How To File A Complaint Against Account Resolution Services
If Account Resolution Services has violated your rights under the FDCPA or done something illegal, then you can report them to the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or your state attorney general. From there, youll be able to find out whether you can also sue Account Resolution Services.
Another option is filing a complaint on the Better Business Bureau website, but this might not have the outcome youre hoping for. Bear in mind that the BBB is actually a private organization that has no affiliation with the US government. Theyll forward your complaint to Account Resolution Services, but theres no guarantee that the agency will address it in a satisfactory manner. Whats more, if your dispute is sent to an arbitrator, then you may give up your right to take Account Resolution Services to court.
Can Settled Accounts Be Removed
No, settled accounts canât always be removed from your credit. The main reasons why you canât remove a settled account include:
- Paying off a settled account without a pay-to-delete letter.
- Your lender has no incentive to remove the account. Legally, your lender doesnât have to remove the account unless theyâve signed a letter saying otherwise.
- You havenât paid off the settled amount. If you havenât given the lender or collections agency the reduced amount you agreed to pay, they wonât take the settled account off your credit report.
Is Account Resolution Services A Scam
No, Account Resolution Services, LLC isnt a scam. Theyre a legitimate debt collection agency and a division of HRRG, which has memberships with ACA International, the Florida Collectors Association, and the California Association of Collectors. 5
While Account Resolution Services is a legitimate company, they may still behave unethically. For example, the company has faced litigation for violating consumer rights in the past. 4
Whats more, scammers may impersonate representatives from Account Resolution Services, Inc. to try to collect money from you. For this reason, its important to verify the validity of any debts youre contacted about before you make a payment. To do this, contact Account Resolution Services directly using the information below.
If you want to remove Account Resolution Services from your credit report, write to their address:
P.O. Box 459079
How to tell if a debt collection notice from Account Resolution Services is a scam
If a debt collection agent calls you, you should receive written confirmation immediately afterward. If you dont, it might be a scam. Be especially cautious of anyone asking you to pay a debt that you dont recognize , and be sure to ask questions during the call to verify their affiliation with Account Resolution Services.
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Here Are The 5 Best Ways To Rebuild Your Credit After Settling An Account:
Make a responsible decision if you are going to borrow money. If you have paid off your debts, then the worst thing you can do is accumulate more debt. You can borrow small amounts in order to rebuild your credit history, but only use what you can afford and pay it back quickly.
To improve your credit score, make sure you pay all of your bills on time. Late payments will stay on your credit report for 7 years, whether they are student loans or missed car payments. Rebuild your credit by making sure you make timely monthly payments. You may also want to consolidate any other outstanding student loans so that you only have one payment.
Keep track of your credit report for free once a year. Check it over to look out for incorrect information and ask that it be fixed when necessary.
Pay off credit cards and loans that are close to maxing out. A portion of your credit score is based on how much of the available credit youre using. If you have a card with a limit near its maximum, pay it down so it will be easier for you to build back up from now on.
Adding yourself as an authorized user to a credit card account with on-time payments can boost your credit score.
Rebuilding your credit will be challenging, but its worth the effort. Saving on car loans and mortgages seems like a distant dream without a good credit score because these rates depend on your credit history.
How Resolve Can Help
If youre dealing with debt and not sure what to do, were here to help. Become a Resolve member and well contact your creditors to get you the best offers for your financial situation. Our debt experts will answer your questions and guide you along the way. And our platform offers powerful budgeting tools, credit score insights and more.Join today.
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Negative Credit Report Entries That Impact Your Score The Most
Most accurate negative items stay in your file for around seven years. Fortunately, their impact diminishes as time goes by, even if they are still listed on the report.
For example, a collection from a few years ago will carry less weight than a recent one especially if there arent any new negative items in your history. Improving your debt management after receiving a derogatory mark can show lenders you’re unlikely to repeat the issue and help increase your score.
These are the most common items that can lower your credit score:
Multiple hard inquiries
Multiple hard credit checks over a short amount of time are a red flag for lenders, as it tells them that you are applying for credit too often and, potentially, being denied.
However, there are some exceptions to this. For example, if youre looking to buy a home and want to compare interest rates between several lenders, you can. FICO and VantageScore, the two most commonly used credit scoring models, give consumers a window of around 14 to 45 to compare rates this is known as rate shopping. All credit inquiries done between this period of time will show up on your file as one item.
Delinquency
Foreclosure
Foreclosure can also cause a credit score to drop substantially. According to FICO, a score can drop up to 100 points from a foreclosure, depending on the consumers starting score. Foreclosures stay on your record for seven years.
Charge-offs
Repossessions
Judgments
Collections
Hire A Credit Repair Service
Disputing errors can be a time-consuming process, especially if your history has several mistakes or if you were a victim of identity theft. Reputable credit repair companies such as , Lexington Law or Sky Blue may be viable solutions if your file is riddled with inaccuracies.
Credit repair services can help you dispute inaccurate negative information and handle creditor negotiations. However, if you decide to hire a credit repair agency, bear in mind that there are consumer protection laws regulating how they operate and what they can do. The establishes the following regarding credit repair services:
- They cannot provide false or misleading information concerning a persons credit status and identification
- They must provide a detailed description of the services they provide
- They cannot charge for their services until they has been completed
- There must be a written contract detailing the services theyll provide, the time frame in which these services will be provided and the total cost for them
- They cannot promise to remove truthful information from your record before the term set by law
- You have three days in which to review the contract and cancel without penalty
Before signing up with one of these companies, its important to understand what they can and cannot do. For example, any company that promises to remove accurate negative items or create a new credit identity for you is most likely engaging in illegal practices or a scam.
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How Much Should I Offer To Settle A Debt
Offer a specific dollar amount that is roughly 30% of your outstanding account balance. The lender will probably counter with a higher percentage or dollar amount. If anything above 50% is suggested, consider trying to settle with a different creditor or simply put the money in savings to help pay future monthly bills.
Why Debt Settlement Can Ding Your Credit Score
Why should it have a negative impact, when you’re lightening the load of your obligations and your creditors are getting some money? Because strong credit scores are designed to reward those accounts that have been paid on time according to the original before they’re closed.
A debt settlement planin which you agree to pay back a portion of your outstanding debtmodifies or negates the original credit agreement. When the lender closes the account due to a modification to the original contract , your score gets dinged. Other lenders are likely to take notice and be warier about granting credit to you in the future, too.
Still, it is possible that the reduced debt burden is worth a subsequent drop in your credit score. The high and late or missed payments have likely already lowered it somewhat. If debt settlement jump-starts your path toward a sounder financial future, it should be considered.
Let’s examine the process in more detail.
Will Paying Off Old Debt Boost Your Credit Score?
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How Debt Settlement Affects Your Credit Score
Credit scores are generated by the information found in your credit report. When the credit reporting bureaus review your credit report, an account with an account condition of “Settled” may be seen as a negative. A settled account may be seen as proof that you were unable to pay your balance in full. New lenders may look into your full credit report to understand how likely you are to repay any balance they lend to you, so a “Settled” account shows that you were unable to completely repay a balance in the past.
For this reason, while a debt settlement can reduce what you owe and prevent you from using the credit card , you should expect to see a credit score drop when a debt settlement is officially made. This record of your debt settlement will remain on your credit report for seven years, which can also affect your ability to be approved for loans or new credit lines, and could even be seen as a negative when you apply for a rental home.
Wait For The Settled Account To Drop Off
Say you looked into the account and cant find any inaccuracies.
Or youve sent a goodwill letter trying to find common ground but the lender wont budge.
We hate to tell you, but if youve tried both of these approaches and the account wont be removed from your account, you will have towait it out.
7 years may seem like a long time, but its not forever.
In at most 7 years from the first date of your missed payment or the date you paid the account in full, it will drop from your report.
If the settled account isnt affecting your score in any way, it may just be best to wait it out instead of going back and forth with credit bureaus and the lender.
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What Should I Look For On My Credit Reports
When reviewing your credit reports, there are four areas that you should look at:
| Personally Identifiable Information | This section will contain your full legal name, social security number, date of birth, and any available employment information. |
| When you accept a loan, the lender will report the account to the credit bureaus. The information includes the loan amount, balance, payment history, and the date the account was opened. | |
| When applying for a line of credit or loan, lenders will pull a copy of your credit in either the form of a “hard” or “soft” inquiry. “Soft” inquiries do not affect your credit score, and “hard” inquiries can cause your credit score to decrease. | |
| Public Record and Collections | In this section, you will find information such as bankruptcies and overdue debts that are public records. |
Can Paying Off Collections Raise Your Credit Score
Paying off debt collections will not remove it from your credit report or raise your credit score. You see, the paid collection item will remain a fixture on your report for seven years from the original delinquency date, which is the date when you missed your first payment. However, as time passes, this settlement will carry less weight and impact on your credit score.
Typically, debt settlement companies advise their clients to avoid making regular payments and make a lump sum payment instead. That is terrible advice that should not be followed as it can further reduce your credit score. It is ideal to avoid opening up multiple delinquent accounts and focus on paying all your bills and payments on time.
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How To Dispute A Settled Account
If the status of your account is not properly updated to reflect the settlement, you can dispute your credit report to correct the inaccuracy.
Experian and the other national credit bureaus accept dispute requests online, by phone or by mail. Using Experian’s online Dispute Center is the quickest, easiest way to dispute information on your Experian credit report you believe to be incorrect. The other credit bureaus have similar dispute processes of their own. You may want to provide documentation that backs up your claim to help expedite it.
If the lender determines the information was incorrectly reported, they will notify the bureau to either update the information to correct it or remove it from your report entirely. Disputing accurate information won’t cause it to be removed from your credit report, even if it’s negatively affecting your scores.
Credit report disputes are typically concluded within a few weeks. It’s smart to check your credit reports and three to six months before you seek a major loan so there’s time to make changes to an account or resolve any disputes with a lender before you submit your application.
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You Have Defaulted On An Account
An account is in default when the borrower has missed payments and the account is then closed by the lender. There is no set number of missed payments that result in a default being recorded. This is down to the individual lender, but when they believe a debt can no longer be recovered they record a default.
If a debt cannot be recovered many lenders sell the account to a debt collection agency. This will show negatively on your credit file and will remain on it for a period of six years from the default date, regardless of any settlement. After this time it is removed from your report automatically even if the full amount has not been settled.
Although a default will be removed from your report after 6 years the lender may still pursue you for the debt, unless the debt is statute barred. A statute barred debt is a debt which is seen as unenforceable as the creditor has not chased it in the period allowed. If you have not been chased for payment, have not made payment or signed any acknowledgement of a debt in writing for 6 years in England and Wales and 5 years in Scotland then it could be statute barred.
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Can I Have Closed Accounts Removed From My Credit Report Uk
Unless your credit report has been temporarily closed by your spouse, you cannot remove negative information from your history immediately. When a closed account is reported to have negative information that is seven years old or older, you can dispute the report to remove it from your credit report.
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How Debt Settlements Work
As you know, your is a snapshot of your financial past and present. It displays the history of each of your accounts and loans, including the original terms of the loan agreement, the size of your outstanding balance compared with your credit limit, and whether payments were timely or skipped. Each late payment is recorded.
You can negotiate a debt settlement arrangement directly with your lender or seek the help of a debt settlement company. Through either route, you make an agreement to pay back just a portion of the outstanding debt. If the lender agrees, your debt is reported to the as “paid-settled.”
While this is better for your report than a charge-offit may even have a slightly positive impact if it erases severe delinquencyit does not bear the same meaning as a rating that indicates that the debt was “paid as agreed.”
The best-case scenario is to negotiate with your creditor ahead of time to have the account reported as “paid in full” . This does not hurt your credit score as much.