1.      What is validation of debt?

a.      Debt validation is where you try to find out whether the collection agency has the legal right to collect on the debt by asking them to provide you with proof. The FDCPA gives you the right to seek validation from a collection agency and not the original creditor. The FDCPA does not govern collection practices of the original creditor.

2.      Is there a time limit for validation of debt?

a.      Under the FDCPA, debt collectors (collection agencies) are required to send you a debt validation notice within 5 days of contacting you to collect a debt. The notice informs you that you have the right to validate/dispute the debt within 30 days of receiving the letter.

3.      How are you helping me if my accounts are all going into collections?

a.      We are helping you prove that the alleged debts that you have enrolled into our program are valid debts and that the third-party collection agency may legally collect on that debt. Many times, third-party collection agencies are not able to prove that the accounts they’re attempting to collect on are valid. If they are unable to prove that they have the right to collect on a debt, they are legally no longer able to attempt collection.

4.      How long does it take for the original creditors to sell my alleged debt to a third-party collection agency?

a.      The time frame for an account to be sold to a third-party collection agency varies by creditor and account type. Typically, accounts are sold over between 3-9 months from the date of the first missed payment; however, this is not guaranteed.

5.      What happens if my creditor/collection agency can validate my debt?

a.      If any account enrolled is able to validate that you legally owe that debt, you will receive a 100% refund of the amount of funds paid in for that specific account. We can refer you to an independent third-party law firm that can assist you with the settlement of that account.

6.      What is the FDCPA?

a.      The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is the main federal law that governs debt collection practices. The FDCPA prohibits debt collection companies from using abusive, unfair or deceptive practices to collect debts from you. Under the FDCPA, debt collectors include collection agencies, debt buyers, and lawyers who regularly collect debts as part of their business. There are also companies that buy past-due debts from creditors or other businesses and then try to collect them. These debt collectors are also usually called debt collection agencies, debt collection companies, or debt buyers.

7.      What is the FCRA?

a.      The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of consumer reporting agencies. The top three credit reporting agencies that we deal with are Experian, Transunion, and Equifax.

b.      Under the FCRA:

                                                              i.      You have the right to know what is in your file.

                                                            ii.      You have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information.

                                                          iii.      Consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information.

8.      What is Financial Strength Builder?

a.      Financial Strength Builder (FSB) is a third-party service provider that provides educational and learning tools to help consumers reach their highest financial stability. FSB offers fun, educational tools that were created to create the behavior needed to experience the feel-good results of making better financial decisions.

9.      What happens to my credit score during this process?

a.      Your credit score will take a hit once you have made the decision to stop paying your creditors. Many times, our clients see an increase in their credit score during Step 1 of the program, then once their creditors begin to report late payments on their credit report, their credit score goes down. Often, once we’ve completed the third and final step of our program, our clients graduate with a better credit score than when they first enrolled. Please note that adding new accounts with late payments, opening new tradelines, applying for new credit can have a negative impact on your credit score.  Please be aware of this.

10.  I just received a collection letter- why is my debt amount higher than it was when I first enrolled this account?

a.      Original creditors frequently add hundreds of dollars in interest and late fees before selling the account to a third-party collection agency in order to sell the account off for more than they would get if they just sold the account at the time of non-payment. The debt amount does not affect our ability to request debt validation on the account.

11.  How long will Credit Restoration take?

a.      The time frame of the final step of our program varies based on the amount of inaccurate information that needs to be removed, and the age of that information. There is no definitive time frame because it depends on how long it takes for the inaccurate items to be removed from your credit report.

12.  How long does it take to have a specific item removed from my credit report?

a.      It depends on the original creditor. When a dispute is filed with a credit bureau, they go to the creditor that reported the information and ask that they prove the information was not reported in error. The creditor has 30 days to send proof to the credit bureau. If sufficient proof is not provided, the negative information is deleted from your credit report. Sometimes, the creditor is able to provide sufficient proof so a second dispute must be filed with the credit bureau.

13.  What do I do if a creditor/collection agency is violating my rights?

a.      Under the FDCPA, creditors and collection agencies have guidelines that must be followed in order to stay within your rights. Our Violations Team is here to provide you with consumer rights education and training on how to protect those rights. They will review laws and statutes that were put into place to protect you as a consumer. By providing you with information, assistance, and services to which you may not otherwise have access, we are arming you with the tools and resources to assist in protecting yourself against violations of your consumer rights. Please be sure to log all calls you may receive from a creditor/collection agency in your Creditor Communication Log located in your Welcome Package, and regularly send these call logs in to us so that we may review these logs for any potential violations. Please be sure to contact us if more communication logs are needed! This information is for educational purposes only. Do not misconstrue as legal advice. If you receive a potential violation, you will be referred to a third-party law firm that you will sign a separate agreement with regarding debt tradeline deletion and potential compensation to you through litigation.

14.  What are the chances that I will receive a summons?

a.      There is no pattern that allows us to know when a client will receive a summons. Should you receive a summons, an independent third party law firm will be identified for you that you may choose to work with if you want. You will sign a separate agreement with them in order for them to represent you. They have the ability to provide you several solutions which include assistance with a settlement of the account and or the possibility to appear in court in order to get the debt dismissed.

15.  After all my payments are made to you, is the debt removed from my credit?

a.      Your fee schedule has no impact on the length of the program or how long our services are available for you. Often times, our program fee is broken into monthly payments so that our program is affordable to you. Once you have finished paying your fee schedule, we will continue to work on your behalf until you are ready to graduate our program.

16.  What is your success rate?

a.      The rate of success is dependent on each individual client’s situation. We have had tremendous success in the past for many of our clients.

b.      We have received tens of thousands of documents confirming the cease of collection activity. We have received tens of thousands of confirmed deletions of inaccurate information on credit reports that have been removed. We have identified thousands of potential violations which may have turned into litigation which resulted in tradeline deletion, compensation, and debt waiver.