How to Beat Viking Client Services

Chloe Meltzer | March 06, 2023

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.

Beating Viking Client Services feels like ^^

Summary: Is Viking Client Services suing you for a debt? SoloSuit can help you take a stand and win in court.

Viking Client Services is a debt collection agency based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Founded in 1969, it handles consumer debt all over the United States. There have been numerous complaints by consumers against Viking Client Services. These claims involve violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

Although they often use unfair debt collection methods, Viking Client Services is not a scam and is a real debt collection agency. If you have an overdue debt, then your original creditor may have hired Viking Client Services to collect on your debt. If Viking Client Services has contacted you, then you need to know your rights, as well as how to protect yourself against them in your response and in court.

Here's everything you need to know.

Know your rights under the FDCPA

The FDCPA is a federal law that protects consumers, like you, from unfair debt collection practices. Knowing your rights can help you protect yourself when Viking Client Services comes after you for a debt. Violations of the FDCPA include:

Reporting inaccurate or incomplete information on your credit report.
Not validating a debt when asked. Upon request, the collection agency reporting the information must prove to you that the account belongs to you, and the money is accurate.
Using threatening, vulgar, or abusive language to get you to pay off a debt.v
Calling before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
Discussing the debt with anyone other than you, your lawyer, or your spouse.
Not disclosing that they are attempting to collect a debt.
Threatening to arrest you over the debt.
Threatening to take legal action against you that they cannot, or do not plan to, pursue.

If Viking Client Services has used any of these tactics in their attempts to collect a debt from you, you may be eligible for compensation. You can sue, or countersue, and receive up to $1,000 per violation of the FDCPA.

Viking Client Services has received many complaints

If you are feeling super frustrated with Viking Client Services, you're not alone. Many consumers have accused Viking Client Services of both unfair and deceptive tactics while attempting to collect a debt. This has lead consumers to submit hundreds of formal complaints against Viking Client Services to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

As of 2022, Viking Client Services has received 124 complaints in a three-year period on its BBB profile. The CFPB has also reported 155 complaints over the last ten years. These complaints accuse Viking Client Services of making false statements or representations in pursuit of debt collection, as well as attempting to collect a debt not owed, threatening to contact an employer and sharing information improperly, as well as improper communication tactics.

Let's take a look at an example.

“Due to an incorrect billing by their client (which budget has admitted to by email and by phone), Budget Car Rental, Viking Client Service, LLC threatened to take me to collections and seek a judgment against me to seek collections yet they failed to comply with a Debt Validation Letter I sent to them pursuant to Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 UC 1692g. I have attempted multiple times to contact by phone and by mail, but cannot be connected to a representative from Vikings to seek resolution. Need to ensure they do not seek collections against me - even Budget is struggling to get in contact and receive written confirmation that this issue is closed.”

Viking Client Services can sue you

As a debt collector, Viking Client Services is not allowed to harass or threaten you. They cannot lie to you, call you at odd hours, or threaten to sue you if they don't actually plan to follow through with it. However, Viking Client Services can actually sue you if they want to. This means that if you owe a debt and it is valid, you might be sued.

When you are sued for a debt, you should receive court documents called the Summons and Complaint (also known as Petition in some states). The Summons notifies you of the lawsuit, while the Complaint lists the specific claims that Viking Client Services is making against you. You have 14-35 days to respond to the Summons and Complaint, depending on which state you live in.

If you don't respond in time, Viking Client Services may request a default judgment against you. If the courts grant a default judgment, Viking Client Services can garnish your wages, freeze your bank account, and seize your property.. It is important that you know that a default judgment will automatically occur if you ignore the lawsuit or fail to show up in court on the scheduled date.

The first step to beating Viking Client Services in court is to respond to the debt lawsuit by filing a written Answer into the case. Here's how.

Respond to a debt lawsuit against Viking Client Services

You can save yourself a lot of time, money, and stress when you represent yourself in court instead of finding an attorney to do it for you. SoloSuit can help you prepare your legal documents for court and win.

Follow these three steps to respond to a debt lawsuit against Viking Client Services:

Answer each claim listed in the Complaint.

Assert your affirmative defenses.

File the Answer with the court, and send a copy to Viking Client Services.

Now, let's break down each of these steps a little further. Don't like reading? Check out this video instead:

1. Answer each claim listed in the Complaint

Your Answer document should focus primarily on responding to the specific claims, or allegations, listed in the Complaint document that you received. In response to each allegation, you can admit, deny, or deny due to lack of knowledge. Let's explain.

When you admit a claim, it's like saying “This is true.” When you admit a claim, there is no contest. Admitting all the claims in your Answer would probably lead to a judgment against you.
When you deny a claim, it's like saying “Prove it.” Keep in mind that this isn't the same as saying “This is not true.” Denying a claim is simply refusing to admit it as truth before a court of law.
When you deny a claim due to lack of knowledge, it's like saying “I don't know.” This is a perfectly fine response to use if you aren't sure about the allegations being made against you.

Most attorneys recommend denying as many claims as possible, because this will force PFW to do more work to prove their side of the case. If they don't have the proper documentation for proof, their case won't stand.

Draft an Answer to your debt lawsuit in 15 minutes with SoloSuit.

2. Assert your affirmative defenses

The plaintiff in a collections lawsuit is always the creditor or debt buyer, or in this case, Viking Client Services. Because of this, they hold the burden of proof, which means they must establish the right to collect the debt they owe. Specifically, the plaintiff must provide admissible evidence that the lawsuit is true. This is somewhat difficult, but if you do not show up, or respond to the summons and complaint then they will win automatically.

Here are some examples of affirmative defenses you might raise in a debt lawsuit:

Viking Client Services failed to state the basis of the lawsuit: With this affirmative defense, you are stating that the debt collector did not cite a law that was violated meaning there is not a legal reason to sue you.
The debt is time-barred: This means that the statute of limitations has passed. The statute of limitations governs how long you can legally be sued for debt. This may range anywhere from two to 20 years, but on average is anywhere from four to six.
Plaintiff lacks legal standing: If Viking Client Services has failed to provide legal evidence that they own and can legally collect your debt, they lack legal standing. This typically occurs when the debt collector cannot prove they purchased or were assigned the debt.

SoloSuit can help you assert your affirmative defenses in the right way.

3. File the Answer in court, and send a copy to Viking Client Services

After you've drafted your Answer, you should file it within the court's deadline. The deadline to respond to a debt lawsuit is anywhere from 14-35 days, depending on which state you live in. Make a copy of the Answer and send it, via USPS certified mail, to the attorneys representing NPAS.

SoloSuit can help you file an Answer in all 50 states.

Settle your debt with Viking Client Services

It is very common to settle a debt collection lawsuit for less than you owe because debt collectors often purchase your debt for pennies on the dollar. This means that even if you are not able to get the lawsuit thrown out, you may be able to settle it for next to nothing. It is important that you realize you may need to pay a lump sum if you wish to get the lowest price possible. If this is not something you can do, then you should expect to attempt to coordinate monthly payments.

SoloSettle makes it easy to negotiate a debt settlement and reach an agreement with creditors and debt collectors alike. Avoid offering to pay off the whole debt, because you can probably get Viking Client Services to settle for a percentage of the debt.

Watch this video to learn more about debt settlement:

Settle with SoloSettle

Make an Offer

Common outcomes of a debt collection lawsuit

There are a few outcomes you can expect of a debt collection lawsuit. The first is you might win and the judge will dismiss your case. Another option is that you can attempt to reduce how much you owe in a single payment or payment plan. However, you may be able to work on a settlement or file for bankruptcy in extreme situations. You might lose after responding because Viking Client Services has a stronger case than you. Worst case scenario, you lose the case by default because you fail to respond to the Summons and Complaint.

Contact Viking Client Services

If you need to contact Viking Client Services to send them a Debt Validation Letter, or for any other matter, use the following contact information:

Address:
Viking Client Services
10050 Crosstown Cir., Suite 300
Eden Prairie, MN 55344

Phone numbers:
800-767-7895 or 952-944-7575

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to fight debt collectors.

You can use SoloSuit to respond to a debt lawsuit, to send letters to collectors, and even to settle a debt.

SoloSuit's Answer service is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your Answer. Upon completion, we'll have an attorney review your document and we'll file it for you.

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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