RICO Charge

Chloe Meltzer | October 19, 2022

Legal Expert
Chloe Meltzer, MA

Chloe Meltzer is an experienced content writer specializing in legal content creation. She holds a degree in English Literature from Arizona State University, complemented by a Master’s in Marketing from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo.

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.

Summary: Here is SoloSuit's guide on everything you need to know about RICO charges.

Are you tired of receiving calls from Enhanced Recovery Company and trying to figure out how to stop them? Many consumers find themselves in this situation, and they feel helpless since they do not know what to do. To beat Enhanced Recovery Company (ERC), you need to know:

Who they are and the work they do
The rights you have under the Fair Debt Collection Practises Acts (FDCPA)
Who to contact to report fraud and illegal business practices
What to do in case they enter a debt in your credit report
Steps to take if they sue you

By the end of this article, you will have the above information. You will also be on your way to stopping ERC calls and recovering from the damage they may have caused to your credit report and life. Let's get right into it.

Who is Enhanced Recovery Company?

ERC is a legitimate third-party collection agency based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is a limited liability company that emerged in 1999. ERC is not a debt buyer, meaning that it does not own the debt it tries to collect but only represents the original creditor.

Enhanced Recovery Company is Better Business Bureau (BBB) accredited with a B rating (from a scale of A+ to F). Their BBB profile records over 1,500 complaints in the last three years with a star rating of 1.1 out of 5. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) also records over 7000 consumer complaints. Their contact information is:

Address:
Enhanced Recovery Company
8014 Bayberry Rd
Jacksonville, FL 32256

Phone Number:
1-800-942-0015

Website:
http://www.ercbpo.com

The rights you have under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

It is essential to know your rights to avoid feeling helpless when ERC contacts you. Inform them that you have the right to be treated in the following ways:

ERC should not lie to you or pretend to be lawyers
They should not threaten you with arrest or lawsuit if it is not true
They should not harass or mistreat you
They should give you more information when you ask for it
They should stop calling you once tell them to stop or after you send a cease and desist letter
They should validate the debt within 30 days after you send a Debt Validation Letter
They should not call you before 8 am and after 9 pm
They should not share your debt information with third parties such as your co-workers, friends, or family

If Enhanced Recovery Company violates any of these laws, report the company to your attorney general's office or the Fair Trade Commission and CFPB Website. You can also take ERC to court because you have an excellent winning chance since they violated the law.

How to eliminate Enhanced Recovery Company from your credit report

ERC has a right to enter your debt in your credit report if it genuinely belongs to you. Instances occur where the debt entered is not yours or the debt amount is inaccurate. These mistakes cause a significant drop in your credit score, reducing your chances of getting a loan or credit card. Whether you have a debt or not, the following are the actions to take to remove ERC from your credit report:

Request for copies of your credit report: Get a copy of each report from TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. It is ideal to address ERC while having all the information from the credit bureaus so that they do not catch you by surprise.

Send a Debt Validation Letter: Ask ERC to verify that the debt belongs to you and the amount they have quoted is accurate. The validation document they send should include a breakdown of the debt, details of the original creditor, and statements allowing you to dispute the debt.

Dispute the debt: Before sending a debt dispute letter, highlight the errors on your credit report and the validation notice from ERC. Next, attach these documents and send them together with the letter. The credit bureaus will investigate and either remove or correct the debt.

Pay the debt: Plan to make payments if ERC sends a debt validation notice that accurately shows the debt is yours and is familiar to you. You can also negotiate a pay-for-delete agreement whereby they agree to remove the debt after you pay.

Debt collection agencies' primary purpose is to see the money owed paid to their clients, they are open to negotiations, and you can get a reasonable deal with them.

Steps to take when Enhanced Recovery Company files suit against you

It is rare for ERC to sue consumers, but they may take you to court if you ignore their attempts to collect a genuine debt. Sometimes errors occur, and they may sue you for a debt you do not owe; either way, these are the steps you can take to beat them in court:

Respond to the lawsuit: Once you receive the debt collection lawsuit, you need to send an Answer within 14–30 days of the date indicated. The courts will declare a default judgment if you fail to respond, and ERC can garnish your wages or gain access to your bank account. Filing your Answer is the first step to beating ERC in court.

Challenge the lawsuit: Consumers can challenge the lawsuit if the debt is not theirs, they already paid it, it passed the statute of limitation time, or the debt is incorrect. Send ERC a Debt Validation Letter to verify the debt and carry these documents to the court.

Send a Motion to Compel Arbitration: You can force a lawsuit out of court by sending a Motion to Compel Arbitration. This approach works if your loan or credit card agreement includes an arbitration clause. The clause makes it more challenging and expensive for ERC to come after you in court, and the company would rather settle outside the court.

Offer to settle the debt: Send a Debt Lawsuit Settlement Letter if you want to settle the debt out of court. It is a safer option if you know you have a slim chance of winning in court. Negotiate and agree to pay less than the original figure.

You do not need a lawyer to deal with ERC after they sue you. SoloSuit can help you with all the documents you need to send to ERC and the courts. These documents include the debt lawsuit Answer, the Debt Validation Letter, a Motion to Compel Arbitration, and Debt Lawsuit Settlement Letter. SoloSuit's Lawsuit Documents are acceptable in all 50 states.

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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