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.

What it feels like to beat AFNI Collections in court ^^

Summary: Is AFNI Collections bothering you about a debt? SoloSuit can help you know your rights, take a stand, and win in court.

When you feel weighed down by debt collectors, remember that there's help. Debt collection is heavily regulated, and for a good reason. AFNI's calls, emails, texts, or lawsuits can put a strain on your mental, emotional and physical health.

If AFNI has contacted you, you know just how much you would like to get them off your back. You may wonder, who is AFNI? What can you do to win against the ever-persistent debt collectors? What are some things you should never do? And what are your rights in this situation?

Let's start with the last question.

What are my rights when dealing with AFNI Collections?

Thanks to the improvements in many debt collection laws, consumers are more protected now than ever. The most recent FDCPA regulations curb malpractices by debt collection agencies. For example, a debt collector must now provide most of the information they previously asked for from consumers. The caller and not the consumer should now supply details like your name, address, contact information, etc.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act-FCRA also requires that your credit information, including debts in collections, is shared fairly and accurately. No debt collector should discuss details of your debt with unauthorized third parties like family or workmates. They also cannot share false or inaccurate information with credit bureaus. What is more, if AFNI violates your rights, you can report them to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC).

Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) also protects your money. Debt collectors cannot automatically transfer money from your account to pay the debt without your permission. These regulations protect your hard-earned money from fraudsters and put you in control of how and when you pay your bills.

When AFNI comes calling, remember these basic rights:

They can't threaten or harass you.
The caller must give their full name, the name of the company they are calling for, address, active phone number, and company license number.
AFNI can't threaten you with legal action that they don't plan to take.
They cannot ask for private information like your Social Security number.
They can't call you past 9:00 pm or before 8:00 your local time.
The caller can't use profane or derogatory language when speaking to you.

Is AFNI legitimate?

Anderson Financial Network, Inc. (AFNI) is a legitimate debt collection agency that has been in business since 1938. You may not recognize AFNI at first as they are not creditors. They collect old debts on behalf of their clients. Their clients include large companies like T-Mobile. Also, because debt collectors buy and sell debts among themselves, you may find yourself working with AFNI instead of a previously known debt collector.

AFNI's website is afnicollections.com. The company has been accredited by Better Business Bureau (BBB) since April 30, 2007. The business has a 1-star review on its profile and a B+ rating. BBB has received 555 complaints against AFNI in the past three years.

At the time of writing this article, AFNI has an alert on their BBB profile. The alert is for a case between AFNI and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) for which AFNI entered a consent order in November 2020. CFPB alleged that AFNI furnished information to Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) it knew or had reason to believe was inaccurate. The business also failed to report appropriate first delinquency dates on certain accounts, thereby violating the FCRA regulations. The court imposed civil penalties of $500,000 on AFNI, and the business promised to take steps to prevent future violations.

In December 2020, AFNI responded to the BBB concerning the consent order. In part, the company stated that it had "complied with all requests from the CFPB and... to improve its compliance..." The consent was only for business reasons and should not be considered an admission of guilt. Click here to read more on this case.

Despite being one of the biggest debt collectors in the United States, AFNI still breaks the rules, as evidenced by the CFPB allegations discussed above. The best way to win against them is to know your rights and stick by them.

Whenever you have reason to prove AFNI has violated your rights, report them to the (FTC), CFPB, or the BBB.

You can outsmart AFNI Collections—here's how

Whether AFNI is coming after you with a genuine debt or one you don't recognize, you can outsmart them.

Validate every debt with AFNI

Each time AFNI contacts you about a debt, verify that the debt is yours and the information is correct.

AFNI should reach you in writing to verify the debt within five days of the first contact. Once you get that letter, send back a Debt Validation Letter. If possible, use certified mail so that you can prove they received your letter. From the day of receipt, they have a limited time to investigate and furnish you with satisfying evidence that the debt is not only yours but also that every detail is accurate.

Let's consider an example.

Example: David is being contacted by AFNI Collections over a debt he supposedly owes. He's never heard of this company, and he doesn't recognize the debt. He decides to use SoloSuit's service to draft and send a Debt Validation Letter and request a debt verification from AFNI. He finds out that AFNI Collections had purchased a huge package of charged-off credit card debts, including one of his old debts. Sadly for AFNI, the company did not have the proper documentation to prove that the debt had been transferred to AFNI's ownership. Without this information, AFNI cannot validate the debt and therefore must drop the case.

To learn more about sending a Debt Validation Letter, check out this video:

Dispute inaccurate and zombie debts

Always scan your credit report for any errors. Remember, debt collectors are humans who make mistakes. If AFNI asks you to pay a debt that's not yours, report the error to the FTC. It could be a case of identity theft. Dispute the debt with AFNI and the credit bureaus so that they can remove the entry from your report.

To get your free yearly credit report visit Annual Credit Report or click here.

You are not required to pay debts that are past your state's statutes of limitations or that are time-barred. Even if AFNI contacts you about such debt, they can't legally ask you to pay.

Avoid doing this when dealing with debt collectors

Now that you know what debt collectors can and can't do, here are a few things you should be careful to avoid:

Never give your information on the phone: Giving your information on the phone is dangerous. You may be talking to fraudsters. If AFNI contacts you on a call, respectfully and politely decline to share any information. Tell them that you prefer written communication.
Don't open new credit lines with a debt in collection: Did you know that opening new credit lines when you have a debt in collections is considered fraudulent? You're required to get all your credit accounts in order before opening a new one.
Avoid ignoring debt collectors: It's tempting to block debt collectors or ignore their calls. However, it's not wise as debt collectors won't go away. Ignoring calls from debt collectors can also result in a lawsuit, leading to a default judgment if you don't Answer within the required time.
Don't believe everything debt collectors say: Debt collectors sometimes resort to scare tactics to pressure you to pay the debt. Please don't believe everything they say. For instance, if a debt collector threatens to sue you before validating the debt, you know they are lying to you.

Any of these mistakes can get you into trouble.

Respond to a debt lawsuit against AFNI Collections

If AFNI Collections is coming after you in court, the first step to beating them is to respond to the lawsuit. Like we mentioned, ignoring a debt lawsuit can lead to a default judgment against you. This means your wages may be garnished, your accounts frozen, and you might have liens placed on your properties. Luckily, you can use SoloSuit's free Answer form to respond to your debt lawsuit in minutes—and win.

Follow these three steps to respond to your lawsuit against AFNI Collections:

Answer each claim listed against you in the Complaint.
Assert your affirmative defenses to strengthen your case.
File the Answer with the court and send a copy to the plaintiff's attorney.

Let's take a minute to explain each of these steps. If you don't like reading, check out this video where SoloSuit's CEO, George Simons, breaks down the three steps in detail:

1. Answer each claim listed against you in the Complaint

When you get sued, you should receive some legal documents in the mail known as the court Summons and Complaint. Some states have different names for these documents, like Petition in Texas. The first step you should take when drafting your Answer is to respond to the list of claims, or allegations, listed in the Complaint document.

You should answer each claims using one of the following responses:

Deny
Deny due to lack of knowledge
Admit

When you deny a claim, it's like saying, “Prove it.” This requires debt collectors like AFNI Collections to do more work on their side to prove their case. Most attorneys recommend that you deny as many claims as possible. Denying due to lack of knowledge is like saying, “I don't know.” This can also be a good tactic, as you may not understand the claims against you. When you admit to something, it's like saying, “This is true.” If you admit each claim from the Complaint, you will probably lose the case because you are essentially agreeing with everything AFNI Collection is saying about you.

Use SoloSuit's free Answer form to respond to a debt lawsuit in minutes.

2. Assert your affirmative defenses to strengthen your case

After you've answered each claim, you should include a section for your affirmative defenses. An affirmative defense is any legal reason that AFNI Collections' case is invalid. It's important to assert your affirmative defenses in your initial Answer to the lawsuit, because once you've responded, you won't have another chance to bring them up later on.

For example, a common affirmative defense used in debt lawsuits is the statute of limitations on the debt has already passed. The statute of limitations is the time period that a debt collector has to sue someone for a debt, and it's different in every state. Using this as an affirmative defense will most likely get the case dismissed. Here are some other examples of affirmative defenses you might include in your Answer document:

You are a victim of identity theft, and therefore did not incur the debt.
You already paid the debt.
The amount claimed is incorrect.

SoloSuit can help you make the right affirmative defense the right way.

3. File the Answer with the court and send a copy to the plaintiff's attorney

After you have prepared your Answer document using the steps listed above, you're ready to file it into the case. Make sure to file your Answer in court before the deadline, which is 14-35 days depending on which state you live in.

Make a copy of your Answer and send it to the attorneys representing AFNI Collections. Send the Answer via certified mail with a return receipt so you have proof that you did your part.

SoloSuit helps file Answers in all 50 states.

Your life is not perfect, so at one point, you may find yourself dealing with the dreaded debt collectors. When that happens, keep your head up because you can still win. There are enough resources at SoloSuit to help you do just that.

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