Company Profile: Optimum Outcomes
If you are being called by Optimum Outcomes, a more detailed company background is below. Optimum Outcomes is a medical debt collection agency headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois.
It was founded in 2002 under the name Revenue Cycle Solutions, Inc, has 282 employees, and is managed by its President, Don Payne. The company has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau for failure to address 16 complaints.
The PACER website holds records confirming that many consumers who felt they were being harassed by Optimum Outcomes hired an attorney to help them aggressively protect their rights.
Optimum Outcomes Inc Complaints
Most collection agencies have numerous complaints filed against them with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Better Business Bureau . Most complaints are about inaccurate reporting, harassment, or failure to verify a debt. If you find yourself facing any of these situations with a debt collection agency, you should also consider filing a complaint.
You have many consumer rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act . Lexington Law knows that you have rights, and Optimum Outcomes does too.
Will Bad Credit Stop Me From Getting Service
The good news is having average or below-average credit may not stop you from getting service. Rossman explains, If the prospective customer has a low credit score , then the provider will probably require a deposit to safeguard themselves against non-payment.
And one more thing, reminds Rossman, If youve frozen your credit , youll need to remember to lift the freeze before your internet/TV provider checks your credit.
Another possible outcome for those with average credit is that providers will still offer you service, but it may be a modified account. For example, you might be eligible to have TV equipment in two rooms instead of four rooms of your home. This limitation can seem harsh, but this option is by far better than previous methods of credit-monitoring.
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Whats A Payment Worth
Payment history is the single most important factor in your credit score. A basic FICO score, for example, is made up of:
- Payment history
- Inquiries/new accounts
- Amount of available credit
VantageScore is opaque when it comes to the exact weight it assigns to each category. But it leaves no doubt about the importance of paying bills on time. A consumers payment history is the only factor the VantageScore ranks as extremely influential.
Can You Have Too Many Credit Accounts
While its possible to open too many accounts in a short period of time, its difficult to have too many accounts on a credit report at least from a scoring perspective. As far as credit scores are concerned, its not the number of accounts that is truly important. Rather, how you manage the accounts you have open is the key to earning and keeping great credit scores.
A well-managed account will satisfy the following criteria:
- Monthly payments are always paid on time.
- You keep a low rate on revolving accounts .
You could have a credit report that shows 20 well-managed accounts and your credit scores would likely be in good shape. On the other hand, a report showing 20 poorly-handled accounts would likely result in lower credit scores.
The same is true of a credit report with just a few accounts on it. If you handle those few accounts the right way, your credit scores will benefit. If you handle them poorly, your scores will suffer.
Theres no perfect number of accounts when it comes to credit scoring, and thats okay. Once you learn this fact you can focus your attention on the scoring factors that truly matter, including nailing a solid mixture of accounts.
Insider tip
Ready to learn more about the other components of your credit scores, like payment history and credit inquiries? Read more about credit scores here.
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% Credit Utilization Rule: Truth Or Myth
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Some credit experts say you should keep your credit utilization ratio the percentage of your total available credit you use below 30% to maintain a good or excellent credit score.
The truth is, there is no certain that will make or break your credit score. Below 30% is a good guideline for most consumers, and lower is better for your score. Keeping up with what portion of your you are using is easier than you may think. You can set up alerts with your credit card issuers and/or get regular reports of how much of your credit you are using from some personal finance sites. NerdWallet’s is free and updates weekly.
If there’s no bright line, why the 30% rule? Its likely because the recommendation to keep your credit utilization low invariably prompts the question, How low? The 30% answer finds some backing from the credit bureau Experian.
Experian uses the , which is a competitor to the traditional FICO score. “The 30% level is not a target, but rather is a maximum limit. Exceeding that level will have significantly negative impact on credit scores,” says Rod Griffin, Experians director of public education.
Is It Better To Use Affirm Or A Credit Card
If you have access to a credit card, its the better option if you make full use of the grace period but then repay your bill before incurring any interest charges. However, if youre like many Americans and prefer to keep the credit card for emergencies, Affirm is a viable alternative.
While your credit card might have a $15,000 limit, your bank or card issuing authority probably doesnt want to see you have an outstanding balance of more than $5,000 at any time. If you go over this ratio, youll end up affecting your credit score.
Since Affirm offers loans up to $17,500, its the ideal choice for financing a bigger-ticket item as opposed to using your credit card.
However, there are some issues with using Affirm. The company can charge a high interest rate, and if youre getting an 18% APR on your card, you can expect the rate at Affirm to be similar or higher. However, you get flexible spending limits, with up to 12-months to pay off your purchase.
Some retailers may partner with Affirm to offer a 0% APR on certain purchases.
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Late Payments And Your Credit
All creditors want to know that a borrower will pay his or her debt as agreed. They use credit reports and scores in a backwards-looking fashion to assess how much of a risk a consumer is likely to pose. If a person has established a pattern of paying their bills on time, they are viewed as a responsible user of credit and not likely to cause the creditor any financial losses. Having a history of late payments, on the other hand, signals unreliability, financial instability, and greater financial risk.
The consequences of late payments escalate in severity as the account becomes more and more delinquent. The consumers credit report shows payment history with degrees of lateness: on-time, 30 days late, 60 days late, 90 days late, 120 days late. Each degree of lateness causes incrementally greater damage to the credit score than the previous one.
Collection, repossession, charge-offs, bankruptcy, and other notations that signify a failure to fulfill a financial obligation may also be listed, and they result in an even greater blow to the consumers score than late payments.
As mentioned earlier, a cable or other utility bill will generally not be reported at all unless it is seriously delinquent and in collections. That usually happens around the 90-day mark after a missed payment. Before that, the consumer is likely to be hit with late fees and ultimately a suspension of service.
The longer you fail to pay a bill, the more damage it can do to your credit score.
The Importance Of Paying On Time
Your payment history accounts for 35% of your credit score. Its the biggest factor in whether that number rises or falls. That makes paying all your bills on time important.
Making on-time payments that are reported to your credit history is great. That means your credit score is getting a positive benefit from those payments. But paying other bills on-time keeps you from falling behind and into collections. That has a potential positive benefit for your credit history too.
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Hire A Consumer Lawyer
The phone numbers for this collection agency are:
- 1-602-636-5500
- 1-877-795-9819
If you see either number on your ID, it means that Optimum Outcomes may be trying to collect a debt from you. If they persist in calling you about a debt included in a recent bankruptcy, hire a consumer lawyer and file a claim against Optimum Outcomes.
Too many debt collectors assume that consumers are unfamiliar with their rights, and a lawsuit that could impose significant penalties on them can serve as a wake-up call.
Can Paid Collections Be Removed From Your Report
Yes, particularly if there is faulty or inaccurate information in the collection item on your report. This process would work just the same as any other dispute you might file.
If the information reported for your collection account is accurate, you could instead write a Goodwill Letter to the original creditor requesting their consideration for removal of the item from your report.
Requesting removal of a legitimate negative item from your credit report does not necessarily fall within the rules laid out by the FCRA. But, by paying off the collection account & proving your credit worthiness, the creditor may consider removing the account from your report out of goodwill .
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Who Does Optimum Outcomes Collect For
Optimum Outcomes focuses on collecting healthcare debts. Optimum Outcomes uses a technology-centered approach to debt collections, including a proprietary program called Cyclogic. It uses a predictive auto-dialer to make robocalls, and an SQL data warehouse to track and contact consumers.
Who are we? We are Lemberg Law, a Consumer Law Firm
Lemberg Law is a consumer law firm helping victims of collection harassment and abuse. We are ranked A+ by the BBB. Weve helped more than 15,000 consumers stop harassment and recover money from debt collectors. Harassed? Abused? Misled by a collector? Call our Helpline today! There is no charge unless we win.
How Long Has Performing A Credit Check Been Common Practice
Experian, Equifax and TransUnion are the three main credit bureaus that have existed since the mid-1900s. In 1989, FICO created an algorithm to combine the scores of those three credit bureaus.
Prior to that, the methods companies used for collecting credit info on a customer involved home visits and gathering in-person reports from other lenders or even neighbors. Unfortunately, this method led to personal biases and prejudices influencing the outcome. The possibility that you could walk into a bank and have a good credit history but still get turned down because the banker didnt like your demeanor was very real, according to one Business Insider report.
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Ollo Platinum Card Details And Benefits
The Ollo Platinum Mastercard, Ollos entry-level offering, is best suited for people with fair to good credit.
Though it doesnt offer spending rewards, the Platinums uncomplicated fee structure gives it a leg up on similar : It carries no annual fee, no returned payment fee and no over-limit fee. The card doesnt charge foreign transaction fees, either, making it a potentially good choice for frequent travelers or online shoppers with a penchant for international retailers.
The fees the Ollo Platinum does carry for late payments, balance transfers and cash advances are easy to avoid. But if you happen to miss your payment due date, youll pay $28 for your first slip-up and $40 for any subsequent occurrence within six billing cycles, per the Ollo cardmember agreement.
Unfortunately, other aspects of the Ollo Platinum Mastercard arent quite as noteworthy. While cardholders who are invited to apply may be offered an intro 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers this happens in a lot of cases, Egg-Krings said the intro period is a short nine months, and the 4% balance transfer fee is higher than average.
Finally, although late payments wont trigger a penalty APR, the Ollo Platinum cards variable APR is already 24.99%, nearly 10 percentage points higher than the average credit card interest rate of 16.05%.
Need A Bnpl Loan That Wont Impact Your Credit Score
Each BNPL loan handles credit checks and reporting to credit bureaus differently.
Although AfterPay does not consider itself a POS provider, AfterPay performs no credit check at all, making it a solid option for people who have poor or bad credit and have a hard time securing a loan otherwise . It doesnt report loans to the credit bureaus.
Klarna also does not report information to the credit bureaus on its POS loans, according to Klarna. Klarna will perform a soft credit check, which wont affect your credit score, if youre taking out a Pay in 4 loan or a Pay in 30 days loan. Additionally, if a consumer applies for a branded open line-of-credit product offered by Klarnas partner bank, a hard inquiry may be conducted.
Your score wont be affected if you take out an Affirm loan that charges 0% APR and has four biweekly payments or loans where people were given the option of a three-month payment term with 0% APR. If you take out a longer loan with interest, the loan will be reported to Experian.
Before you take out any BNPL loan make sure youre clear on the terms and conditions, so you understand the interest rate and repayment schedule.
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Is Optimum Outcomes A Scam
Theyre legit. According to the Better Business Bureau , Optimum Outcomes was founded in 2002. The BBB established a profile page for Optimum in 2007. The BBB lists Optimum Outcomes as a collection agency. Buzzfile estimates Optimum Outcomes annual revenue at $45,502 and the size of its headquarters staff at 2 employees.
Call The Collections Agency
After evaluating the debt and coming up with a plan, its time to contact the collections agency. Consumers have 30 days from the initial communication about the debt to call the collector and ask for the debt to be verified in writing. The collector must return your request before it can start trying to collect the debt again.
While on the phone with a collector, Tayne recommends taking notes throughout the conversation and detailing important information like who you are speaking to, the current balance and rate of interest.
If you opt to negotiate the debt, Tayne doesnt recommend giving an amount of how much youre willing to pay off. Instead, let the collector make the first move.
You can say something like, Is there an option to settle this debt? What are you willing to offer me to settle this debt? Tayne says. Im not a fan of making the first offer.
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Buy Now Pay Later Services Offering No Hard Credit Checks
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Buy now pay later no credit check loans are increasing in popularity. Youve probably seen it on your favorite retailers websites. When you checkout theres the option to buy now and pay later, allowing you to pay in four equal installments and usually for no interest or fees and with no hard credit check.
If you have no credit or bad credit, these can seem like a great optionbut only if you know how they work, and which companies are the best options for those in search of no-credit-check online financing.
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How Many Complaints Are There Against Optimum Outcomes Inc
As of April 2017, the Better Business Bureau reported 186 closed Optimum Outcomes complaints within the previous three years, including 31 closed Optimum Outcomes complaints within the previous 12 months. The BBB gives Optimum Outcomes an A rating. In addition, Justia lists eight Optimum Outcomes complaints filed in federal court in the past year alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, two alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and one alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Furthermore, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau lists 107 closed Optimum Outcomes complaints for 2016.
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Should I Contact Or Pay Optimum Outcomes
Nothing good can come from contacting a collection agency like Optimum Outcomes. And making payments on the collection account will reset the clock. So instead of helping your credit, it will most likely make it worse.
The best way to deal with a collection agency is to work with a professional credit repair service. They have deleted millions of negative items from companies like Optimum Outcomes, Inc. for millions of clients nationwide.
And they can help you too.
What Is Debt Collection
Debt collection is the process of unpaid debts getting assigned to a collections agency. These agencies then take responsibility for collecting the debt on behalf of the original company or, sometimes, the agency buys the debt and then collects it on behalf of itself.
According to Experian, lenders can collect debt in four ways:
- Contacting you on their own,
- Hiring a collection agency to collect,
- Selling revolving debt to a collection agency who then when work to collect it, or
- Repossessing items associated with installment loans , selling the item at an auction and then selling the remaining debt to a collection agency.
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