How to protect yourself from thieves in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case

Hello, this is Jeff Kelly and Today is June the 15th 2020. And today I want to talk about how to protect yourself from theft in a chapter 13 with NDC.org.

Every active chapter 13 debtor should open an account with NDC.org, the cost is free, but the information you see could be worth a lot of money and save you from theft. Having an account with NDC.org will allow you to see every single proof of claim that has been filed in your bankruptcy case and it will also allow you to verify that your chapter 13 payments are being received by the trustee.

Years ago I had a client whose employer took money from her paycheck, but never sent it into the trustee. We caught the error and had to sue the employer to get the money paid. Having an account with NDC.org allows you to catch stuff like this. Proof of claim is a form signed under oath, with supporting documentation that a creditor must file in a bankruptcy case in order to get paid. The proof of claim will tell the trustee the type of claim and the amount owed.

If a creditor fails to file before the deadline in your case, they won’t get paid anything. For example, let’s say you had a car repossessed a few years ago, and owe the car creditor $10,000. If they fail to file a proof of claim on time, you will not have to pay that $10,000.

Let’s change up the facts a little bit. Let’s say you owe the IRS $10,000 of tax credit that we cannot eliminate in bankruptcy. If they don’t file a claim, we may want to file one on their behalf to make sure they get paid in your case. While it is rare, sometimes a creditor will accidentally file a claim in the wrong place. In theory, if no one ever notices a wrong claim, could get paid and cost you a lot of money.

In my bankruptcy firm, we review every single claim filed in our clients case. At the same time, we also encourage all of my clients to open an account with NDC.org and double-check as well. The fact that many bankruptcy claims get sold can create a lot of confusion for clients, and they can be solved while your case is going on. So you may look online and see the claim of a holder that you’ve never heard of before. If this happens, it’s a good idea to call us and we’ll pull the proof of claim for you and make sure that it’s accurate.

If an inaccurate claim is discovered, we will first contact the person that filed it and notify them of their error. If the offending filer ignores us, which usually happens most of the time. We will then file what’s called an objection to the proof of claim, the debtor will then need to attend the hearing with us testify to the judge that this claim is bogus.

NDC.org states that you could open up an account online in less than five minutes. All you need to set up your account is your full legal name, your bankruptcy case number, the last four digits of your social security number, your trustees name, and the list of creditors and your bankruptcy case. The benefits of setting up an NDC account are you get access to your chapter 13 bankruptcy information online. There’s helpful answers to frequent questions. There’s a you get access to a quick glance at the page and save yourself a call to your lawyer provides you with the information you need to stay informed about your bankruptcy case. Keep yourself on track during your payment plan and ensure that you’ll have no surprises. In conclusion, if you’re in a chapter 13 right now, go get your account in NDC.org set up as soon as possible. Thank you.