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.
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.
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:
Choice Recovery Inc is a debt buyer and collection agency that relies on questionable collection tactics to
collect debts. But Solo can help you respond to Choice Recovery’s collection
attempts and take proactive steps to resolve your debt issue.
Choice Recovery Inc. is a legitimate third-party debt collection agency. They buy bad debt for pennies on the dollar
and get you to pay it all at once. For example, they could very well pay $5 for a discharged account that owes
$1,000 to the original creditor. But despite paying $5, they want $1,000 from you!
You may wonder, is this even possible? The answer is simple: yes, it is. There are thousands of examples like this
in US courts every day.
If you are being contacted by Choice Recovery for a debt, do not throw your hands up in despair. You have legal
rights and options to get the debt collection matter resolved. For example, you can proactively engage with Choice
Recovery and possibly negotiate an amicable debt settlement.
Settle debt with Choice Recovery Inc
You can negotiate debt settlement at any stage of the collections process. SoloSettle makes it easy.
Choice Recovery Inc. is a collection agency founded in Columbus, Ohio, over 25 years ago and operates nationwide.
Below is Choice Recovery Inc phone number, address, and other contact information:
Choice Recovery Inc. specializes in consumer debt collection services in several industries. To be more exact,
Choice Recovery Inc collects companies related to healthcare, dental, property management, higher education, and
financial sectors.
You may receive a collection notice from Choice Recovery if you owe unpaid taxes or medical debt. That being said,
you probably won’t recognize the name “Choice Recovery” when they reach out to you about a debt. This doesn’t mean
that Choice Recovery is a scam, but they probably just purchased your old debt from the original creditor and now
have the supposed rights to collect on it.
Read Choice Recovery reviews online
If you want to find out what consumers have said about their experience with Choice Recovery and whether it is
possible to negotiate a debt collection settlement, then take a moment to read these reviews:
Despite Choice Recovery’s online reviews being pretty mixed, this should not deter you from taking steps to engage
with them in an effort to resolve the debt collection matter. Many debt collectors, including Choice Recovery, are
open to working with individuals to resolve their concerns and get their debt paid in a manner that works for them,
based on their current financial situation. Proactive communication is the key.
If calling a debt collector to negotiate doesn’t sound like your idea of fun, try using SoloSettle to negotiate
online and resolve your debt through the digital settlement platform.
Know your rights under the FDCPA
Although debt collectors are usually unpleasant, their actions should not cause sleepless nights. Having a debt in
collections doesn't mean you have to deal with harassment. If you feel a debt collector has crossed the line, you
have rights and can do something about it.
Incessant or inconvenient calls (before 8 am or after 9 pm)
Discussing your debt with anyone else apart from your attorney or spouse
Using obscene or profane language
A debt collector can't threaten legal action if they don't intend to do it
Lying about their identity or giving inaccurate information about the debt
The first time Choice Recovery collectors contact you, send them a Debt Validation Letter.
When you submit a formal request for debt validation, you can avoid being taken to court over a debt you don’t owe.
Check out this video to learn more about how a Debt Validation Letter can help you fight debt collectors like Choice
Recovery:
Respond to a debt collection lawsuit against Choice Recovery, Inc.
A debt collection agency like Choice Recovery will send you Summons and Complaint (also known as Petition in some
states) in the mail to initiate a lawsuit. The Summons notifies you of the case, while the Complaint lists the
claims made against you.
Depending on where you live, you
have between 14–35 days to respond to a debt collection lawsuit. If you fail to respond within the deadline,
Choice Recovery Inc might file a motion for default judgment. If the court grants this motion to Choose Recovery
Inc, you automatically lose the case, and they can garnish your wages or put a lien on your property.
To avoid a negative outcome in your case, you must respond to the lawsuit immediately with a written Answer. Follow
these three steps to respond to your case against Choice Recovery:
Answer each of the claims in the Complaint.
Make and assert your affirmative defenses.
File your Answer in court, and send a copy to Choose Recovery Inc.
Now, let’s break down each of these steps in detail. If you don’t like to read, check out this video instead:
1. Answer each of the claims in the Complaint
A Complaint describes each claim Choice Recovery Inc brings against you. Your Answer document should begin with a list of responses to each
claim, and the responses to the Complaint include:
Admit: In other words, "It's true."
Deny: In other words, “Prove it.”
Deny due to lack of knowledge: In other words, "I do not know."
Attorneys recommend denying all claims. This move puts you in an advantageous position since Choice Recovery Inc is
required to prove its case. Without all the evidence they need to present, they might dismiss the case.
Next, you should assert your affirmative
defenses in your Answer document. In affirmative defense, you (the defendant) state facts to negate the
plaintiff's (Choice Recovery) claims . In other words, you give any legal reason why Choice Recovery Inc. should
lose the case.
One of the most common affirmative defenses you can use against debt collectors is the expired statute of
limitations on the debt.
What is the statute of limitations?
Statutes of limitations determine how long creditors and debt
collectors can sue you for debts. All states have unique rules, but the statute of limitations on credit card debt
is usually between four and six years. The clock on the statute of limitations starts to run on the last day you
were active on the debt account.
But, if you increase your debt or make a payment to the account, the statute of limitations timelines starts over.
So, before you make any payments to a debt collector, check your state’s laws on the statute of limitations or you
run the risk of resetting the clock and giving Choice Recovery the power to sue you again.
Now, let’s consider an example.
Example: Choice Recovery purchased Jonathan’s old credit card debt and is now suing him in Indiana. The debt was
from many years ago, and Jonathan almost forgot about it entirely. After doing some investigating, Jonathan finds
out that Indiana’s statute of limitations on credit card debt is six years, and Jonathan hasn’t been active on the
account for almost seven years. This means that Choice Recovery does not have the legal right to sue. Jonathan uses
SoloSuit to draft and file an Answer into the case, stating that the statute of limitations has expired. After a few
months, Jonathan is pleased to hear that the case has been dismissed.
3. File your Answer in court, and send a copy to Choose Recovery Inc.
After drafting your Answer document, file it with the court before the deadline. Depending on the court's
guidelines, you can file it in person, by mail, or electronically. With SoloSuit, you can file your Answer in all 50 states.
It is also important to make a copy of the Answer document and send it to Choice Recovery’s attorneys. The court
Summons you received should have their address on it. Send a copy of the Answer by certified USPS mail with a return
receipt.
Settle your debt with Choice Recovery Inc
You might consider negotiating a debt settlement offer if you know you owe them and can pay some off. Buying old
debts for pennies is what Choice Recovery Inc. does. It means they may be willing to settle the debt for less than
the full amount you owe. Below are three steps you should consider taking to try and negotiate a debt settlement:
Step 1: Figure out how much you can reasonably pay toward the balance
Before initiating settlement negotiations, determine how much you can actually afford to pay in a lump sum. Your
calculation should take into consideration your other living expenses. If you don’t have sufficient funds to make a
lump sum payment, try to calculate what you could pay in installments.
Step 2: Engage in settlement negotiations
Once you’ve figured out how much you can repay, the next step is to try and negotiate a settlement. Start by
offering a lower percentage of the total debt, typically 30% to 50% of the original amount,
and be prepared to negotiate upward. If possible, offer a lump sum payment as creditors are more likely to accept a
lower amount if they receive an immediate payment.
Step 3: Get the debt settlement agreement in writing
Before making a payment toward the debt, ensure you receive a written agreement outlining the terms of the
settlement. This is known as a debt
settlement agreement. The agreement should clearly state that the payment will settle the debt in full and
that they will not pursue any further legal action or collections.
To learn more about these steps, watch our video guide below:
If you decide to engage in settlement talks, consider using smart tools to help you with the debt settlement
negotiation process, like SoloSettle. For context, SoloSettle, can
help you begin the settlement negotiation process online when you are sued for a debt you owe.
Some creditors, banks, and lenders have an internal collections department. If they come after you for a debt, Solosuit can still help you respond and resolve the debt. Here’s a list of guides on how to resolve debt with different creditors.
If the thought of going to court stresses you out, you’re not alone. Many Americans who are sued for credit card debt utilize a Motion to Compel Arbitration to push their case out of court and into arbitration.
Below are some resources on how to use an arbitration clause to your advantage and win a debt lawsuit.
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