankruptcy filing. The trustee will demand return of any payments made to the creditor in the 90 days prior to filing. Usually a preference is a payment of money, but it can also be a transfer of inventory or other property of the debtor.
A creditor has several defenses available to him in the event he has received what the bankruptcy court might deem a preferential payment. One of the best known is the ordinary course of business defense. It covers payments made by the debtor which, as the defense states, are in the ordinary course of business. Typically, payments made on an invoice that bears terms of net thirty (30) would give rise to this defense, if the payment was received within the 30 days.
Another defense creditors can use is the contemporaneous exchange for new value defense. In this defense, the creditor need only show that he transferred good or service in exchange for the payment – contemporaneously.
Why is this important to you? Once you speak with a bankruptcy attorney about your Chapter 7 bankruptcy and are certain that bankruptcy is the right option for you, you generally should not make payments on the debts you intend to discharge, from the moment you first speak with me. There is no point to doing so, although every case is different. We can discuss this further when you make an appointment to speak with me in person.
Contact A Dedicated Charleston Bankruptcy Lawyer Now!
You do not deserve to be harassed, even if you are behind on your bills. At my law office, Ingrid H. Rudolph, P.C. I will make sure you are not harassed by creditors. Contact my office online or call (843) 814-4215 for a discounted initial consultation with Ingrid H. Rudolph, a skilled Charleston South Carolina bankruptcy lawyer. I offer evening or weekend appointments upon request. I accept MasterCard, Visa and Discover, and offer payment plans for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. I represent clients in bankruptcy cases throughout Charleston, Mount Pleasant, North Charleston and Summerville. I cover all of Charleston County, Dorchester County, Berkeley County and Orangeburg County.