What is Penn Credit?
Penn Credit Corporation is a nationally debt collection representation that was founded in Harrisburg, PA in 1987. 1
In addition to providing third-party debt solicitation services, they have an extend business office class called Penn Billing that provides the following first-party services : 2
- Insurance follow-up
- System conversion support
- Accounts receivable management
- Early-out/self pay receivables management
- Credit balance resolution
- Payment plan monitoring
- Revenue cycle consulting services
Who does Penn Credit collect for?
Penn Credit Corporation provides debt collection services for government agencies and companies across a assortment of industries.
specifically, they collect the following debts : 3
- Government debt
- Student loans
- Medical debt
- Toll fees
- Utility and telecommunications bills
Is Penn Credit a scam?
No, Penn Credit Corporation isn ’ thymine a victimize. They ’ re a lawful third-party collection service and member of ACA International. 2
however, even though Penn Credit Corporation is a legitimate company, they might not behave ethically. Debtors have sued Penn Credit for violating their rights in the past. 4 In addition, the former owner of the company recently pleaded guilty to “ providing monetary benefits to public officials in substitute for golden treatment ” —essentially, bribing people. 5
What ’ s more, scammers may impersonate Penn Credit Corporation representatives to try to collect money from you. For this rationality, it ’ s important to verify the validity of any debts you ’ re contacted about before you make a payment. To do then, contact Penn Credit immediately using the contact information below .
VIDEO: Penn Credit in 2 Minutes—Fix Your Credit Report & Know Your Rights
How to stop Penn Credit from calling you
Penn Credit will call, e-mail, or mail you if they believe you have an unsettled debt. The reason debt collectors like these are calling you is simple—they want to pressure you into paying up .
unfortunately, Penn Credit representatives will keep trying to contact you unless you pay the debt, prove that it doesn ’ metric ton belong to you, or reach an agreement with them ( or with your original creditor ) .
Don ’ triiodothyronine ignore debt collectors like Penn Credit—in the goal, you may get sued, and you may even have your wages garnished. It ’ second fresh to engage with them tactically to ensure you don ’ t have to pay, or that you get the best deal you can .
To begin, you can get Penn Credit to stop calling you—at least temporarily—by sending them something called a debt verification letter .
Send a debt verification letter
A debt confirmation letter is a formal request that obligates a debt collector to provide far evidence of a debt. You must send it within 30 days of them first contacting you. Note that Penn Credit should have sent you a debt validation letter proving you owe the debt inaugural, as it ’ sulfur required by law .
Debt Verification Letter
Use this debt confirmation letter template if Penn Credit has contacted you about a debt and you want to dispute it. If you send this within 30 days, they ‘re legally obligated to respond with testify of the debt and ca n’t contact you until they do .
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Benefits of sending a debt verification letter
Sending a debt confirmation letter has three benefits :
- You’ll prevent Penn Credit from calling you during this period: When you send a debt verification letter, third-party debt collection agencies like Penn Credit are required by law to stop contacting you until they can provide evidence that you actually owe the debt they’re trying to collect. 6
- You’ll get more information about the debt: You should never pay a debt that you don’t recognize. Forcing Penn Credit to provide documentation will help you determine whether this is a legitimate debt that you actually need to pay. It’s an easy way of figuring out if the debt collector is a scam agency.
- You may successfully disown the debt: If Penn Credit can’t provide more information about the debt (which is frequently the case), then they have no choice but to delete it from your records.
Beware the statute of limitations
The confirmation materials that you receive may show that your debt has passed the codified of limitations. This is a legal limit that means the debt is besides erstwhile for Penn Credit to sue you over, at which point it ’ mho known as time-barred debt .
If this is the case, you can send Penn Credit a letter telling them to stop reach you. legally, they ’ ll have to abide by that .
The codified of limitations on most debts is between 3 and 6 years, but the demand measure of time depends on respective factors, including the express you live in. The best approach is to check your state lawyer general ’ randomness web site and email their office if the data you ’ rhenium looking for international relations and security network ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate available on-line.
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How to remove Penn Credit from your credit report
If your credit score is suffering as a result of Penn Credit debt, there are three ways to recover :
1. Dispute the debt with all three credit bureaus
You should immediately dispute the debt if it isn ’ thyroxine yours. You can besides dispute debts that are older than 7 years ( measured from the date of your first miss payment ) —by law, they ’ re supposed to fall off your credit report by then .
To dispute a debt for dislodge, send a credit rating challenge letter to the credit chest of drawers that are showing Penn Credit on your citation report .
Credit Dispute Letter
Use this accredit challenge letter template to file a quarrel directly with one of the credit agency. If Penn Credit is on your credit report by mistake or the debt they ‘re trying to collect is more than 7 years erstwhile, the citation agency have to remove it from your reputation .
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To find out which credit agency you need to send the letter to, request your complimentary credit report from each of the major credit chest of drawers ( Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion ) at AnnualCreditReport.com. If they don ’ metric ton react to your dispute within 30–45 days, then they ’ re legally obligated to remove the item in wonder .
2. Negotiate with Penn Credit
unfortunately, if the debt is legitimate and it ’ s less than 7 years old, removing Penn Credit from your citation report will be identical difficult ( although not impossible ) .
Your best affect at this point is to simply pay the debt. Newer credit rating scoring models ignore paid-off solicitation accounts, which means paying off your collection will boost your credit grudge evening if you can ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate remove the detail .
however, when you pay, there are two negotiation strategies you can try as a last-ditch attempt to remove Penn Credit from your credit report :
- Pay for delete: You might be able to convince Penn Credit to remove the negative mark in exchange for paying off the debt. You can open these negotiations by sending them a pay-for-delete letter.
- Goodwill deletion: This is an alternate strategy you can try after paying your debt. Once the account is paid off, you can send Penn Credit a goodwill letter asking them to empathize with your situation and remove the mark from your credit report as an act of kindness.
If you can’t afford to pay off your debt, try negotiating a debt settlement
If your debt is fairly erstwhile, then there ’ s a chance that Penn Credit will accept less than the wide amount you owe ( a practice known as debt colony ) to minimize their losses. You can negotiate a debt settlement with Penn Credit over the phone or by sending a debt liquidation letter .
3. Wait 7 years for Penn Credit to fall off of your credit report
unfortunately, most collection accounts will stay on your credit report for 7 years after your first neglect payment. even if you pay off your debt to Penn Credit, it will remain on your credit report .
Learn more about Penn Credit’s impact on your credit score:
How to deal with Penn Credit harassment
Unless you tell them not to, Penn Credit will keep contacting you until you pay off or settle your debt. however, there are restrictions on how they can go approximately doing this .
Restrictions on Penn Credit
When attempting to collect payments from you, Penn Credit must adhere to the regulations specified in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This is a union law that prevents debt collectors from engaging in harassment or marauding behavior, such as lying to you or calling you constantly or at unreasonable hours .
Penn Credit representatives besides need to follow the rules set out in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. It ’ s a estimable mind to familiarize yourself with these laws so that you can take carry through against Penn Credit if they do something illegal .
Keep records of letters and phone calls
If you think that Penn Credit may be violating your rights, then it ’ s a good theme to record your phone calls, save any letters they send you, and keep records of when they ’ ve contacted you. This will make things much easier if you need to take legal action against them in the future .
Can I sue Penn Credit for harassment?
Yes, you can sue Penn Credit for harassment. If you can show that they ’ ve violated your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, then you can collect $ 1,000 in statutory damages for each violation a well as requital for any damages that you ’ ve sustained as a result of their misdemeanor. Penn Credit will besides have to pay your lawyer fees and woo costs.
How to file a complaint against Penn Credit
If a debt collector violates your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or does something illegal, then you can report them to the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or your country lawyer general. From there, you ’ ll be able to find out whether you can besides sue Penn Credit .
Another choice is filing a ailment on the Better Business Bureau ( BBB ) web site, but this might not have the consequence you ’ ra hop for. Bear in mind that the BBB is actually a secret constitution that has no affiliation with the united states politics. They ’ ll forth your complaint to Penn Credit, but there ’ s no guarantee that the agency will address it in a satisfactory manner. What ’ s more, if your challenge is sent to an arbiter, then you may give up your right to take Penn Credit to court .
Should you pay Penn Credit?
You should only pay a solicitation agency like Penn Credit if you ’ re certain the debt is yours and you owe it. If you ’ ra struggling financially and can ’ t afford to pay this debt collector, you can get help oneself from a non-profit credit rating counselor .
Takeaway: Penn Credit is a legitimate debt collection agency
- Penn Credit is a debt collection agency, which means they collect severely delinquent debts that lenders have charged off and transferred or sold.
- Penn Credit probably isn’t a scam, but you should make sure to avoid scammers by verifying your debts and only making payments once you’re sure they’re legitimate.
- You have rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that prohibit debt collectors from harassing you. You can sue for harassment, and you won’t need to pay the legal fees if you win.
- There are several ways of removing Penn Credit debt from your credit report, but if these approaches fail, then you should consider seeking advice from a credit repair professional.
