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Mar 31, 2007 
My colleague Rachel Foley explains the limited circumstances when debt is enforceable after a bankruptcy discharge.
Despite the fact that credit card debt has been discharged in bankruptcy, odds are that some discharged debt will surface years after a bankruptcy discharge with a demand for payment. Debtors tend to come back to their lawyers and claim the lawyer screwed up, if this debt survived. The truth is that the debt didn’t survive: it is unenforceable and the original creditor never bothered to tell the debt buyer who purchased the worthless debt. It’s the debtor who is subjected to the distress of worrying that the discharge didn’t kill off all of his debt.
Bottom line, attempts to collect discharged debt violate the discharge injunction Debtors should be prepared to copy debt buyers with copies of the discharge and list of creditors showing the original creditors. A second contact after such notice may entitle the debtor to damages for violation of the discharge.
