Your timeline is a bit confusing, so please bear with my response. Did you continue to make mortgage payments
after the bankruptcy was discharged? If so, there's a very good possibility your original mortgage company
wasn't listed on the final schedule of creditors at the time of discharge. I'd suggest you compare your preliminary secured creditors schedule (at the time you filed) against this final schedule that was included with the discharge .. if that lender name appears on both, I think you could argue (weakly) that the property was in fact included. But if you continued to both occupy the property and make payments for that "year or so"
after the discharge, in my opinion you reaffirmed that debt and then for whatever reason, defaulted on it.
It's not very likely your original lender transferred or sold a "bad loan" without proper notification. It's very possible that because you chose to make voluntary payments during and after the discharge, the lender reaffirmed the debt on your behalf (in effect, removed it from the bankruptcy.) You can't avoid foreclosure by simply writing letters .. you entered into a legally binding contract; you made a promise to repay at the time you closed on the house and agreed in the mortgage note disclosures you signed to also repay any future lienholders when/if the loan is transferred. Your original contract (mortgage,note, etc.) supercedes any correspondence (verbal or written) unless the other party chooses to renegotiate a new one. Period. Unless your final bankruptcy schedule clearly lists your original lender by name, in my opinion, you're still bound by that contract. As such, either the original lender or its subsequent assignees can legally pursue you, in this case, through foreclosure and sherriff's sale. They also have the legal right to notify the credit bureaus accordingly .. you
will have a foreclosure entered after a discharged bankruptcy. (Current banking and credit laws allow this.)
That being said, there IS a chance of a massive banking 'foo-foo' here. I believe it all lies within your bankruptcy documents. If you can provide a copy of final discharge showing that original lender's name to the new lender, in my opinion, you're no longer liable. If your loan's been sold more than once (and it was included) I also agree you're not responsible and the lenders need to look into their own servicing/sale contracts for recourse. Unfortunately, it means you as the consumer must keep careful track of your credit report and if needs be, continously send the credit bureaus a copy of that same discharge and final creditors to have the correct information updated. I'd also suggest you keep copies handy for the future creditors; it'll help expedite your credit approval process. Just a thought.
Do yourself a tremendous favor and request a copy of ALL of your bankruptcy docs from the county where you originally filed. Cook County and other counties still maintain bankruptcy records through their courthouses, sometimes available eletronically for a fee. Make sure you also request a
final discharge and
final schedule of creditors as well. (There should be 2 separate schedules; prelim and final and hopefully they match.) Best bet in a complicated case such as this is to have either your original bankruptcy attorney (if still available) or have another attorney in your area (licensed in Illinois law) review them. A final suggestion here: if in fact, this is NOT your debt, you have certain rights. (see
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, in particular § 805-6.) You may want to review this as well, and also discuss this with the attorney.
Good luck.