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Edited by Hannah Locklear

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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.

When you beat AR Resources ^^

Summary: Is AR Resources suing you for a debt? SoloSuit can help you take a stand and win in court.

AR Resources is one of the largest debt collection agencies in the United States. They collect past due debts for many creditors, including student loan providers and medical bills.

While dealing with the calls can be frustrating, you should worry more about the harm the account in collections has on your credit score. Each delinquent debt on your credit report is a stain that can hurt your credit for up to seven and a half years.

Many consumers think of medical and student debt as a "good type" of debt and somehow feel that it should not hurt their records. Therefore, it may be shocking for you to find out that institutions can sell these debts to debt collectors. Those debt collectors may place the debt on your credit report to disguise the original creditor, masking the fact that it is medical debt. AR Resources is known to do just that.

Here's everything you need to know about how to beat AR Resources.

AR Resources has received many complaints

If you are feeling super frustrated with AR Resources, you're not alone. In fact, nearly 200 complaints have been filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau against AR Resources. On its Better Business Bureau profile, AR Resources has received 170 consumer complaints in the last three years.

As if being a debt collection company is not a bad enough title, AR Resources has a poor Google review averaging 1.3 stars out of 53 reviews. It's not BBB accredited, although they have an average B rating.

Here are some examples of real experiences consumers have had with AR Resources:

AR Resources does not verify debts with proper documentation.
AR Resources reports fraudulent or inaccurate information to the credit bureaus.
AR Resources contacts consumers about debts and cannot provide detailed information about the debt.
AR Resources reach a settlement with consumers, but then they change the terms and conditions and charge more on monthly payments.
AR Resources asks for payments on debts consumers do not owe.
AR Resources calls multiple times a day to discuss the debt.
AR Resources often refuses to give the name of the company for which they are collecting.

If you feel like you are being treated unfairly by AR Resources, you should study the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and file a complaint to the CFPB and BBB.

Pay your student loan and medical bills as soon as possible

No, your student loan will not go away if you ignore it. It will keep haunting you every time you request your credit report from the credit reporting agencies (CRAs). It will drag your credit score in the mud, and the calls and emails from debt collectors will not leave you in peace. It's wise to treat your student loan debt seriously. Unless it is forgiven under specific circumstances, student loan debt will haunt you until it is paid.

Work out a deal with your creditor early on if you can. Self-discipline is necessary to stick to your payment plan. Analyze your finances. More often than not, you can negotiate a workable schedule to keep up with monthly payments. The reward is worth it; no third parties calling about debt and no ugly AR Resources entry on your report.

Medical bills are another headache. You may still be unwell when debt collectors contact you about late medical bills. It's annoying, especially if you speak with a rude debt collector. Do your best to prevent a medical debt lawsuit.

To prevent AR Resources from contacting you about debt, make arrangements with your insurance to pay the bills to your original healthcare provider. Ask for help from a trusted loved one if you need to while recovering. They can help you contact the hospital and physicians you need to pay before the debt goes to collections.

Stop calls from AR Resources Inc.

Debt collection calls are never fun. However, if you're dealing with health issues, it can add to your distress.

If AR Resources is contacting you about an honest debt, you can still avoid handling the calls directly. Make use of one of the following provisions:

Ask AR Resources to use only written communication.
Request that they deal directly with your attorney.
Send a cease and desist letter.

Request written communication

Phone calls disrupt your day and force you to address issues you are not mentally prepared to handle. On the other hand, letters allow you the luxury to read them when you are ready.

Another advantage of communicating with debt collectors in writing is that you can easily record every contact and transaction with AR Resources. These records are vital for ensuring the accuracy of debt and payment history.

Ask AR Resources to contact your attorney instead

If you have an attorney, let AR Resources know that you prefer that they call them instead. They are better equipped to deal with impromptu calls. Lawyers also know your rights off the top of their head, and therefore there are fewer chances debt collectors will harass or spam call them.

Send a Cease and Desist Letter

You will eventually have to pay genuine, validated debts. However, that doesn't mean that you should let debt collectors harass or intimidate you with their persistent calls. According to the law, you can stop AR Resources from contacting you. Send the letter through certified mail to be sure they received it. If they continue contacting you to collect the debt after receiving the letter, report the company to the Fair Trade Commission, FTC.

Remember that a Cease and Desist does not take away the debt. It only saves you from debt collection calls and letters. AR Resources may still try other means to collect the money, like resorting to a lawsuit. But they would have to let you know first before they take action.

Know your rights as a consumer

Many debt collectors step on your rights, hoping you'll be ignorant like many consumers are. Let them know you are informed and that you will take legal action against the company if they violate any of your rights.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) protects you. The federal government keeps improving these laws to shield consumers from overly aggressive and abusive debt collectors.

Today, anyone reaching out to collect a debt must:

Identify themselves as debt collectors.
Identify the company they are calling for, give the address and phone number.
Identify the original creditor.
Prove that they are licensed to collect in your state.
Verify the debt in writing.
Validate every debt upon request.

Debt collectors cannot:

Verbally abuse you.
Try to embarrass you by exposing the debt to third parties.
Call you too early or too late in the day.
Give you false information.
Threaten a legal action they don't plan to take to scare you.
Call you multiple times in a day.
Garnish your wages unless by a court judgment in some states.
Collect expired debts.
Collect more money than you owe.

Whenever AR Resources violates any of these regulations, report them to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) or the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

If you want to, you can sue the company for the violations. If you win against them, they will pay your attorney's fee and damages of up to $1000 for each violation.

Respond to a debt lawsuit against AR Resources

The first step to beating AR Resources in court is to respond to the lawsuit. Most people who are sued by AR Resources don't know how to respond, or they would rather ignore the lawsuit in the hopes that it will go away. Don't make this mistake.

Use SoloSuit's Answer form to respond to your debt lawsuit in minutes and win.

Here are 6 tips for drafting a debt lawsuit Answer:

Don't give an elaborate explanation of your side of the story—doing so can hurt your case. Instead of writing out your perspective of the case, stick to responding to the allegations, or claims, made against you in the Complaint documents. You can admit, deny, or deny due to lack of knowledge. Keep in mind that failing to respond to any of the claims is considered the same as admitting it.
Deny as many claims as possible—most attorneys advise consumers to deny as many of the claims as possible. Denying is kind of like saying, “Prove it.” This means that when you deny their claims, you're making AR Resources do more work to prove everything. If they don't have evidence to prove all their allegations against you, they will most likely drop the case.
Include your affirmative defenses—an affirmative defense is any legal reason that the AR Resources case is invalid. For example, if the statute of limitations on your debt has passed, you should definitely include this in your affirmative defenses section. The statute of limitations, which varies by state, is the time period that a debt collector is given to sue someone for a debt.
Use standard formatting—your Answer document should look clean and professional. It should be printed on white paper with standard margins, spacing, and font size. It should include a caption at the top where the following information is listed: defendant (you) information, plaintiff (AR Resources) information, court location, and case number.
Include a certificate of service—at the end of the document, add a certificate of service that verifies the method of service and the addresses used for service.
Sign the document—don't forget to sign your Answer! Most courts rejects Answers without signatures, so you must remember this important step!

To learn more about these 6 tips, check out this video:

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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