SURRENDERED HOMES OR OTHER REAL ESTATE
If you surrendered your home or other real estate in bankruptcy, it may be that your legal rights have been violated. Once the mortgage debt has been discharged you shouldn't be getting statements, collection letters, insurance notifications or telephone calls concerning your old mortgage. Any contact after the debt is discharged is likely to be a violation of the discharge injunction or other state or federal law. Don't ignore these violations as they will seriously impact your credit score and ability to get a home loan in the future.
ILLEGAL ACCESS TO CREDIT REPORTS
Mortgage companies or their servicers frequently continue to access a consumer’s reports long after the mortgage debt has been discharged. This violates the bankruptcy discharge and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. If this has happened to you, you may be entitled to statutory damages of up to $1,000 per pull if the act was intentional. You should have a professional review your credit reports to make sure this hasn't happened to you.
PROSECUTION OF YOUR CLAIMS
You will need experienced litigators since these type cases are filed in federal court. You should be able to find an attorney to represent you on these matters on a contingent fee basis. When they review your credit reports they will be looking, not only discharge violations, but also for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act as well as other state and federal statutes that have been enacted to protect your rights as a consumer. These claims can be quite lucrative but to prevail you must have convincing evidence. If you think you might have a claim it is imperative that you read Don't Throw Away the Evidence now. Without evidence you won’t have a viable claim.
