Debtor Responses And The Myth of The Bankruptcy Threat

Unlike collection agencies, my office does not call debtors. Instead, debtors call my office. They either call once they receive an attorney demand letter or if they don't call then, they call once they are served with a lawsuit, or if they don't call then, they call once a judgment has been taken against them. In most cases, the debtor doesn't even show up in Court and a judgment is taken by default in their absence. The defendant debtor learns of the judgment through a letter they receive from any number of local bankruptcy attorneys who pay college students to go through the court records daily and make a list of everyone who has a judgment taken against them. The debtor would then receive a letter from a bankruptcy attorney saying, "Michael Herrin's client just took a judgment against you. I can help you get out from under that judgment by filing bankruptcy for you." Regardless of when, eventually the debtor calls my office.

When the debtor calls my office, invariably I hear only one of four things.

First and rarest, I want to pay the debt in full. Believe it or not, that is the least often statement heard. It does happen, but not as often as the remaining three.

The second statement I hear when a debtor calls and the most used statement is, "I know I owe the money, but I can't pay it all and I want to make arrangements.'" I then have to explain to the debtor that the time for making "arrangements" (typically the debtor thinks a payment of $20, $50 or $100 per month for the next 72 months is arrangements) may have been available from the original creditor and or from any collection agency the creditor utilized, but that the time for making "arrangements" passed the instant their debt was placed with my office for suit. That is not to say that I don't make arrangements with judgment debtors. I do. I make arrangements for full payment broken into reasonable amounts. I have a schedule based on dollar figures that I break debts down into, typically not running out more than six (6) payments . The only way I will enter into payment arrangements based on that schedule is if I receive payment in full in my office as of that day. By that I mean that the debtor has to make arrangements for either the automatic draft of their checking account with all drafts set up and scheduled that day for the next number of months the payment schedule lasts or the debtor has to set up pre-arranged automatic drafts of the debtor's credit card for the next number of months the payment arrangements last.

The third statement I hear when a debtor calls is, "I know I owe the money, but I simply don't have any money to pay." I have a stern, but reasonable response to that statement. I do not argue with the debtor that they do have the ability to pay a debt once they have told me they don't have that ability. I explain to the debtor that I have a duty to my client, the creditor, to reduce that debt to a judgment and that I will take the steps necessary in Court to accomplish that. Most debtors do not object to a debt being reduced to a judgment after they have acknowledge they owe the money, but simply cannot pay it. I also tell them candidly that once it is reduced to judgment, I will take whatever action is necessary and proper to try to collect the debt. That simply means that once the debt is reduced to a judgment, I will attempt to garnish bank accounts, garnish wages, have the Sheriff take possession of personal property, have the Sheriff take possession of automobiles and put a lien on any real property the debtor owns. That discussion more times than not results in the debtor finding some means to pay the debt.

The final statement I hear when a debtor calls is the one threat that some debtors think they have; the one arrow in their quiver. "If you don't forgive this debt, I am going to have to file bankruptcy." I suppose the debtor makes that statement thinking that the creditor will immediately accept penny on the dollar to satisfy the debt out of fear that the debt is going to be wiped out in bankruptcy. My response is usually surprising to the debtors who call. I keep a Rolodex of the attorneys I consider the very best bankruptcy attorneys in the City of Memphis next to my telephone. When a debtor tells me that they are thinking about, planning on or will have to file bankruptcy, I immediately refer them to at least two (2) reputable and stellar bankruptcy attorneys, complete with names, telephone numbers and addresses. The result is usually a dramatic shift in the conversation as to how payment can be made.

Bankruptcy is simply not a threat to a debt collection attorney.

First, very few of the debtors who threaten bankruptcy will actually file. There are a number of reasons that they will not actually file bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy is expensive. Filing fees are hundreds of dollars and while bankruptcy attorney fees can be spread out over the life of a bankruptcy plan, the filing fees have to be paid up front.

Bankruptcy is complex and time consuming. A good bankruptcy attorney cannot file bankruptcy without reviewing all of a debtor's financial records and documents. This requires the debtor to actually put all of those documents regarding all of his assets and all of his debts together and to actually be able to present a true and accurate picture of his financial position. This requires proactive effort on the part of the debtor and is not easy. Bankruptcy is time consuming. The process of putting everything necessary together to just file bankruptcy is time consuming. Attending the required bankruptcy hearings is time consuming. Meeting with your bankruptcy lawyer is time consuming.

Finally, bankruptcy is like a nuclear bomb on the debtor's credit. Bankruptcy will stay on the debtor's credit report for ten (10) years. This has know become common knowledge among the American consumer.

Therefore, when the debtor threatens bankruptcy, I know that there is a greater likelihood than not that this is an idle threat and that the debtor will not actually proceed to Bankruptcy Court.

The second great myth of the bankruptcy threat is that the creditor will receive nothing in payment of his debt out of the Bankruptcy Court. This myth ignores one of the first rules of the debt collection lawyer; a skilled debt collection lawyer must be a skilled bankruptcy lawyer. A combination of a skilled bankruptcy lawyer and the current creditor friendly bankruptcy laws will not in most cases result in a creditor's debt being zeroed out. The general result of bankruptcy is that a debt will be extended out over a longer period of time than the creditor would normally accept with little or no interest being paid.

A diligent creditor's lawyer will carefully examine a bankruptcy debtor's assets at a 341 First Meeting of Creditors, object to any bankruptcy plan that does not adequately fund repayment of their client's debt and continue to track the bankruptcy with the knowledge based on experience that some full fifty percent (50%) of Chapter 13 bankruptcies will ultimately be dismissed before the debts are discharged based on the debtor's failure to comply with Court rules or failure to make scheduled payments. When that occurs, it is key to be one of the first creditors to be aware that the debtor is no longer protected by the automatic stay of bankruptcy.

Thus, the threat of bankruptcy is not actually a threat, but simply a different arena of debt collection in which any competent debt collection attorney must be skilled and experienced.