Can a student loan company place your loans in to default after you file bankruptcy and have an automatic stay?

Not knowing all the facts, it is difficult to answer your question. If you filed a chapter 13 and that case was dismissed at a later date, then the loan can be treated by the ECMC as if you had never filed a bankruptcy petition. If you are in your chapter 13, now have a confirmed plan, and ultimately complete your chapter 13 plan and receive a discharge, you can file an adversary proceeding requesting a determination by the bankruptcy court that any and all collection fees were discharged, as the collection fees were not incurred for an educational benefit. You very well may have a claim against ECMC for violation of the Automatic Stay, but in our jurisdiction, the claim would inure to the chapter 13 trustee because all property remains property of the estate during the chapter 13 plan. Thus any sanctions for violation of the stay would be used to pay funds to unsecured creditors. If you have an attorney, you should talk with him/her about these issues. If not, you really need to take the time to meet with an experienced bankruptcy attorney that handles chapter 7 and chapter 13 cases. Most bankruptcy attorneys will meet with you at no charge for the initial appointment. You can use the "Find a Lawyer" link at the top of this page to search for an attorney.. If your decision to proceed pro se is based upon the belief that you cannot afford an attorney, you should realize that chapter 13 is designed to allow the debtor to incorporate of a substantial portion of their attorney's fees into the plan. In this way, your payment for an attorney can be divided up over the course of your chapter 13 plan. Depending upon the facts in your case and in particular the amount of your monthly disposable income, The minimum required monthly plan payments including attorneys fees could be the same amount of money that you would be required to pay without an attorney, the only difference being that your unsecured creditors would get more of a dividend if you do not include attorneys fees. In addition to the above factors, you should realize that the US Courts found in a survey performed in 2011, approximately 1.0% of pro se chapter 13 cases are to get their plan confirmed while 55% of attorney represented chapter 13 cases are successful in obtaining a confirmed plan.

You have an excellent argument. I would contact my attorney. If they have filed a claim you might consider an objection to claim.

Generally the automatic stay stops the creditor from taking any action to collect the debt and moving it to "default" status may be a violation of the stay. We need more facts. How is your chapter 13 treating this debt? Is it set up to be paid directly by you outside the plan or is it to be paid in the plan like all your unsecured debt (or set up as a separate class in the plan)? You should consult your bankruptcy attorney.