Was I Unreasonable?

natalie_ca

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I declared bankruptcy on November 30, 2007. I was instructed to put a stop payment on all automatic bank payments, one of which was to Dell. Which I did.

Under the bankruptcy act I do not have to contact my creditors expressly to tell them about my bankruptcy, but if they make a collection call I am to direct them to call the bankruptcy trustee and give them the name and phone number to do so. I did all of that.

I contacted Dell both by phone and by 2 emails to tell them about my situation.

However, despite my having given then notification, they have continued to try and take the funds from my bank account every single month for the months of December through to May.

I know 100% that they are aware of my bankruptcy because when I went for my first credit counselling session back at the beginning of January, I was told that Dell had filed a claim. And Dell contacted me in early April to tell me that the trustee has given them the go ahead to deal with me directly about the equipment lease. I also got a copy of a letter that my trustee sent to Dell.

The phone call from Dell in April was the last I had heard from them other than their attempts to take funds from my bank. The girl had asked me if I planned on continuing with the lease. I told her no. I was expecting to get labels in the mail to send the equipment back, or someone showing up at my door, but nothing came of that conversation.

Today I got a call from Dell. The conversation went something like this:

Dell: "You have a stop payment on your account".

Me: "Yes! I know!"

Dell: "Why?"

Me: "I declared bankruptcy on November 30, 2007."

Dell: "We aren't aware of that."

Me: "Yes you are. I've told your company that at least once a month since I declared, and Dell filed a claim with the trustee back at the beginning of January. Dell also called me in April regarding my bankruptcy and whether I planned on continuing the lease, to which I said, no."

Dell: "What is the name of your trustee?"

Me: "You have all of that information already and I'm not about to go and dig it out yet again. I'm sure if you take the time to actually read the file, you will find the information you need."

I wonder if they will try again to take funds out of my bank account in a couple weeks. I'm done dealing with them. I have decided that if anyone from there calls me again, I'm just hanging up the phone. They know my situation, they have acknowledged that they know, yet they still try to take my money and pretend that they don't know.
 

tara g

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I dont think you were unreasonable at all. It just sounds like there's a bunch of lazy employees at Dell who don't want to take the time to read your file. They want their money and are basically getting paid to inquire about your payments. Gotta love it
 

theimp98

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i still get calls from dell about a laptop that i brought.
I paid it off in 2 months. years ago.

But i still get bills from time to time from them.
that says amount 1579 dollars.
amount owed 0 dollars
every so often i get a call from india saying i owe them money.
 

kernil

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No, I think you were being very reasonable. Sounds like a big, lazy company, with very lazy employees who only want money, with as little work involved as possible.

If I were you, I would probably have started hanging up on them weeks ago
 

cc12

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I have a company I am dealing with that are similar. I paid off some credit cards and when I split with my ex he had some debt on his cards. He could pay it off anytime but that is another story.
I put stop payments on my account. They call and call. I told them to call him months ago.

Dell has some issues and are not the same company that used to have great customer service.
 

fastnoc

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I think there's a very easy solution here. As far as the bank goes, open a new account there, then close the old one. Then you never have to worry.

FYI when you put a stop payment the bank does not gaurantee that it won't clear. So if they do manage to get a draft through, it's going to be tough luck.
 

meowmmy_aprile

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I see it says you are from Canada correct me if I am wrong. I am unfortunately not familiar with Canadian bankruptcy laws but US Bankruptcy laws put you in what is called a Automatic Stay meaning

The automatic stay prohibits

Beginning or continuing law suits
Collection calls
Repossessions
Foreclosure sales
Garnishment or levies

The automatic stay remains in effect until
a judge lifts the stay at the request of a creditor;
the debtor gets a discharge; or
the item of property is no longer property of the estate.

Violations of the stay
Anyone who willfully violates the stay in the case of an individual is liable for actual damages caused by the violation and sometimes for punitive damages. Some courts confine the right to damages to individual debtors and deny damages for stay violations as to corporate debtors.

Since the court usually takes several days to several weeks to mail creditors notice of the bankruptcy, it is incumbent on the debtor or debtor's counsel to give actual notice to creditors who might take action without knowledge of the stay.

Creditor actions taken after the stay is in place are generally void or voidable: that is, any action the creditor takes in violation of the stay has no legal effect.

Your creditors are not allowed to contact you once you have filed Bankruptcy. You may actually have legal recourse if the laws are the same where you are from. I would check with your attorney if you have one or the trustee themselves.

So long story short I don't think you were unreasonable at all.
 

mer636

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definitly not same thing happend to my bf he filed and the bank he was in was garnishing his wages for a month and a half after he filed and the lady said it was to stop so I know how it is and these companies dont care if your going through hard times or anything as long as they get their money and if you file then their at loss so they try their hardest to get after you no matter what
 
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natalie_ca

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Originally Posted by fastnoc

I think there's a very easy solution here. As far as the bank goes, open a new account there, then close the old one. Then you never have to worry.

FYI when you put a stop payment the bank does not gaurantee that it won't clear. So if they do manage to get a draft through, it's going to be tough luck.
I don't want to close my account and open another one. And I shouldn't have to. Out of 5 automatic withdrawals, Dell is the only company that persists in trying to take payment.

The payment goes through and then is reversed that same day at no cost to me because I paid a one time stop payment fee. So they will never get payment.

However, I was thinking today that if they continue to try and debit my account I am going to send a registered letter for them to cease and desist giving them fair warning that if they keep it up despite knowing about my bankrupt state, that I will seek legal action against them. And while they may have unlimited funds to go to court, so do I because I don't pay for legal fees having working in the legal field for several years and have several friends who are lawyers and who have offered up their services to me whenever I need it.

I really hate that company. I bought a laptop from them back in 2003, and then bought a desktop last year in January against my better judgement. The laptop's motherboard went 5 months after the warranty ran out, and the desktop was such a lemon and so was the replacement and the customer service that I sent it back and bought a computer locally. And now this! I've had nothing but bad experiences with them, and this has just pushed me over the top.
 
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