How to Beat Absolute Resolutions Investments LLC in Court

Chloe Meltzer | July 12, 2023

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Summary: If you're being sued by Absolute Resolutions Investments LLC, you have up to 35 days to respond before you lose by default. File an Answer document with the court where you respond to all the claims against you and assert your affirmative defenses. You can use SoloSuit to respond in 15 minutes and win your lawsuit.

If you have been served or brought to court by Absolute Resolutions Investments (ARI), you need to fight it. Although this might be a frightening time, the worst thing you can do is ignore the lawsuit. This article will teach you how to beat ARI in court.

Let's jump right in.

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What is Absolute Resolutions Investments LLC?

Absolute Resolutions Investments LLC is a debt buying and collection company headquartered in Minnesota. Also known as Absolute Resolutions Corporation, this company specializes in purchasing old debt accounts from credit card companies and banks, at a discounted price, and then contacting the debtor to collect the full amount originally owed.

ARI typically works with Stenger & Stenger, P.C. to file debt collection lawsuits. More specifically, Joe Jammal, Preston Nate, and Joshua Stiers are some of the lawyers that frequently represent the company in a lawsuit. Check for their names on the court Summons and Complaint, because these lawyers specialize in suing people like you for debt.

Note that some of the company's lawsuits are often filed without the proper assignment or title paperwork. This means they are unable to prove their case, giving you an excellent opportunity to win in court. 

SoloSuit gives you a fighting chance against debt collectors.

Absolute Resolutions Investments LLC phone numbers

If you are trying to contact ARI-RES, the website will redirect you to Absolute Resolutions Corporations website. Remember, these two companies are the same thing. So, if you're trying to reach someone at ARI to discuss your debt account, you can use one of the following phone numbers:

1-800-713-0670
1-619-564-6400

You can also reach them at:

Absolute Resolutions Corporation
8000 Norman Center Dr., #350
Bloomington, MN 55437
info@absoluteresolutions.com

Absolute Resolutions Investments LLC has bad reviews

If you're feeling frustrated with Absolute Resolutions, you're not alone.

The company has two profiles with the Better Business Bureau—one under the name Absolute Resolutions Investments and another under Absolute Resolutions Corporation. Together, these two BBB profiles have received more than 50 complaints against the company. Even worse, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has received 98 complaints against ARI over the last ten years.

Many customer complaints follow a familiar pattern. Consumers report that the debt does not belong to them, and often, ARI has purchased the debt and is unable to validate the debt. Other consumer complaints include being victims of identity theft and finding it difficult or impossible to work with ARI.

Let's take a look at a real complaint from BBB:

“On February 8, 2021, I received a letter from Frontline Asset Strategies that "my account" had been placed in collections with them. The account is now with Absolute Resolutions Investments, LLC. I contacted the company and let them know this was a fraudulent account. They sent me an identity theft affidavit which I completed and returned. I filed a police report and a report with the FTC. I have been dealing with identity theft since 2015, I have filed police reports, ID theft affidavits with the IRS, and disputed countless fraudulent credit accounts. All three of my credit bureau accounts are frozen and with a security alert. Absolute Resolutions has denied my claim of this being a fraudulent account and is refusing to review any other documentation I have proving that this is not an account I opened. I can prove I have never lived at the address on the original account and that this is in fact the same address I have been disputing since 2015.”

Many of these complaints show that ARI is willing to violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) in order to collect a debt. Knowing your rights as a consumer can help you protect yourself against unfair debt collection tactics.

You have rights under the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act protects consumers, like you, from abusive debt collection methods. Many debt collection agencies have done some pretty messed up things to get people to pay off their debts. The FDCPA prevents this.

Violations of the FDCPA include the following:

Asking you to pay more than you owe.
Asking you to pay interest or other fees not agreed to originally.
Calling repeatedly before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
Using obscene or abusive language.
Threatening you with violence if you do not pay.
Lying about who they are.
Speaking about your debt to third parties like friends, family members, or coworkers.
Contacting you at work when they know it is not allowed.
Collecting the debt after you raise a dispute without providing verification.

If Absolute Resolutions has used any of these methods when contacting you about a debt, you may be eligible for compensation. You should report this behavior to the Federal Trade Commission. You might also consider filing a counterclaim if ARI has already sued you.

Send a Debt Validation Letter to Absolute Resolutions

All debt collectors have to prove that the debt is yours and every account detail is accurate. Absolute Resolutions is notorious for failing to provide accurate details about accounts they are attempting to collect.

A great way to avoid a debt lawsuit is to request a debt validation and send a Debt Validation Letter to Absolute Resolution Investments.

This is a powerful letter that often stops debt collectors in their tracks. It asserts your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). It also requests the collector show proof you owe the debt, requires them to stop contacting you for any other reason, and demands they report the debt as disputed.

If ARI can't dig up the proper evidence they need to validate a debt, there is a good chance they will stop contacting you about the debt.

Learn more about the power of Debt Validation Letters here:

Absolute Resolutions Investments LLC is suing me—why?

The most obvious reason a debt collector sues is because you have an outstanding balance that they believe you can pay. If their traditional attempts (calls, texts, emails, mail) to make you pay fail, they will open a lawsuit.

However, sometimes it's a case of identity theft or fraud. Such a case should be reported to the Fair Trade Commision (FTC) immediately. If ARI (or any of the aliases mentioned throughout this blog) is suing you, don't ignore the Summons and Complaint. Too many consumers, not knowing how to handle a debt collection lawsuit, choose to ignore it and hope it goes away. Instead, fight back and win your case!

Here's how.

Respond to a debt collection lawsuit against Absolute Resolutions Investments LLC

When you get sued by a debt collection agency like Absolute Resolutions, you receive court documents in the mail called the Summons and Complaint (also known as the Petition in some states like Texas). The Summons notifies you of the case, and the Complaint lists the specific claims against you.

You have up to 35 days to respond to a debt collection lawsuit, depending on which state you live in. If you don't respond in time, ARI may file a motion for default judgment into the case. If the court grants this motion, then you lose by default. With a default judgment, ARI can garnish your wages and seize your property. This is why you should respond as quickly as possible.

Follow these three steps to respond to a debt lawsuit against Absolute Resolutions Investments LLC:

Respond to each claim listed in the Complaint.
Assert your affirmative defenses.
File your Answer document with the court, and send a copy to ARI.

Now, let's break down each of these steps in detail. Don't like reading? Check out this video instead:

1. Respond to each claim listed in the Complaint

Like we said earlier, the Complaint document lists all the specific claims that ARI is making against you. The first section of your Answer document should focus on responding to each of these claims individually, in a list.

Use one of these responses to answer a claim from the Complaint:

Admit. This is like saying, “This is true.”
Deny. This is like saying, “Prove it.”
Deny due to lack of knowledge. This is like saying, “I don't know.”

Most attorneys recommend that you deny as many claims as possible. This gives you the strongest case, because at this point in the lawsuit, the burden of proof is on Absolute Resolution. This means that whenever you deny a claim, ARI has to prove that it's true with proper documentation. If they don't have everything needed to prove their claims, they might just throw out the case altogether.

Use SoloSuit to draft your Answer document in just 15 minutes.

2. Assert your affirmative defenses

The next section of your Answer document should focus on asserting your affirmative defenses. An affirmative defense is a fact or set of facts used by the defendant (in this case, you) that negates the claims of the plaintiff (ARI). In other words, an affirmative defense is any legal reason that ARI should not win their case.

There are several affirmative defenses you can use against debt collectors, but one of the most common is debt having an expired statute of limitations.

The statute of limitations governs how long creditors can bring a lawsuit against you regarding a debt. The rules are different according to different states but often lasts between four to six years.

The statute of limitations will typically begin on the last day that you were active on the account of the debt. If you make a payment or increase your debt on an account, the statute of limitations can start all over again. Don't make any payments to a debt collector until you know if the debt is within the statute of limitations.

Let's take a look at an example.

Example: Susan lives in Alaska. She applied for a credit card in 2018. At first, everything went well; she always made timely payments. When she lost her job, however, things fell apart. She has not made a single payment on that account since March 2019. Although she still owes money, it's too late for the debt collector to sue her because the statute of limitations for credit card debt in Alaska is 3 years. The statute of limitations expired in March 2022. It would be unwise for Susan to revive the account. If she does, by paying even just $5, the statute of limitations is reopened and the debt collector can sue.

Make the right affirmative defense the right way, with SoloSuit.

3. File your Answer with the court, and send a copy to ARI

Once you've successfully drafted your Answer document, file it with the court ASAP. You can go to the courthouse and drop it off in person, send it in the mail, or file it electronically if the court permits.

SoloSuit can file your Answer for you in all 50 states.

You also need to make a copy of the Answer document and send it to the attorneys representing Absolute Resolutions. Their address should be listed on the court Summons document that you received in the beginning. Make sure to send the copy of the Answer via certified USPS mail with a return receipt requested.

Settle your debt with Absolute Resolutions Investments LLC

If you know you owe the debt, and you're in a place where you can pay some of it off, consider negotiating a debt settlement offer. As a professional debt purchasing company, Absolute Resolutions buys old debts for super cheap. This means that they are usually willing to settle the debt for less than the original amount that you owed.

SoloSettle makes it easy to start the settlement negotiation process. With SoloSettle, you can save money, avoid going to court, and get Absolute Resolutions Investments off your back for good.

Let's consider another example.

Example: Franklin owed his credit card company $1,000. His debt was charged off by the credit card company and sold to Absolute Resolutions Investments for $300. When ARI reaches out to Franklin, he knows he owes the debt but decides to ignore all communications from the company. After a few months, ARI sues Franklin. After looking at his options online, Franklin uses SoloSettle to work out a settlement agreement with ARI. After a few rounds of negotiations, ARI decides to settle for $500. Franklin only has to pay off half the debt he originally owed, and ARI still makes a profit.

You can beat Absolute Resolutions Investments.

Although lawsuits can be intimidating, you can beat Absolute Resolutions Investments if you follow the right steps.

Know your rights under the FDCPA.
Send a Debt Validation Letter after they contact you for the first time.
Never ignore the lawsuit.
Create an Answer document where you respond to each claim and assert your affirmative defenses.
File your Answer with the court, and send a copy to ARI's lawyers.
Consider sending a Debt Lawsuit Settlement Letter to settle the debt out of court.

If your debt has not gone to court yet, you have an even better chance to fight. All the documents you need are available at SoloSuit. You don't need an attorney to draft them.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to fight debt collectors.

You can use SoloSuit to respond to a debt lawsuit, to send letters to collectors, and even to settle a debt.

SoloSuit's Answer service is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your Answer. Upon completion, we'll have an attorney review your document and we'll file it for you.

Respond with SoloSuit

"First time getting sued by a debt collector and I was searching all over YouTube and ran across SoloSuit, so I decided to buy their services with their attorney reviewed documentation which cost extra but it was well worth it! SoloSuit sent the documentation to the parties and to the court which saved me time from having to go to court and in a few weeks the case got dismissed!" – James

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>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate