No attorney and 18 creditors left off the papers

Letter to “Ask Leon”

Hello; I filed a ch7 No Asset Bankruptcy in Maryland that was discharged in Feb 06. I went through an agency that handles bankruptcy for this matter and am now feeling sick to my stomach about it. I listed on my paperwork close to 20 creditors and the agency types the forms for you, but when I got the official matrix from the court papers it only had 2 creditors! Obviously, I never would have filed BK for that amount of debt! I requested the filed typed papers and sure enough the left off everyone else. I feel like such an idiot and totally scammed. So my issue is now that I am trying to rebuild and straighten everything out, I have all these “floating” creditors that are continuing collections. I have been told that I should reopen my case, but there is no way they will accept it due to so many being overlooked. I am little in pieces over this, please let me know if you have any suggestions on what I can do to rectify this situation.

Leon Says…

You should immediately consult with an experienced local bankruptcy attorney about this. It sounds to me like the case needs to be reopened and have new deadlines set for the unlisted creditors. I believe that the court will allow you to do this. The lawyer fees may be expensive, and will probably cost you more money than if you had gone to a lawyer for the original bankruptcy filing. You should demand that the typing service reimburse you for what you have to pay the lawyer, and sue them in small claims court if necessary. You can also report the typing service to the Office of the United States Trustee.