by Liz Daube
Staff Writer
Members of the Jacksonville Bankruptcy Bar Association gathered to hear U.S. Trustee Felicia Turner talk about area bankruptcy filing trends at a luncheon last Thursday.
“The case loads are coming back up, and they’re coming back up to the old percentages,” said Turner. “It might take just a little over a year (to get back to normal).”
Bankruptcy attorneys saw Chapter 7 filings drop dramatically after a new law took effect Oct. 17 of last year. The law requires consumers to receive financial counseling from an approved list of providers before they can file for bankruptcy. The law was intended to prevent bankruptcy filing abuse by people who can afford to repay some or all of their debt.
Turner mentioned that consumers who are too poor to pay for the counseling can get those fees waived. An audience member mentioned that he knew of credit counseling agencies that told consumers the service is never provided for free.
“If they are saying ‘We just don’t do it,’ we (U.S. trustees) need to know,” said Turner, asking for bankruptcy attorneys to refer consumer complaints. “We need to know about it so we can do something.”