Dealing with National Credit Solutions (NCS)...so you noticed they reported something on your credit??
This means that the account has been overdue for a long time and the original creditor has transferred your uncollected debt to National Credit Solutions for collection.
You may or may not have been contacted by the original creditor for attempts to receive payment before they handed over the account to a 3rd party collections agency. I actually found out that once the account is handed down to a collections agency they have the right to report it to the Credit Bureau without notification (With the exceptions of 3 states only). NCS is a certified and licensed collections agency and uses credit reporting and skip tracing.
What does this mean if something’s on your credit? As time goes by interest and late fees build ( according to what your state allows) and your credit score is dragged down. A low credit score has many disadvantages including its affect on job eligibility, high interest rates, high insurance premiums, and difficulty acquiring loans or purchasing a house or car among other things.
NCS contacts the credit bureau ever Friday for updates. This is faster than most agencies (that often contact the credit bureau every month making any updates and clearing your credit a much slower and strenuous process.)
After NCS receives contact from you or contacts you personally, 5 days from this initial contact you will receive a letter stating your rights and the amount owed.
After receiving this first notification from NCS you have 30 days to send in a formal written request for validation. WRITTEN. After these 30 days NCS is not legally obligated to send you a validation but may or may not as a common courtesy.
What are your options?
It is very important to resolve any issues with collections agencies in order to avoid increasing fees and most importantly to maintain a good credit score. Some people might say don’t pay, reporting to your credit is just a bullying tactic. This is bad advice because the longer you wait to pay your debt or if you do not pay it at all it only hurts you, your credit score, and costs more in the long run. In extreme cases your credit card may be cancelled, you may be refused a loan or unable to make any serious purchases.
Full payment, payment plan, settlement
There is a difference in each of these options and how it affects your credit report. Also keep in mind that the quicker you resolve your debts with the agency the better -- as the account sits in the system it accumulates interest fees and becomes more and more expensive with time. Stay calm and make an informed decision, but do not blow your payment off. This only costs you more in the long run.
Full Payment
Sometimes time is an issue. Payment in full is the quickest solution and fully restores your credit.
Payment Plan
National Credit Solutions offers various payment plans over extended periods of time based on how much you are financially able to pay. This process takes longer to clear your credit but eventually does. They allow automatic withdrawals according to the payment plan you have established.
Hardship Settlement
On a case by case basis NCS may or may not qualify you for a hardship settlement after assessing your situation and financial standing. Different factors affect their ability to settle such as ownership of the account and small factors that dictate different types of accounts. If you settle your credit report will show that you settled for less than the legal amount owed. They can't guarantee to what degree your credit will improve however a paid or settled account is much better than an unpaid account.
Talking to them on the phone is much easier than mailing everything back and forth (that takes forever!)
They will encourage you to pay over the phone because it is "secure, fast, and reduces errors." I guess if you mail in the payment it takes longer to close out the account and at times this can interfere with payment in full ...(due to the amount the check was made out to verses the new total with the additional fees that accumulated in the few days that your payment was in the mail.)
After you pay how long will it take to get it off your credit report?
NCS reports to the Credit Bureau with any updates every Friday. This ensures quicker updates than many other agencies out there. But NCS can ONLY notify the Credit Bureau and after that it is their obligation to make any changes as they see fit. The time that it takes to see any immediate results or removal varies??
Procedures: Request verification, cease and desist, dispute
Requesting a validation
If you do not remember the alleged transaction that has incurred debt under your name or you do not trust the agencies allegations you can formally request a validation. It is important that you send in a WRITTEN request that very clearly states your demand for verification. If you request validation over the phone you may hear from collectors that the agency is not obligated by law to give you validation unless they receive a written request. It is also important to save any documents you receive including any validation documents. The agency will have all interactions carefully document and once they have sent you one validation they will not send you subsequent copies.
When the agency receives your written request they have 30 days to respond with a validation letter. Validation includes an itemized statement of your transaction, contact information of the original creditor, and your last known billing address.
Once you receive validation this means that the debt is in fact under your name and the agency that you are dealing with has legal authority to collect the debt.
Cease and Desist vs. Dispute
cease and desist is a WRITTEN request as well and does not make debt go away. Requesting cease and desist will simply terminate any written or verbal communication towards you from NCS employees. The debt will still show up on your credit report, the account is still open, and all that stuff.
If you are disputing the debt it is best to file your dispute through Transunion.com or experian.com, or mail it directly to NCS addressed to the right person.
IF YOU ARE FILING A DISPUTE...
1.) After a dispute is received by NCS they commence an investigation that can take up to 30 days. After the investigation it takes a while for them to get back to you.
2.) You must provide proof
If you feel that this debt is not yours and you have legitimate proof to clear the account from your name then file a dispute.
If you simply state that the debt is not yours and provide no proof your dispute really won't get you anywhere. If for example you are disputing the debt on the grounds of identity theft you must provide a police report and the identity theft affidavit for that relevant period of time when the debt occurred.
LOTS OF INFO. have any questions???
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