Why is Trellis Company calling me? How to respond

Legal Expert
Sarah Edwards, BS

Sarah Harris is a professional researcher and writer specializing in legal content. An Emerson College alumna, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication from the prestigious Boston institution.

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: Trellis Company is likely contacting you about student loan debt. SoloSuit can help. Start by confirming debt is yours, then file an Answer to respond to a lawsuit. From there, you can work toward resolving the debt by negotiating a settlement.

Student loans are challenging enough as it is. So when you received a notification from Trellis Company, it naturally made you long for the days when midterms were your biggest worry. Thankfully, you can act quickly to resolve your debt with Trellis Company while avoiding a legal battle or further damage to your credit.

Is Trellis Company legit?

Trellis Company in Round Rock, TX, is a nonprofit organization that partners with educational and financial institutions to manage enrollment and the student experience. And yes, its services also extend to debt collection.

If you’ve been contacted by the Trellis Company student loans division, the organization may be trying to collect on federal student loans made under the Federal Family Education Loan Program.

Trellis Company has a mixed reputation

Trellis Company has a mixed reputation, given customer complaints listed with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which lists several complaints against Trellis. On top of this, the company is not accredited by the BBB. Several complaints against Trellis Company can also be found in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) database.

Similarly, Trellis Company has a low rating on Google reviews at 1.6 out of 5 stars.

Many of these complaints are about consumers who have been contacted in error, which shows how important it is to validate your debt before responding to Trellis Company. Below are some real Trellis Company reviews:

Contact Trellis Company

What is Trellis Company equipped to do? After partnering with your student loan provider, Trellis can pursue your debt and report you to consumer credit bureaus.

To contact Trellis Company, you can call 512-219-5700 or 800-252-9743. You can also send mail to Trellis Borrower Services, P.O. Box 659602, San Antonio, TX 78265-9602. Note that this is a different address than the company’s primary mailing address and office location, which is 301 Sundance Pkwy, Round Rock, TX 78681 (shown below).

Finally, if you are dealing with Trellis Company debt collectors, you can contact the collections department via email at collections@trelliscompany.org to discuss debt resolution.

If you’ve been sued, don’t contact Trellis Company before using SoloSuit to draft your Answer.

Respond to Trellis Company

Your first step should be to address Trellis Company directly and determine whether your debt is legitimate. Here’s how to handle overzealous collectors or the threat of a lawsuit.

Report Trellis Company for FDCPA violations

Consumers have rights that protect them against overzealous debt collectors. The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) prevents collectors from the following actions:

Calling you prior to 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
Contacting you multiple times per day.
Contacting you after receiving a Cease and Desist Letter.
Using vulgar, offensive, or intimidating language.
Threatening you with arrest for not paying.
Refusing to validate your debt.
Contacting your friends, family, or coworkers regarding your debt.

Has Trellis Company violated any of these restrictions? If so, you can report them to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) using the FTC website or by calling 877-382-4357. You may also report them through the CFPB’s website or by calling 855-411-2372.

Validate your debt

Your next step is to determine whether your debt is legitimate. You can do so by requesting that Trellis Company send you a Debt Validation Letter detailing:

Your original creditor.
The amount you own.
Evidence that the debt is yours.
The age of the debt.
The date of your most recent payment (if applicable).

Failing to provide this information is an FDCPA violation.

Learn more about how to validate your debt in this helpful video:

Respond to lawsuits with an Answer

What if you’ve been sued by Trellis Company? Act quickly. Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have only two to four weeks to file a legal Answer with the court. If you fail to communicate your intention to fight the lawsuit, the judge may render a default verdict in favor of Trellis Company.

How does this work? Let’s look at an example.

Example: Tyler had been out of school for many years. But life got in the way, and he’d gotten a bit behind in his student loans. When he received a few phone calls from Trellis Company, he promised himself that he’d get things straightened out “someday.” That’s when he received notice of the debt collection lawsuit. Fortunately, one of Tyler’s old roommates recommended SoloSuit. Using SoloSuit, Tyler was able to file an Answer with the courts to prevent a default judgment. And even though Tyler was nervous, SoloSuit’s intuitive interface and prompts made the process simple and painless. Tyler even requested that SoloSuit have a lawyer review the finished product before filing with the court. This didn’t erase the debt, but it gave Tyler time to resolve the debt through a settlement.

Resolve your debt with Trellis Company

If Trellis Company is unable to validate your debt, you may be able to fight a lawsuit in court. Otherwise, your best option is to resolve your debt by negotiating a lower settlement. After all, debt collectors may be willing to accept a lower payment to avoid a protracted litigation process.

Send a settlement letter to Trellis Company

Start by sending a Debt Lawsuit Settlement Letter to Trellis Company. The immediate goal should be to open up negotiations, so start by agreeing to pay 60% of the total debt.

Ideally, Trellis Company will accept this offer. But if not, it may present a counteroffer, which you may reject or accept. The point is to find a mutually acceptable solution that prevents litigation and helps you resolve debt quickly.

Start using SoloSettle to draft your initial settlement offer.

Document your settlement agreement

Never accept a settlement offer until it’s in writing. It’s not uncommon for debt collectors to verbally agree to a settlement but then pursue a default judgment anyway. Get the settlement agreement in writing, and always save any written correspondence (including email) to provide a paper trail to verify your settlement.

Ace your student loan debt

No one likes student loans. But if you’ve gotten behind in your payments, you can count on SoloSuit. SoloSuit can help you file a legal Answer to a lawsuit, and SoloSettle can help you start the settlement process.

Settle with SoloSettle

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