How to Beat American Recovery Service in a Debt Lawsuit

George Simons | December 01, 2022

Receiving repeated phone calls and threatening letters from a debt collection company like American Recovery Service likely means you are feeling stressed out and anxious about your financial future. This is understandable. Most people do not expect to receive harassing phone calls and letters from an intimidating and overly aggressive debt collection company.

If you find yourself in this situation, do not succumb to the harassment. It is important to remember that you have legal rights and protections when it comes to dealing with a debt collector like American Recovery Service. There are also certain defenses you can raise if American Recovery Service has sued you to try and collect on an alleged delinquent debt. These affirmative defenses could position you to prevail over the debt collector in court.

With SoloSuit you can make the right affirmative defenses the right way.

What Exactly is American Recovery Service and Why are They Suing Me?

Many people are shocked when they are served with a lawsuit and see the plaintiff is listed as “American Recovery Service.” The surprise is likely based on the fact that they have never heard of this debt collection company and have no memory of making a purchase or taking out a loan with American Recovery Service. If you have no idea who or what American Recovery Service is, you are not alone. To help provide some insight into this debt collection company, here is some general info on their operation:

American Recovery Service is a debt collection company based in California. The company was formed in 1986 and specializes in issuing demand letters and debt collection. Since its inception, American Recovery Service has developed a reputation as an aggressive debt collector using highly questionable and disturbing tactics to collect debts. For example, American Recovery Service has been sued multiple times by consumers for alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

SoloSuit makes it easy to win a debt collection lawsuit.

Questionable Debt Collection Tactics Commonly Used by American Recovery Service

Below is a general overview of some of the highly questionable and troubling tactics used by debt collectors working on behalf of American Recovery Service when contacting consumers:

• Using inappropriate and profane language during phone calls
• Calling consumers prior to 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m.
• Making baseless threats such as claiming they can “destroy” your credit or that they can arrest you for breaking the law
• Calling consumers at their place of work
• Contacting consumers multiple times per day or per week

If you were contacted by American Recovery Service and were subjected to some, or all, of these questionable tactics, you may be able to take legal action against the company and obtain monetary damages.

You Have Rights and Protections Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

As mentioned earlier, consumers have the ability to turn the proverbial table and take legal action against a debt collector. The statutory mechanism affording consumers the ability to initiate legal action is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The FDCPA is a federal law enacted in 1977 with the objective of protecting consumers from being harassed and threatened by debt collectors who were using abusive and unethical tactics to try and extract payments for delinquent debts. Under the FDCPA, a consumer possesses the following rights and legal protections:

• Dispute a debt and request no further contact from a collection agency
• Tell the debt collector not to call them at work if such calls are not permitted by the employer
• Request proof that a debt exists and the collector is authorized to request payment
• Be represented by an attorney in a debt resolution case

Advice for Beating American Recovery Service in Court

If you are sued by American Recovery Service, you probably want insight and advice on how to prevail in court. Fortunately, there are certain actions you can take to position yourself for victory in court. For example, simply responding to the Complaint will set you apart from most consumers.

Debt collection lawsuits generally begin when the debt collector (i.e. American Recovery Service) filing a formal Summons and Complaint alleging you owe a specific amount of money (i.e. the unpaid debt). The vast majority of consumers opt to ignore the Complaint and do nothing. This is a big mistake since it means American Recovery Service will simply file a motion requesting the Court enter a default judgment against you. If the Court grants the default judgment, American Recovery Service will be empowered to take the following actions against you:

• Garnish your wages
• Place a lien on your personal property (e.g., car)
• Freeze the money currently in your bank account

Do not let this happen to you. Take action and file a formal response to the Complaint. In your response, take the time to highlight some of the glaring deficiencies and shortcomings in American Recovery Service's lawsuit. For example, you should request that American Recovery Service produce evidence (e.g., documents) showing the following basic information:

1. You are the person in fact responsible for repaying the alleged debt;
2. American Recovery Service possesses the right to take legal action against you; and
3. You owe the specific amount listed in the Complaint

Requesting evidence to establish these basic facts is important because it is not uncommon for these large debt collection companies to sue the wrong person or to lack basic financial documents that show you actually owe the alleged debt.

If applicable, you should also consider the expiration of the statute of limitations as an affirmative defense. The statute of limitations is essentially the amount of time someone has to take legal action against another person or company. If the facts of your case indicate that American Recovery Service filed a lawsuit after the expiration of the statute of limitations, you could file a motion to have the debt collection lawsuit dismissed. SoloSuit can help you navigate this process and in completing the necessary documents that should be filed with the court.

SoloSuit files for you.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to respond to a debt collection lawsuit.

How it works: SoloSuit is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your answer. Upon completion, you can either print the completed forms and mail in the hard copies to the courts or you can pay SoloSuit to file it for you and to have an attorney review the document.

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

>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit: A Student Solution To Give Utah Debtors A Fighting Chance

Overview of What You Should Do If You are Taken to Court by American Recovery Service

Here is a general summary of what to do if you are sued by a debt collection company like American Recovery Service:

• Do not admit liability for the alleged debt since the burden is on the debt collector to establish that you in fact are responsible for the amount owed.
• Be sure you file your Answer to the Complaint within the time period provided by the Court (in debt collection cases, you typically have between 20 and 30 days to file a response).
• In your Answer responding to the Complaint, make sure you raise any applicable affirmative defenses (e.g., the statute of limitations) and demand that the debt collection company prove that you are responsible for the specific amount owed. These are examples of the types of strategies you can use to defeat American Recovery Service in court.

Good Luck!

How to Answer a Summons for Debt Collection Guides for Other States

Here's a list of guides for other states.

All 50 states.

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri

Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah; File a Motion to Satisfy Judgment Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

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