Jane and Brett B. might have skated by if the Covid pandemic hadn’t derailed their life plans.
She had finished grad school and opened her own medical-related practice. He was earning six figures in sales commissions. To bridge expenses as they built their careers, they relied on credit cards and loans.
Then came the shutdown, and both were suddenly out of work. With little money coming in, the overdue bills quickly piled up. The couple turned to bankruptcy for relief.
In August 2020, the couple signed up with TFS, the market leader for Chapter 13 electronic payments, and opted to have their plan payment withdrawn monthly.
“Automation simplified the task and ensured we would never be late on a payment,” Jane B. wrote to us. They never missed one of their 60 payments and recently received a successful discharge.
For Jane and Brett B., it was just set it and forget it. But it wasn’t always that way.
Prior to 2011, bankruptcy payments were not automated. Debtors had to pay their trustee using a cashier’s check or money order and mail those to a lockbox. Checks were often lost or late, leaving law firms and trustees dealing with upset debtors and piles of paperwork.
It was a burdensome process for everyone involved.
“We had to rely on the debtors. They would mail it or take it in themselves,” said Tim Davis, a bankruptcy attorney in Lebanon, TN. But those debtors were not always dependable, he said.
The process could be “problematic,” Davis said.
But 2011 was also the year TFSBillPay (www.TFSBillPay.com) delivered a game-changing advantage: automatic payments built specifically for the demands of Chapter 13.
Like mortgage, auto, and insurance payments, automation has become an ally for everyone involved in the bankruptcy process.
Automated payments shield the debtor and employer from the human errors that occur when a payment is missed or misplaced. And attorneys and trustees spend less time dealing with the fallout from missed payments.
“It makes the job easier,” said Christine Coval, a client services representative with Matthew Berry and Associates in Atlanta. Coval is charged with making sure clients are set up to use TFS. “With TFS I am much more confident (payments will be made) because they are not mailing in checks.”
“Debtors are also more likely to complete a successful discharge with TFS”, said Coval.
Evidence shows that automated payments significantly reduce defaults and delinquency.
According to the McKinsey Global Payments Report 2024, lenders incorporating embedded payments – i.e. built-in, scheduled deductions – saw 40% fewer missed payments and 25% lower default rates.
Automated payments are also time-tested.
For decades, mortgage servicers have widely promoted autopay because it ensures timely, accurate payments and minimizes late or missed payments, according to Carrington Mortgage Services.
Since Chapter 13 is similarly built on long-term monthly payments, the same logic applies — automation is not optional; it’s a smart strategy.
However, automation does not mean abdication.
Setting up recurring payments doesn’t mean anyone takes a passive role. It simply delegates the tedious tasks to technology – freeing up attorneys’ and trustees’ focus on building other aspects of their business, and clients on rebuilding their lives.
TFSBillPay is the only provider built exclusively for Chapter 13 payments, designed with the guardrails, scheduling flexibility, and adjustment capability bankruptcy clients need to cross the finish line.
Payments are made reliably on a schedule that best fits the debtors and that can be adjusted if income or budget need shift.
“Their platform was user-friendly, and the automated payment system ensured that I never missed a payment,” TFS graduate Joseph S. wrote. “This reliability and ease of use were crucial in helping me stay on track and ultimately achieve my discharge.”
Attorney Davis, a long-time TFS user and solo practitioner, sets up his clients before they leave his Tennessee office and makes sure the payments are scheduled.
“The automation”, Davis said, “makes it easier and he spends less time micromanaging his clients”.
For those in bankruptcy, Chapter 13 is a financial and emotional journey where one missed payment can derail the plan. Clients didn’t sign up for more emotional turbulence – they signed up for a fresh start.
Automation helps deliver on that vision, ensuring consistency, peace of mind, and the promise of a new beginning.
