In the case of California Coast Univ. v. Aleckna No. 16-158 (M.D. Pa. Aug. 28, 2019) the Court held that California Coast University violated the bankruptcy stay where it excluded the graduation date from the debtor’s transcript because she owed $6300 in overdue tuition.
The debtor had filed a chapter 13 bankruptcy which prohibits creditors from collecting from the debtor . The court noted that it is well settled that withholding a transcript in an attempt to force the debtor to pay a debt violates the bankruptcy stay. The debtor was also granted costs and attorney fees to be determined by the Bankruptcy Court.
If you are facing overwhelming debt you should talk to a chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyer or a chapter 13 bankruptcy lawyer to see if bankruptcy can help you.