How to Respond to a Lawsuit Against Northstar Location Services

Dena Standley | June 28, 2023

Edited by Hannah Locklear

A call from Northstar Location Services can be confusing. Often, consumers do not recall ever doing business with such a company. If you have received a call from Northstar Location Services, LLC, they want you to pay an alleged debt.

The company makes it clear on its homepage that the reason for contacting you is to seek payment. While you may never have heard that name, the calls can worry you. Some wonder if they should ignore the calls, collection letters, and even lawsuits.

SoloSuit has put together this information to help you understand how Northstar Location Services works and how to win if they sue you.

Settle your debt before going to court with SoloSettle.

Who is Northstar, and why are they calling me?

Northstar Location Services, LLC is a debt collection company. It collects on behalf of creditors or buys debts and tries to recover them as a third-party debt collector.

Northstar Location Services, LLC, also known as Northstar Companies, NLC, and Northstar, has headquarters in New York and has licenses in several states. The company also has a presence in Canada, operating as Northstar Location Services, Inc. Both entities conduct business as Northstar companies.

Here is the contact information for Northstar Location Services:

Address: 4285 Genesee Street, Cheektowaga, NY 14225.
Website: https://www.thenorthstarcompanies.com/
Phone number: 716-817-6770
Toll-free: 877-630-6700

Northstar claims a collective 50 years of experience in locating consumers and collecting on delinquent accounts. They call to remind you to pay a debt they think you owe.

Every time a debt collector contacts you, it is essential that you determine who the original creditor is and if you owe the debt. Also, check your credit report for any new entries. Every consumer has free access to their credit report annually from all three credit reporting bureaus.

A quick search online shows that "Northstar" is not in good standing with many consumers.

What do consumers think about Northstar Location Services?

Hundreds of consumers have filed complaint against Northstar Location Services on its BBB profile and with the Consumer Financial Protect Bureau (Northstar has closed hu36 complaints within the past three years and 9 in the past year on its Better Business Bureau (BBB) profile. Google gives Northstar Location Services an average of 1.5 stars from 61 reviews. The BBB reviews are even lower at just 1 star.

As of April 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has received over 400 complaints against Northstar. Some consumers claim they receive numerous calls about debts they do not recognize, while others complain that Northstar won't validate alleged accounts despite their continued requests.

Here is an example of a real complaint from Northstar’s BBB page (edited for clarity):

"I received voicemail on 1/10/23, returned the call, and spoke with a collector. Immediately, she asked me to give her personal information without identifying why she was calling. When I refused and asked her for a specific reason for her call, she threatened that someone would show up to my place of employment and/or residence to serve me with papers."

If you have received similar communication from Northstar, knowing your rights can help.

Your rights under the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) regulates what collectors can and cannot do.

When debt collectors contact you, they must identify themselves and identify you. They should never ask you for your private information, although they can ask you to confirm information they already have.

You have a right to validate every debt for which collectors contact you. Send Northstar a Debt Validation Letter using SoloSuit. When they receive your letter, debt collectors must report the account as disputed and stop collecting until they can prove ownership.

Respond to debt collectors.

If they cannot prove ownership within 30 days of receiving the letter, all collections stop. So, while filing a complaint on the platforms mentioned above is okay, a Debt Validation Letter serves your personal needs better.

If Northstar follows through with the lawsuit, you can still beat them, and you don’t have to pay expensive legal fees to do so. SoloSuit’s products can help consumers fight back against debt-related lawsuits.

Respond to a Northstar Location Services LLC debt collection lawsuit

Ignoring debt collection calls is a terrible idea. But dismissing a case is riskier. The plaintiff hopes you do, so they can convince the judge to grant a default judgment.

Whether you think the debt is yours or not, filing an Answer with the court and Northstar's attorney is best. Responding allows you to defend your rights. And it often makes debt collectors withdraw the lawsuit when they realize they cannot win.

Let’s consider an example.

Drafting and filing an Answer to a debt lawsuit may seem like an intimidating task, but we’ve simplified the process for you. Just follow these three steps to respond to a lawsuit against Northstar Location Services:

1. Respond to every claim in the Complaint.
2. Assert your affirmative defenses.
3. File your Answer and send a copy to Northstar.

Below, we’ll break down each step in detail. If you don’t like reading, watch this video instead:

Step 1: Respond to every claim in the Complaint

When you get sued for a debt, you’ll receive court documents that notify you of the suit and the reasons for it. More specifically, the Complaint document contains each claim Northstar is making against you in the lawsuit.

Read each claim carefully, and answer each one in corresponding order in your Answer document. You can use one of the following responses:

• Agree: If you accept the claim as accurate.
• Deny: To make the plaintiff prove the claim is true.
• Deny due to lack of knowledge: This is like saying, “I don’t know.”

Keep in mind that most attorneys recommend denying as many claims as possible, forcing Northstar to prove each one. If they cannot prove a claim, they might not have a strong case against you.

SoloSuit’s software makes it easy to respond to a debt lawsuit.

Step 2: Assert your affirmative defenses

Now is your chance to defend yourself.

Once you’ve responded to each claim listed in the Complaint, you should include a list of affirmative defenses. This is

For example, if the statute of limitations has passed and the collector can no longer sue, mention it. Other defenses can be:

• The debt is not yours.
• You have paid the account in full.
• You are in active bankruptcy.
• You’re being sued in the wrong venue.
• You are a victim of identity theft.

It’s important to list your affirmative defenses in your Answer document, because if you fail to do so, there is a chance you won’t be able to bring them up later in the case, like if or when you go to court.

Make the right defense the right way with SoloSuit.

Step 3: File your Answer and send a copy to Northstar

Remember that the Answer is no good if the court and plaintiff do not receive it on time. If you use SoloSuit, you can let us review and file your response. Our partner attorneys check to confirm that your Answer is legal and meets the court's requirements.

Every state has a deadline to respond. Be sure to file your Answer befores your state’s deadline in order to avoid losing the case by default judgment. Depending on where you live, you could have between 14-35 days.

Use our deadline calculator to determine your state’s deadline.

Let SoloSuit file your Answer for you.

There is nothing fun about dealing with debt collectors. Calls, letters, deadlines, and lawsuits are all a consumer's nightmare. But you do not have to fight them alone. We created SoloSuit to help people as you win against debt collectors at every stage.

Respond to letters, Answer lawsuits, and win in court, all without an attorney.

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.

>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate

>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit. (We can help you in all 50 states.)

How to answer a summons for debt collection in your state

Here's a list of guides for other states.

All 50 states.

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