Stop calls from 800-278-2420

Dena Standley | August 07, 2023

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.

Summary: Do you keep getting calls from 800-278-2420? SoloSuit can help you get them off your back.

Debt collectors are known to be highly aggressive. Enhanced Recovery Company, LLC (ERC) collection agency irritates consumers with their persistent and misplaced calls, unrecognized debts, unprofessional staff, and harassing tactics.

ERC has pretty bad reviews. As of February 2022, it had a 1.1 out of 5 stars review on its BBB profile. The profile is also filled with complaints such as refusal of ERC to return calls and threatening to take legal action without validating the debt. Calls from 800-278-2420 are irritating because they:

Ask for someone you do not know
Have your name right, but the debt is not yours
Ask about a debt that is already paid
Call at night or multiple times
Call your work or friends
Harass or threaten you

If you are receiving ERC's calls, you may want them to stop, but debt collectors do not stop calling unless you take acceptable legal action. Below are the steps you can take to stop calls from 800-278-2420.

Know your rights

Your first line of defense is knowing your rights. For example, debt collectors cannot contact you whenever they want.

The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) has a summary of your rights, and The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) protects you from unlawful debt collectors. According to the FDCPA, an ERC debt collector:

Cannot call you before 8:00 am or after 9:00 pm
Has to send you a debt validation notice within five days of contacting you
Must send a complete validation notice; if the validation notice is incomplete, the debt isn't payable
Must correctly identify themself as a debt collector and give full names, address, phone number, and company license number

If you believe one or more of these rights has been overstepped, you can report the abuse of office to FTC, CFPB, or BBB or contact a consumer attorney. If you win in court, ERC may be ordered to pay both the attorney's fee and your compensation. This action will stop their calls.

Dispute the debt

Regardless of whether you think the debt is yours, always dispute it. You should launch a dispute within 30 days of receiving the debt validation notice before the debt is considered valid.

How do you go about it? The debt validation notice comes with a returnable form which you can fill to launch a dispute. You can launch a dispute if the debt is not yours or the amount stated is incorrect.

Send a Debt Validation Letter to request an official debt validation notice and send via certified mail to prove that ERC has received it. Once they receive your letter, they must investigate and verify that the debt belongs to you. If they don't have the proper documentation from the original creditor, they will drop the case. In fact, most collection agencies would rather give up at this point, because it might cost them more to prove the debt than to continue trying to collect it.

SoloSuit can help you draft a Debt Validation Letter in minutes. Here are some tips for drafting a professional Debt Validation Letter:

Don't be afraid to dispute a debt, even if you know it's yours. ERC is required to prove the debt belongs to you. If ERC collectors fail to provide proof, you don't have to pay. If they keep contacting you about the debt without validating it, they are violating the FDCPA.

Stop the calls

The easiest way to stop the calls should be speaking directly to the ERC's representative. ERC's website provides 1-800-383-5979 as the number to call to report any complaint. Once you get through to a representative, explain that you do not want them to contact you by phone again. You also have the right to request that all correspondence be in writing.

Secondly, you can send a "cease contact" letter. After ERC receives your letter, they should not contact you to collect the debt. They may contact you only to let you know of the action they plan to take (like suing). Let them know you prefer they speak with your attorney instead of you.

The third option is to "pay for deletion." Talk to ERC to see if they offer pay-for-deletion services. If they do, you should be able to pay off the debt to have it deleted from your credit report.

Lastly, offer to settle the debt with ERC. You can bargain with the company to pay a percentage of the debt if you cannot afford to pay the whole amount. Remember, they may have bought your debt for 4 cents on the dollar. This means you could pay off 50% of the original amount, and ERC would still make a profit. You have room to bargain. Start payments once you settle on a percentage, and you will be free of ERC's annoying calls.

Take the necessary action

ERC is a legitimate debt collection company that has been BBB accredited since 2007, but accreditation by the BBB does not assure ethical debt collection practices. Stop all calls from 800-278-2420 by exercising your rights and verifying the debt by sending a Debt Validation Letter. Fight the debt if it is not yours, and reach out to ERC for a payment plan if the debt belongs to you.

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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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