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Dena Standley, BA

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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.

The I-won-my-debt-lawsuit dance ^^

Summary: ARstrat is a debt buyer and collection agency that relies on questionable collection tactics to collect debts. But SoloSuit can help you respond to ARstrat's collection attempts and win in court if you’ve been sued.

Choice Recovery Inc. is one of many third-party debt collection agencies. They buy bad debt for pennies on the dollar and trick you into paying it all at once. For example, they pay $5 for a bad 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. But Choice Recovery has no right to take advantage of you, and you can beat them at their own game. Keep reading to learn more about Choice Recovery and how to beat them in court.

Who is Choice Recovery Inc, and what do they collect?

Choice Recovery Inc. is a collection agency specializing in consumer debt collection services for the healthcare, dental, property management, higher education, and financial sectors. The company was founded in Columbus, Ohio, over 25 years ago and operates nationwide.

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.

Below is Choice Recovery’s address, phone number, and other contact information:

Choice Recovery, Inc.
1105 Schrock Rd Ste 700
Columbus, OH 43229-1168
https://www.choicerecovery.com
866-300-5590

Are there any complaints against Choice Recovery Inc?

Yes, there are. As of 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reported more than 1,000 complaints against Choice Recovery in the last ten years. They ranked 227 out of all financial companies for the most complaints. Better Business Bureau (BBB) received 74 complaints in the last three years, but only 30 were closed in the previous year. Here is an example of a recent complaint from the CFPB database (edited for clarity):

“I have made several attempts to resolve this issue with the collections agency, Choice Recovery. I disputed this debt earlier this year through all of the credit reporting agencies and the response from Choice Recovery was that the debt was accurate each time. I am a victim of identity theft and this collections is not mine.”

Many consumers go through the above situation or experience other consumer rights violations. Knowing your consumer rights can help you protect yourself from unfair debt collection practices when dealing with Choice Recovery Inc. Keep reading to learn more.

Know your rights to beat Choice Recovery Inc.

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.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act protects you from the following debt collection practices:

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 to avoid the scenario below from a real consumer (pulled from Choice Recovery’s BBB profile):

“Got a hit on my credit report for $656 in collections from this company. I never received mail or emails regarding this and have no idea what it is for. I don't owe anyone money outside my credit cards and loans through my bank, so I am unsure what this was for or even who it is from. I don't recognize the original creditor, nor would I have signed anything outside the two banks I use, so this is in error, and I need it removed.”

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.

You can draft your own Answer online in 15 minutes.

2. Make and assert your affirmative defenses

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.

Make the right affirmative defense the right way.

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.

SoloSuit can file your Answer for you in all 50 states.

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 are often willing to settle the debt for less than what you owe, because they will still make a profit.

SoloSettle, powered by SoloSuit, can help you begin the settlement negotiation process when you are sued for a debt you owe. Learn more about how to settle your debt for good here.

Settle with SoloSettle

Make an Offer

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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