You forgot to pay a bill or two and now are getting phone calls from a company called TrueAccord. They want to know why you didn’t pay the debt, and of course, want you to pay it, but who are they and how did they get your information?
TrueAccord is a debt collection agency. They buy old debts, or debts lenders and creditors charged off because of non-payment. Debts usually don’t reach this level until you miss 90 – 120 days of payment and the creditor feels they’ve exhausted all options to get you to pay. The creditor sells the debt for less than the full amount to get it off their books.
It may not seem like a big deal if someone else has your debt, but it is because TrueAccord is a collection agency and collections on your credit report hurt your credit score.
So what can you do?
Validate the Debt
Your first step (and it must be done right away), is to validate the debt. It sounds formal, but it’s just a letter you send to TrueAccord requesting that they prove they have your debt and all the correct information about it.
In your letter ask for proof of:
- The original loan balance
- The original creditor
- The date you defaulted
- The date TrueAccord bought the debt from the creditor
- The date of your last payment
- Proof they can do business in your state
Add any questions you feel are necessary and mail your letter to the appropriate center, depending on where they call you from:
16011 College Blvd, Suite 130 Lenexa, KS 66219
Or
303 2nd St Tower, Suite 750 San Francisco, CA 94107
They have 30 days to respond (by law), if they don’t, you can dispute the debt with the reporting credit bureau (TransUnion, Equifax, or Experian).
Ask for a Settlement
If TrueAccord validates the debt, your next step is to negotiate a settlement. Remember, TrueAccord bought your debt for less than its balance. They’ll try to make you pay the full amount, but they have room to negotiate.
If you could have paid the full amount with the creditor you would have, but since you can’t, you need either a payment arrangement or a lump sum amount that’s affordable to you.
You can negotiate verbally, but get everything in writing before you pay them a penny. In your negotiations, ask for a pay for delete. This means if you meet the negotiated settlement amount, TrueAccord will delete the collection from your credit report.
This will help your credit score since collections hurt it quite a bit. You’ll still have the charged-off account reporting, but at least you have the collection off your back.
Only pay TrueAccord via check – never give them your checking account number and don’t pay anything until you have everything in writing.
Have a Professional Remove the Collection
Lastly, if you’re the type of person who would rather have a professional handle it and just be done with the whole thing, I suggest you check out Lexington Law Credit Repair. They’ll take care of you, and honestly they usually get negative items removed quicker than if you try to do it yourself. Give them a call at 1-844-331-6062 or Check out our review of their service.
Getting TrueAccord off your Credit Report
The bottom line is you have to get TrueAccord off your credit report one way or another. You’ll owe the debt if it’s legit, but getting it off your credit report helps your credit score and your chances of securing future credit like car loans and mortgages.
If it’s too much to handle yourself or you feel like you aren’t getting anywhere with them, enlist the help of a credit repair agency. While they have to do everything by the letter of the law, they have more experience and knowledge to help you take the right steps to maximize your credit score and get TrueAccord off your credit report.