Common Violation Examples
Collection Communications
- Phone calls demanding payment on a discharged credit card
- Letters threatening legal action for a discharged medical bill
- Text messages or emails from debt collectors about discharged debts
- Visits from collection agents regarding discharged obligations
Legal Actions
- Filing a lawsuit to collect a discharged debt
- Continuing a pre-bankruptcy lawsuit after discharge without dismissing
- Attempting to garnish wages for a discharged judgment
- Placing a lien on property for a discharged unsecured debt
Credit Reporting Violations
Creditors must update their credit reporting after a bankruptcy discharge. Common reporting violations include:
- Reporting a discharged debt as "charged off" with a balance owed
- Reporting a discharged debt as "past due" or "in collections"
- Failing to note that the debt was included in bankruptcy
- Selling the debt to a new collector who reports it as a new obligation
Check your credit report. After receiving your discharge, pull your credit report from all three bureaus. Any discharged debt showing a balance owed, past due status, or collection activity should be disputed -- and may constitute a discharge injunction violation.
Debt Buyer Violations
Debt buyers are among the most frequent violators of the discharge injunction. They purchase portfolios of defaulted debts for pennies on the dollar and attempt to collect -- often without checking whether the debts were discharged in bankruptcy.
Common debt buyer violations:
- Purchasing discharged debts and attempting to collect
- Filing collection lawsuits on discharged accounts
- Reporting purchased discharged debts to credit bureaus
- Threatening garnishment or asset seizure for discharged obligations
See our detailed guide: Debt buyers and discharged debt
What to Do If Your Rights Are Violated
- Document everything. Save letters, record dates and times of calls, screenshot credit reports, keep copies of lawsuit filings
- Send a written notice to the creditor stating that the debt was discharged. Include the case number, court, and discharge date
- If violations continue, file a motion for contempt in the bankruptcy court. See motion structure guide
- Consider consulting an attorney -- many consumer attorneys handle discharge violation cases on contingency
Related: Damages available for violations
Stay updated on new datasets and research findings
No spam. No marketing. Just data.