The Short Answer
When you file bankruptcy, the automatic stay immediately goes into effect and prohibits creditors from contacting you to collect a debt — and that includes sending bills or statements. Most creditors stop all communication out of caution, even if you plan to keep paying them. This is actually a protection working in your favor, but it means you need to track your own payment due dates. You are still responsible for making payments on debts you're keeping — like your mortgage, car loan, and utilities — even if no statement arrives.
When you have filed your bankruptcy petition and receive a case number, an automatic stay is enacted to protect you under the bankruptcy code from creditor contact, lawsuits, repossessions, foreclosures, etc. In turn, this limits the contact a creditor may have with you.
If a creditor violates the automatic stay then they can be sanctioned by the federal court system. In order to avoid this, many creditors choose to stop sending anything that can be viewed as a collection attempt.
After your bankruptcy is filed and the creditors are notified, they are no longer allowed to send you bills trying to collect on a debt. Typically, the automatic stay is a good thing because it means the harassing phone calls and collection attempts will stop. However, many creditors will stop all forms of communication, even if you have agreed to keep paying on the debt, due to fear of violating the automatic stay. Therefore, it is important that you remember to continue to make your payments (on debts not being wiped out in the bankruptcy and regular utilities) even if you do not receive a statement each month.
If you want to continue to receive statements then there are a couple of things that you can do to try to help restart this process.
First, you can contact the creditor and explain that you filed bankruptcy and, despite that, you would like to still receive monthly statements from that creditor. Some creditors will agree to then send you monthly statements.
Second, if the first option doesn’t work then you can get the assistance of your bankruptcy lawyer. Once your bankruptcy is filed, request a letter from your bankruptcy lawyer that will give a creditor permission to send you statements or allow for other payment arrangements. You will need to do this usually for a mortgage company where a car finance company will be sending a reaffirmation agreement, so making payments and receiving statements should not be difficult. Other secured creditors, such as furniture companies, jewelry stores, or electronic stores, may require a letter from your lawyer as well.
The bottom line is, you may stop receiving statements or bills after filing the bankruptcy because the creditors don’t want to violate the automatic stay. Despite this, it is critical that you still make your payments on things like house, cars and monthly utility payments.
Key Takeaways
- Filing bankruptcy triggers the automatic stay, which bars creditors from sending bills or statements that could be considered collection attempts.
- Creditors often stop all communication — even for accounts you intend to keep paying — to avoid risking a federal court sanction for violating the automatic stay.
- You are still legally responsible for making on-time payments on your mortgage, car loan, and utilities even if you stop receiving monthly statements.
- You can call a creditor directly and ask them to resume sending statements now that your bankruptcy has been filed.
- If a creditor won't cooperate, your bankruptcy attorney can provide a letter giving that creditor permission to send statements or make other payment arrangements.
- Mortgage companies often require a formal letter from your attorney, while car lenders typically handle ongoing payments through the reaffirmation agreement process.
Attorney Insight
The mistake I see most often is a client assuming that because no statement showed up, no payment is due — and they fall 30 or 60 days behind on their mortgage without realizing it. That can put a reaffirmation agreement at risk or trigger a motion for relief from the automatic stay by a lender who wants to proceed with foreclosure. In North Carolina, if you're in a Chapter 13 and you miss your mortgage payment outside the plan, your trustee and the lender will both notice quickly. Track your own due dates from the moment your case is filed — don't wait for paper to arrive in the mailbox.
