Is LVNV Funding a Legitimate Company? - How to Beat Them in Court

George Simons | September 14, 2023

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Summary: LVNV Funding is a legitimate debt collection agency that purchases old debt account at a fraction of the cost and contacts debtors to collect the full amount. If LVNV Funding has contacted you about a debt, SoloSuit can help you respond before going to court.

Have you been sued by LVNV Funding? But you have no idea who LVNV Funding is? You're not alone. Many people who have defaulted on credit card debt or have fallen behind in student loan payments receive correspondence and are sometimes served with lawsuits from the debt collection company called LVNV Funding.

Getting a lawsuit can be confusing, stressful, and can cause you a lot of anxiety. But do not fear. There is a way to not only stand up against a debt collector like LVNV Funding but even beat them in court.

In this article, we are going to discuss what LVNV Funding is, whether it is a legitimate company overall, and what you need to do to fight back so that you are not at the mercy of LVNV Funding's extensive resources.

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What is LVNV Funding?

LVNV Funding LLC is a debt collection company. Debt collection companies generally buy accounts in default. For example, LVNV Funding would connect with companies like Capital One, Chase, Citibank, Synchrony Bank, and Wells Fargo. LVNV Funding would purchase whole portfolios of accounts that are in default.

Thus, if you took out an Old Navy credit card, which is a credit card serviced by Synchrony Bank, and you defaulted on the payments you owe, then LVNV Funding would purchase your account in default (bundled with lots of other accounts in default) from Synchrony Bank. LVNV Funding would then turn around and attempt to collect the Old Navy credit card debt from you. And possibly even file a lawsuit against you!

That is why you may have never heard of LVNV Funding when you get something in the mail from them. Even though you think you have an account with Old Navy, what occurred is that your account was sold to LVNV Funding. And now LVNV Funding is seeking payment.

Is LVNV Funding legitimate?

Yes, LVNV is a legitimate company. LVNV Funding, LLC was accredited by the Better Business Bureau in 2017. And the company has been in business for over 15 years.

Even though LVNV Funding is “legitimate” in terms of being formally incorporated as a limited liability corporation (that's the LLC part), it is a subsidiary in a web of related companies, with a corporate structure that is purposefully confusing. In short, it is a typical debt collection company that is mixed up with several different corporate names to hide assets and protect itself from liability when consumers inevitably complain about unscrupulous debt collection practices.

Because LVNV Funding is just one of many small operations that buy debt in bulk for a greatly reduced rate than what the debts are worth, it is part of the group of companies commonly called “junk debt buyers.”

Use SoloSuit to respond fast to junk debt buyers and win in court.

LVNV Funding, LLC reviews aren't great

LVNV Funding has received hundreds of complaints on its Better Business Bureau (BBB) profile. Reviews consistenlty report that LVNV Funding violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), so it makes sense that the company has a BBB rating of 1.13 out of 5 stars. Here are some real experiences that consumers have had in dealing with LVNV FUnding LLC:

One consumer reported that they had set up a debt payment plan with LVNV Funding who stopped retreving the payments one month without any notice to the consumer. The consumer tried calling the company 12 times, sent various emails, and kept getting ignored.
Another consumer, Susan G., explained that she was living off of disability benefits when LVNV Funding contacted her about a debt they purchased from one of her old creditors. When she explained that she was on disability and they could not garnish this wage, LVNV Funding told her they would try to seize her car if she didn't pay off the debt. Talk about a brutal collection stategy.
Jennifer L. reported an even more brutal tactic: In December 2020 (amidst the COVID-19 pandemic), LVNV Funding LLC contacted her about a debt and even went so far as to threaten her life if she didn't pay it off. They then took her to court, and she lost the case because she failed to respond due to the frightening contact she had with the company before the suit was filed.

LVNV Funding, LLC phone number and address

If LVNV Funding is contacting you about a debt that you don't recognize, send them a Debt Validation Letter before they take the matter to court.

Many debt collection agencies simply give up after receiving such a letter, because it takes up their time, money, and resources to validate a debt. In some cases, they might not be able to validate the debt at all. To request a debt validation, you can use the following contact information:

Physical Address: 55 Beattie Pl, Greenville, SC 29601
Mailing Address: PO Box 10497, Greenville, SC 29603
Phone number: (888) 665-0374
Website: https://www.lvnvfunding.com

You can beat LVNV Funding in court—here's how

The first step to beating LVNV Funding in court is to file a written Answer to the Summons and Complaint. Here are 6 easy tips for drafting the best Answer:

The Answer isn't the place to tell your side of the story in detail

Deny Deny Deny

Include affirmative defenses

Use standard formatting or “style”

Include certificate of service

Sign it

Watch this video to learn more about these 6 tips:

Understand that LVNV Funding will likely not be able to prove a case against you.

If you were served with a lawsuit from LVNV Funding, your first instinct might be to ignore it and hope that it will go away. While that is an understandable reaction, it would not be smart to do that. Unfortunately, a lawsuit just does not “go away.”

By ignoring a lawsuit, LVNV Funding can easily get a judgment against you, and then use that judgment to garnish your wages, try to collect in other ways, and do further harm to your credit rating. Moreover, if you respond to a lawsuit – rather than hide – there is a very good chance that LVNV Funding cannot prove its case. So, you could win!

As noted above, LVNV Funding buys defaulted accounts in bulk. That means that they are dealing with lots of accounts, not just yours. You would be surprised how little information LVNV Funding has about your account and the money you owe.

Therefore, by just asking for proof that LVNV Funding owns your debt and that the debt belongs to you, LVNV Funding will likely fold and drop the case entirely, which is the outcome you want.

Respond to the lawsuit by immediately filing a written Answer

So, the way to respond to a lawsuit is to file an Answer within the allotted time. The deadline to respond is anywhere from 14-30 days depending on which state you live in. The court Summons should tell you how long you have to answer.

When you are drafting the Answer to the complaint, here are three tips to keep in mind:

Offer No More Details Than Necessary. Do not use the Answer to tell a long story. All the court is looking for is whether you “admit” or “deny” the numbered paragraphs in the LVNV Funding complaint. So, simply say “admit” or “deny” for each paragraph.
Only Admit What You Know is True. A big mistake from a lot of consumers when answering a debt collection lawsuit is saying “admit” to something that they do not know the answer to. For example, LVNV Funding might put in one paragraph that it “owns” your debt account. Do you know if that is true? No! All you know is that you got a credit card from Old Navy or some other store. Unless you have a document that proves that LVNV Funding owns your debt, then you say “deny” to that paragraph.
Watch for Multiple Allegations in a Single Paragraph. Sometimes debt collectors like LVNV Funding try to get clever and put more than one fact into a single paragraph – like LVNV Funding owns your debt and you owe X dollars – hoping that you will “admit” to the whole thing. Don't fall into that trap. Make sure that you “admit” or “deny” every single allegation, even if there are two or more in the same paragraph.

Answer a debt Complaint in minutes with SoloSuit.

Finally, once you have crafted your Answer, you need to file that with the court. Again, SoloSuit can help you easily file your response in court.

In summary, the best way to protect yourself when you get served with a lawsuit from LVNV Funding is to push back by responding to the lawsuit. Typically, junk debt buyers like LVNV Funding will not have the proper paperwork to prove their case against you. You win, and the debt is gone forever!

Check to make sure LVNV Funding LLC isn't a scam

Scammers may call impersonating LVNV Funding LLC, since it is such a large debt collection corporation. This is not a very common occurrence, but here are some things to know to double check for scammers:

LVNV Funding LLC should already have all your information. If a fake collector is calling, they will ask for personal information like your address, phone number, account info, and Social Security Number.
Scammers will refuse to give answer questions about the debt they claim you owe.
Scammers won't be able to give you their employee id number or company information about LVNV Funding LLC.

Remember, you should never give out personal information if someone calls you about a debt. This is the best way to protect yourself. You can also avoid being scammed by sending asking the caller for the company address and sending in a Debt Validation Letter. If it's a fake on the other line, they won't be able to validate any debt and will avoid giving out address information.

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.

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"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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