By S_Falkow on Flickr
When filing a bankruptcy petition, all creditors must be listed both on the appropriate schedule for the category of debt but also on the matrix. Bankruptcy courts mail notices to those on the matrix.
The Secret In The Fine Print of Credit Card Bills
A key question arises: “what address is legally required in the bankruptcy filing?” Credit card bills confuse everyone with pages of small print. An address printed at the top of the bill might not match the address at the bottom. The payment address may also be different.
The correct address for the bankruptcy petition is not the payment address, but the ”correspondence address”. Finding it may take sifting through the fine print on both sides of the bill. Some credit card companies actually print a ‘Bankruptcy Address’. That’s fine, but the correspondence address is the one to look for.
Bankruptcy Law on Creditor Addresses
The address requirement is explained in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code:
“If, within the 90 days before the commencement of a voluntary case, a creditor supplies the debtor in at least 2 communications sent to the debtor with the current account number of the debtor and the address at which such creditor requests to receive correspondence, then any notice required by this title to be sent by the debtor to such creditor shall be sent to such address and shall include such account number.”
11 U.S.C. 342(c)(2)(A)
What this means is that it’s worth reading through the bill to find the correspondence address, which may at times be listed under “Write to us here” or some other such description. Save copies of the bills in case there is ever a question about proper listing of creditors.
This is just one example of the procedural and legal challenges of bankruptcy. It is recommended that an experienced bankruptcy attorney be retained in your jurisdiction to help with traps for the unwary you may not even realize exist. Look for a member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys [NACBA]. Their website will point you to local members.
I can’t believe how difficult they make this there were six different addresses on one of my statements, and that was on the front. Way in the fine print on the back they said court notices and bankruptcy notices should be sent to yet a different address. Why do they make this so difficult?
I can’t answer for credit card companies that are so fast to hike interest charges, fees and all the rest. My only guess is that if incorrect addresses are scheduled on a bankruptcy petition, then later, if they continue to send collections in violation of the automatic stay of bankruptcy or the final discharge they can claim a defense by never having receved proper notice. That’s why many bankruptcy attorneys will schedule multiple addresses if it appears a creditor is playing hide and seek.