How to Beat fin rec svc (Financial Recovery Services)

Dena Standley | October 19, 2022

Legal Expert, Paralegal
Dena Standley, BA

Dena Standley is a seasoned paralegal with more than 20 years of experience in legal research and writing, having received a certification as a Legal Assistant/Paralegal from Southern Technical College.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Editor at SoloSuit
Hannah Locklear, BA

Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.

How you'll feel when you beat fin rec svc in court ^^

Summary: Is fin rec svc (Financial Recovery Services) suing you for a debt? SoloSuit can help you take a stand and win in court.

The Better Business Bureau classifies Financial Recovery Services as a collections agency. They specialize in recovering money from delinquent accounts for their clients. The company's alternative names are FRS, Financial Recovery Services of Minnesota, and fin rec svc.

Here's a quick overview of Financial Recovery Services:

It has been in business since 1996
It has been BBB accredited since 2007
It has an A+ BBB rating
It received 1/5 stars consumer reviews on BBB
It closed 26 complaints in the past three years

If you have been contacted by fin rec svc, it's easy to go into panic mode. You may feel cornered and helpless if you are already in a stressful financial situation. Instead of beating yourself up, it helps if you learn how to handle FRS without losing your mind.

The law protects you against debt collectors like fin rec svc

Debt collection is a regulated industry. FRS doesn't get to play by its own rules. However, some debt collectors may resort to bullying, hoping to scare you into paying off your debt faster. Harassment is against the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act FDCPA regulations. So are spam calls and the use of profane language. Here are some of your rights when dealing with Financial Recovery Services.

Right to privacy

No debt collector can disclose or discuss the details of your debt with unauthorized third parties. Consequently, they should not call friends, workmates, or extended family to talk to them about your credit life.

Because of your right to privacy, debt collectors cannot send you postcards. And if they have to leave a voice message, it must be a limited-content message.

Limited-content messages must contain:

A company name that does NOT indicate they are debt collectors
A phone number you can use to call back
A request that you reply to the message
Any additional optional information that does not break the privacy rule, such as a greeting and the company representative's name you will speak with if you respond.

If FRS chooses to contact you through social media, the communication must be private. Your friends and followers should not see the messages they send you. They must identify themselves as debt collectors and give you a way to opt out of receiving the messages.

Right to respect and dignity

Just because you owe money does not give anyone the right to disrespect you. That means FRS employees can't use profanities or derogatory language when contacting you.

Debt collectors calling your workplace can result in added anxiety because you worry about your boss' and co-workers' opinions about you. That's why it's wrong for debt collectors to try to embarrass you by calling your work after you ask them not to do so.

Right to information

Whenever FRS contacts you on the phone, the caller must fully identify themselves and give you their full address and phone number. The caller should also be able to identify you correctly.

After the first contact, they should follow up with a written debt validation notice not more than five days later.

The validation notice should include:

The company's name and mailing address.
Name of the initial creditor.
The debt account number (if any).
The current amount owed, including fees, interests, payments, and credits for the said period.
Your rights when dealing with debt collectors.
A way to dispute the debt, is usually, a tear-off page you can send back.

If you dispute a debt, FRS should investigate and provide proof by documentation to support their claims.

Right to send a Cease and Desist

You can stop debt collectors from contacting you. Telling FRS to cease contact does not resolve the debt, but it can save you the hassle of dealing with calls and unending debt collection emails and messages.

You can beat fin rec svc

If, like everyone else, you hate debt collection calls or wonder how you can reduce the chances of ever dealing with them, here are some pointers.

Pay debts promptly

The most obvious antidote for debt collection agencies is keeping up with repayments. Make a point of keeping your end of the bargain as in the contract you signed. This way, it's less probable that your creditor will involve third-party debt collectors or charge off your account.

Check your credit report regularly

Even before you have an account in collections, make a habit of checking your credit report regularly. You can catch errors in your credit history early to prevent them from hurting your credit score.

It's free to get your credit records from TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian annually. And no, checking your credit report will not hurt your credit score. It's not the same as when a prospective lender pulls a hard inquiry on your credit.

Send a Debt Validation Letter to fin rec svc

A Debt Validation Letter differs from the debt validation notice the debt collector or creditor sends you. This is you requesting the debt to be validated. You can send the letter after you receive the validation notice. With this letter, you buy yourself some time as FRS proves with documentation that every detail about the debt in question is accurate.

To be on the safe side, use certified mail when sending a Debt Validation Letter so that you know when FRS receives it. Upon receipt, the company has thirty days to investigate and get back to you. If they can't prove you owe them money, they must cease all collection efforts.

You can learn more about sending a Debt Validation Letter by watching this video:

Report fraudulent and abusive debt collectors

Your rights under the FDCPA are not meant to scare away debt collectors. You can enforce those rights by law if FRS oversteps any of them.

Report any misuse of office by FRS to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

If you feel that you can't let the abuse pass, you can get a lawyer to sue FRS. If you win, you're entitled to damages of up to $1000 per violation and your attorney's fee.

In the case of suspected identity theft, report immediately to the authorities so that the issue is investigated and resolved as quickly as possible.

Consumer complaints against FRS

Debt collectors are notorious for rubbing consumers the wrong way. FRS is no exception. Alongside their weak 1/5 stars review are allegations of:

Rude staff
Misplaced calls
Stalking
Calling consumers at work, etc.

Check the company's BBB profile to see more complaints.

Information is power when dealing with debt collectors. You don't need a lawyer to beat FRS. You only have to know your rights and keep up with the information on your credit report. And if FRS ever sues you, be sure to Answer on time so you can win against them in court.

Respond to a debt lawsuit against fin rec svc

If FRC is suing you for a debt, the first step to beating them in court is to file a written Answer. Many people who are sued for debt choose to ignore the lawsuit, or perhaps they just don't know where to begin to respond. Ignoring a lawsuit against fin rec svc will most likely lead to a default judgment being placed against you. Default judgment gives fin rec svc the right to take your money by garnishing your wages or putting liens on your property.

You can avoid default judgment by following these three steps:

Respond to every paragraph in the Complaint.
Assert your Affirmative Defenses.
File the Answer with the court and send a copy to the plaintiff (in this case, Financial Recovery Services).

Learn more about these three steps by watching the video below. SoloSuit's CEO, George Simons, breaks down how to respond to a debt lawsuit and beat big collection agencies like fin rec svc:

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.

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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