How to Resolve Debt With First Federal Credit Credit Control

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.

Summary: When First Federal Credit Control contacts you about a debt, you have options. You can send a Debt Validation Letter to request a verification of the debt. If you've been sued, SoloSuit can help you respond to the lawsuit with a written Answer and settle the debt before going to court..

"First Federal Credit Control FFCC has over fifty years of experience and superior performance, surpassing the competition continuously."

That's according to the FFCC's website.

In reality, this is not the case for consumers. Debt collectors make unwarranted threats and continue to call you endlessly, which is annoying and stressful. FFCC is part of that group. A debt follow-up must be professional and courteous regardless of a debt's status. As a consumer, you are entitled to be treated with respect and fairness when you owe a debt.

If FFCC is coming after you for a debt, don't give up. Here is everything you should know about the company and how to get them off your back and resolve a debt with them before having to attend court.

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Who is First Federal Credit Control?

FFC Cleveland is a debt collection agency ‌‌in Cleveland, Ohio. Its primary clients are healthcare companies and commercial organizations. If you forget to pay a bill, your credit report may list First Federal Credit Control as a collection account.

FFCC collects for creditors in the following industries: government and municipalities, utility bill collections, communication agencies, commercial entities, fitness centers, small business, dental, medical, and healthcare.

Below is the contact information for FFCC:

First Federal Credit Control
24700 Chagrin Blvd, Suite 205
Cleveland, Ohio, 44122-5662
Phone number: (216) 360-2000

1761 W Hillsboro Blvd #320
Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
Phone number: (800) 486-5500

First Federal Credit Control has received many complaints

If you feel frustrated with First Federal Credit Control, you're not alone. As of 2022, FFCC has received 133 complaints in the past three years. Even worse, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has reported 315 complaints against First Federal Credit Control in the past three years.

These complaints mention several violations of the Federal Debt Collection Practices Act, which protects consumers like you from abuse and harassment by debt collectors. More specifically, these complaints claim that First Federal Credit Control:

Fails to verify or validate the debt in question.
Hangs up on consumers when they call to ask questions about the debt.
Reports fraudulent debts to the credit reporting bureaus.
Does not remove negative credit marks, even after consumers pay off a debt.
Claims consumers owe fraudulent debts and continuously tries to collect them.

If you are a victim of any violation of the FDCPA, you may be eligible for compensation. Report your experience to the FTC, CFPB, and your state's attorney general.

What you can do to resolve debt with FFCC

Before doing anything else, you need to ask First Federal Credit Control to stop calling you. Be sure you only communicate with First Federal Credit Control in writing to keep a paper trail. Use certified mail to send your correspondence. Legally, FFCC must only communicate with you via letter or email if you ask them to stop calling you.

In case you owe medical debt, ask your insurance provider for coverage. According to the National Consumer Assistance Plan (a consumer help initiative introduced by the three major credit bureaus), all medical collections that your insurance company has paid for will be removed from your credit report.

Your credit report could reflect First Federal Credit Control for up to seven years if you pay off your debts. If, however, you can negotiate with your health insurance provider and get them to pay off the debt, then Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion will remove the collection account from your credit report.

Send a Debt Validation Letter if that doesn't work

Sending a Debt Validation Letter asking the FFCC to provide evidence of your debt is one of the quickest and easiest ways of getting rid of a debt item in your credit history. A third-party collector like First Federal Credit Control must provide evidence of an outstanding debt once they receive your debt verification letter. Otherwise, they have to delete it from your records if they cannot prove the debt.

It's not uncommon for debt collection agencies to lack sufficient evidence showing whether you owe the amount. If First Federal Credit Control cannot verify your debt, you are home free.

Let's take a look at an example.

Example: Ben received a collection letter from FFCC claiming he owed an upwards of $2,000. Ben wasn't aware of any debt, so he sent FFCC a Debt Validation Letter. The company was not able to find to provide the legal documentation to prove the debt, and therefore could not sue Ben for it. At this point, FFCC had to move on to another consumer, and Ben is off the hook.

Request a goodwill deletion for paid debt

You can also call First Federal Credit Control, but the individual you speak with may not have the authorization to update your records. You can also try sending a letter requesting a goodwill deletion. A goodwill deletion is when a company agrees to remove a debt, or late payment, from your credit report. Such deletions may be possible if you have paid the debt in full and have cause for why the payment was late. Remember that sending a goodwill letter is a long shot, and First Federal Credit Control (FFCC) is under no duty to amend your report. However, there's no reason not to try.

If the debt is current and unpaid, try negotiating a "pay-for-delete" deal

You'll probably have to pay if you still owe the amount, and it's too late to have it erased from your credit report. By sending a pay-for-delete request, you may persuade First Federal Credit Control to remove their record of your debt after you've paid it.

A pay-for-delete request differs from a goodwill letter in relation to debts you have not yet paid off. It's a bargain in which you agree to pay off your debt for First Federal Credit Control, removing the tainted mark linked with it from your credit record.

The initial step is to draft your letter and send it to First Federal Credit Control using a pay-for-delete letter template. It's critical to formally confirm that the collection will be removed from your credit record once you've paid everything off.

Once you've received written confirmation from First Federal Credit Control and paid your obligation, watch your credit reports to ensure they follow through. If the collection account remains on your credit record after a few months, contact them again and use the letter they issued you to remind them of their responsibilities.

Negotiate a debt settlement

If you do owe the debt, there's a potential that First Federal Credit Control will accept less than the total amount you owe (a technique known as debt settlement) to reduce their losses. The rationale for this is simple: FFCC often purchases debts for pennies on the dollar, so they will still profit if you only pay off a portion of the original amount.

Debt collectors plan to collect only a percentage of the face amount of any specific loan, knowing that some consumers would never pay back their debts in total. Chances are you can reach a settlement for anywhere from 1%-60% of the original amount. This will save you money and the stress of paying the debt in full. Leverage your negotiating power to pay less. Start the negotiation process by sending a Debt Lawsuit Settlement Letter.

But before you bargain, scrutinize your financial situation and determine a reasonable offer amount. If you like, you can negotiate with a debt settlement agency, but be aware of scammers and avoid companies that charge you a lot of money upfront. You can also call First Federal Credit Control and speak with a representative. However, before making any payments, make sure that the agreement is written.

Remember that debt settlement still hurts your credit score, and it can stay on your record for up to seven years; just like most other negative marks, lenders are likely to view a resolved debt positively instead of debt in collection.

Learn more about the debt settlement process in this video:

Respond to a debt lawsuit against First Federal Credit Control

If you've been sued for a debt by First Federal Credit Control, the first step to winning your case is to respond to the lawsuit with a written Answer. Here's how.

Respond to each claim listed in the Complaint document. You can admit, deny, or deny due to a lack of knowledge. Most attorneys suggest that you deny as many allegations as possible. This makes FFCCs work harder because they have to gather all the necessary documentation to prove the debt is actually yours.
Assert your affirmative defenses. These are legal reasons that FFCC doesn't have a case against you. A common affirmative defense to raise in a debt collection lawsuit is the statute of limitations. If the debt is past the statute of limitations, then FFCC has run out of time to sue you for the debt. If this is true, the case will be dismissed.
File the Answer with the court, and send a copy to FFCC. Make sure to file before the deadline, which is 14-35 days, depending on which state you live. Make a copy to send to FFCC via USPS-certified mail. You should also request a return receipt so you can prove that you properly sent the Answer to the opposing party.

You can learn more about these three steps in this video:

This is where SoloSuit can help!

Every year, around ten million Americans are sued for debt. 90% of them lose by default since they don't know how to reply and have only 14-30 days to do so. With SoloSuit, you can save the money and stress of finding an attorney. Represent yourself and resolve your debts with FFCC.

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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