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How to Settle Debt With Williams and Fudge

George Simons | February 01, 2025

Fact-checked by Patrick Austin, J.D.

Patrick Austin
Attorney from George Mason
Patrick Austin, JD

Patrick Austin is a licensed attorney with a background in data privacy and information security law. Patrick received his law degree at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief for the National Security Law Journal.

George Simons
Co-Founder of SoloSuit
George Simons, JD/MBA

George Simons is the co-founder and CEO of SoloSuit. He has helped Americans protect over $1 billion from predatory debt lawsuits. George graduated from BYU Law school in 2020 with a JD-MBA. In his spare time, George likes to cook, because he likes to eat.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

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: Not sure how to settle your debt when Williams & Fudge starts calling? First, validate the debt and know your FDCPA rights. Next, contact the agency to negotiate a settlement. SoloSettle can guide you through the settlement process process.

No one likes receiving a notice from a debt collector saying that you owe money. What's worse is receiving the notice and not even knowing what the debt is for. Once you receive a debt collection letter, you can anticipate additional correspondence and outreach until a settlement is reached or you are able to prove that you don't owe the money.

Receiving a debt collection notice can cause a lot of unnecessary, stress and anxiety. After all, you're being asked to pay a debt—which may add up to thousands of dollars—often immediately.

The average person in the U.S. doesn't have lots of money available to immediately satisfy a large debt. So what should you do when you receive a notice of collection? Keep reading to find out.

Settle debt with Williams and Fudge

You can negotiate debt settlement at any stage of the collections process. SoloSettle makes it easy.

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What is Williams and Fudge?

Williams and Fudge is a legitimate debt collection agency based out of South Carolina. The agency has been in business since 1986.

Don’t ignore Williams and Fudge. Be proactive, reach out, and discuss your options. Many debt collectors will work with you to find an ideal resolution. Use the Williams and Fudge phone number below:

Who does Williams and Fudge collect for?

Williams and Fudge is a legitimate debt collection firm specializing in the collection of delinquent student loan debt. Williams and Fudge collect for public and private universities and colleges. Some of their clients include Georgetown University, University of Houston, University of Miami, Santa Clara University, and so forth.

Specific debt types that Williams and Fudge collector for include the following:

  • Perkins Loans
  • Delinquent tuition
  • Campus-based institutional loans
  • Health Profession and Nursing Loans
  • Private education (alternative) loans

Read Williams and Fudge reviews online

If you are interested in learning what other people have said about their debt collection experience with Williams and Fudge, then take a moment to check out these online reviews:

Most of these Williams and Fudge reviews report complaints about negative experiences dealing with the company, but there are also several who shared very positive experiences. It’s clear that the people who are willing to communicate with Williams and Fudge typically reach a resolution faster and with less tension.

For example, Josh was able to work with Williams and Fudge to resolve his debt issues:

“I had a great experience speaking with a debt collection operator today. From the moment the call started, they were understanding, patient, and professional. They took the time to explain my options clearly and worked with me to find a solution that fit my situation. I really appreciated how respectful and non-judgmental they were throughout the conversation, which made a potentially stressful situation much easier to handle. It's rare to encounter such a kind and helpful representative in this field, and I’m genuinely grateful for their assistance. Thank you for your understanding and excellent customer service!”

As you can see, when you willingly engage in a conversation with Williams and Fudge, you can negotiate a payment plan that works for you.

Negotiate a debt settlement with Williams and Fudge

If you’ve received a Summons and Complaint from Williams and Fudge, you still may be able to negotiate a debt settlement. It is important to proactively respond to the debt collection lawsuit so you have sufficient time to engage in settlement negotiations and you avoid getting hit with a default judgment.

The debt settlement process can be as simple as following these steps:

  1. As mentioned above, make sure to timely respond to the debt collection lawsuit.
  2. After you respond to the debt collection lawsuit, take the time to calculate how much you can afford to pay toward the balance of the debt without negatively impacting your ability to pay other important living expenses such as rent, utilities, transportation, etc.
  3. Begin settlement talks with Williams and Fudge. Generally speaking, your opening settlement offer should be lower than the amount you calculated in Step 2. Why? Because making a lower opening offer provides some room to engage in productive settlement talks and you can negotiate upward.
  4. If you are able to secure an agreement, make sure to get the debt settlement terms and provisions in writing.
  5. Both you and the debt collector need to sign the debt settlement agreement.
  6. Pay the negotiated amount.

To learn more about these tips and others that may assist you on your journey to settle debt with Williams and Fudge, watch the following interview with a consumer rights attorney, John Skiba, where he shares the best tips for negotiating debt settlement with collectors:

What are common debt collection techniques?

Debt collection techniques often feel like harassment to the individual on the receiving end. They may involve calling the person repeatedly or contacting them on their work line. In some cases, they may use a variety of different phone numbers to reach the person who presumably owes the debt.

Debt collection techniques include any of the below:

  • Attempts to collect debts that people said they didn't owe.
  • Illegal letters.
  • Inappropriate communication.
  • Unfounded threats to take negative or legal actions.
  • False representations.
  • Improperly involving a third party in collection activities, such as a friend or relative.

Knowing your rights can help while you engage with the debt collector.

What are my rights under the Federal Debt Collection Practices Act?

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the consumer has specific rights related to the collection of a debt. This act was specifically designed to protect consumers from harassment and illegal activity with the purpose of obtaining payment from the consumer. A few of the rights granted to consumers include the following:

  • Ability to dispute the debt and request no further contact.
  • Advise that the debt collector may not contact them during working hours if their employer disapproves.
  • Request proof that a debt exists and the collector is authorized to request payment.
  • Be represented by an attorney in a debt resolution case.

If you've just received notification of the debt, your first step is to dispute that it exists. Do so before the established period granted in the letter (usually 30 days). This will force the debt collection agency to dig up your file and prove that you owe money for a specific bill.

Many times, debt collection agencies have hundreds of thousands of individuals they are chasing at one time and may not have the documentation that is required to validate your debt.

What should I do if I am sued by Williams and Fudge?

It's not often that a debt collector will sue you in court. Such actions involve money and time, and unless they are likely to prevail, they tend not to pursue this route. However, if you are on the receiving end of a lawsuit from Williams and Fudge, don't despair.

The first step to beating Williams and Fudge in court is to respond to the lawsuit within the court's deadline by filing a written Answer. You have 14-35 days to respond, depending on which state you live in. If you don't file your Answer in time, a default judgment will most likely be entered against you. This means that Williams and Fudge can garnish your wages, freeze your bank accounts, and even put liens on your property in order to get the money back.

Filing an Answer is only the beginning, though. You must also attend all hearings, trials, and case conferences or you will risk losing the case. Failure to show means failure, so be proactive, show up, and consider contacting Williams and Fudge before the court date to discuss settlement options.

Settle with SoloSettle

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You can save yourself the time, money, and stress of hiring an attorney when you use SoloSuit to represent yourself and respond in court. Here's how.

Respond to a debt lawsuit against Williams & Fudge

Follow these three steps to respond to a debt lawsuit against Williams & Fudge:

  1. Respond to each claim listed in the Complaint document. You can admit, deny, or deny due to a lack of knowledge. Most attorneys suggest that you deny as many allegations as possible. This makes Williams & Fudge work harder because they have to gather all the necessary documentation to prove the debt is actually yours.
  2. Assert your affirmative defenses. These are legal reasons that Williams & Fudge doesn't have a case against you. A common affirmative defense to raise in a debt collection lawsuit is the statute of limitations. If the debt is past the statute of limitations, then Williams & Fudge has run out of time to sue you for the debt. If this is true, the case will be dismissed.
  3. File the Answer with the court, and send a copy to Williams & Fudge. Make sure to file before the deadline, which is 14-35 days, depending on which state you live. Make a copy to send to Williams & Fudge via USPS-certified mail. You should also request a return receipt so you can prove that you properly sent the Answer to the opposing party.

You can learn more about these three steps in this video:

How to Answer a Summons for debt collection in all 50 states

Here's a list of guides on how to respond to a debt collection lawsuit in each state:

The Ultimate 50 State Guide

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The Debt Hotline

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