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How to Settle Debt With Penn Credit

George Simons | January 24, 2025

Fact-checked by Patrick Austin, J.D.

Patrick Austin
Attorney from George Mason
Patrick Austin, JD

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.

George Simons
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.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

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: Negotiate debt with Penn Credit to settle for less, but first, send a debt validation letter asking them to verify the debt is legit. Then, propose a settlement offer and secure the settlement terms in writing. Tools like SoloSettle can help streamline this process.

Penn Credit may contact you, claiming you owe a debt. It can be tempting to avoid responding to a debt collector, but ignoring their outreach does nothing to resolve the situation. A better course of action is to engage with Penn Credit directly. Establish a line of communication to discuss the situation. You may even be able to negotiate an amicable settlement to get the debt off your back.

Here's everything you need to know about Penn Credit and how to engage with them to amicably resolve your debt.

Settle debt with Penn Credit

You can negotiate debt settlement at any stage of the collections process. SoloSettle makes it easy.

Settle with SoloSettle

What is Penn Credit Corporation?

The Penn Credit Corporation is a Pennsylvania-based financial firm focused on debt collection that was established in 1987.

You can use the following information to get in contact with Penn Credit:

  • Penn Credit phone number (general): (800) 800-3328
  • General Address: 2800 Commerce Drive, Harrisburg, PA 17110
  • Payment Address: PO Box 69703, Harrisburg, PA 17106
  • Penn credit phone number (collections department): 800-900-1380
  • Email: inquiries@penncredit.com

Who does Penn Credit collect for?

Penn Credit provides accounts receivable management services for the following types of debts: student loans, utility bills, small claims, telecommunications, medical, and government.

Get more information to verify the debt

The legal way to get this information is to send a debt validation letter when Penn Credit first contacts you about a debt.

You have 30 days to respond. During the 30 days, your legal rights to get verification information from a debt collector increase under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

A debt validation letter will help you get information regarding:

  • The reasons a debt collector believes you owe this debt.
  • The amount and age of the debt.
  • Proof that Penn Credit is allowed to collect the money.

After you send a debt validation letter, you may find that the debt does not belong to you or Penn Credit has other inaccurate information. If that happens, you should immediately send a Cease-and-Desist Letter discussed below.

Send a "stop contacting me letter."

In this letter, also known as a Cease-and-Desist Letter, you ask the debt collector to stop contacting you unless they prove your responsibility for the debt. Cease and desist letters do not cancel the debt. Therefore, if Penn Credit collectors believe you are liable, they may take other actions to collect the debt.

Penn Credit may still sue you or report the debt to a credit bureau. According to federal law, debt collectors must stop contacting you once they receive a written request. However, they can reach you to inform you that they will not contact you again or plan to take legal action against you.

How to negotiate with Penn Credit to settle your debt

If you owe the debt and want to avoid going through the contentious and stressful litigation process associated with a debt collection lawsuit, then you can try negotiating a debt settlement. Penn Credit may agree to settle for a lesser amount than nothing at all. They may also agree not to report your account to credit bureaus once you pay the settlement amount.

If you were served with a Summons and Complaint regarding a debt collection lawsuit, then now is the time to act and not bury your head in the sand hoping the debt will magically disappear. If you take just a few proactive steps, you could potentially get Penn Credit off your back and get them to accept a significantly lower amount through negotiated settlement.

The debt settlement process can be as simple as follow these three steps:

  1. Respond to the pending debt collection lawsuit.
  2. Determine how much you can reasonably afford to pay based on the amount owed, then send a settlement offer to Penn Credit.
  3. If you can reach an agreement, get the debt settlement terms in writing.

To learn more about debt settlement negotiation, and tips for what to say to Penn Credit to settle your debt, check out this video explaining how you can negotiate a debt settlement on your own:

SoloSettle makes it easy to start the debt settlement negotiation process. Keep in mind that many debt collection agencies are willing to settle for less than the original amount, because often they purchase the debt for pennies on the dollar.

Remember to keep copies of all agreements you reach with Penn Credit and honor your part of the agreement.

Settle with SoloSettle

Make an Offer

Read Penn Credit reviews online before you negotiate

You may be interested to know what other consumers have said about their experience interacting with Penn Credit concerning a debt collection matter. If so, take some time to check out these Penn Credit reviews:

It’s fair to say the online reviews for Penn Credit are relatively mixed. Varying experiences are perfectly normal and unsurprising since everyone’s situation is different. There are some reviews indicating consumers are able to have a positive experience communicating with Penn Credit collectors regarding a debt collection matter. Take, for example, the review from a real borrower named Grady:

“Had a good experience with a PCC representative. She was polite, professional, and efficient in addressing the collection issue PCC had called about.”

Grady’s review highlights the importance to proactively reaching out to Penn Credit and starting a conversation. His review also provides evidence that debt collectors with Penn Credit are open to working with you to resolve your debt issue.

Nevertheless, if the idea of calling a debt collector to try and negotiate a debt settlement sounds terrifying, then try using SoloSettle to negotiate online and resolve your debt issue through our cutting-edge digital settlement platform.

Pay the debt and request a goodwill deletion.

In exchange for paying off the debt, Penn Credit may extend a goodwill deletion. The term "goodwill deletion" refers to a debt collection agency ceasing to report a debt to major credit bureaus for the customer's benefit. It can work as long as your credit report is clean and you have paid the debt.

Write a letter explaining your situation; why you were late with the debt to request a goodwill deletion.

Penn Credit Corporation will do you a favor by granting you a deletion if you are honest and polite in your letter. Sincere and apologetic letters are more likely to be accepted.

Pay-for-delete settlements

If you cannot secure a goodwill deletion, your next step is to negotiate a pay-for-delete agreement. A "pay-for-delete" agreement means Penn Credit Corporation will remove an account from your credit report when you pay the debt. The debt collector may occasionally accept a less-than-full settlement. Debt collectors often purchase original creditors' debts at a discount. Therefore, they only need to recoup part of the money to turn a profit. Negotiate by offering to pay half the total amount. Once you agree, have it in writing.

Before you make your first payment to Penn Credit Corporation, wait to receive the agreement in the mail and ensure that they have spelled out their terms and that you agree to them. After making the payment, review your credit report 30 days afterward to see if Penn Credit Corporation is still listed. You can reach out to them and remind them of the agreement.

Defend yourself when sued by Penn Credit

File an answer to defend yourself. If you get sued, you may not take every action, but filing an Answer may buy you time to decide what to do. The answer is due thirty days after you receive the Complaint, and if you fail to respond promptly, the judge may issue a default judgment against you. Those thirty days include weekends but not court holidays.

You should take seriously their claims that they intend to sue you. According to the law, it is wrong for debt collectors to threaten any unacceptable action that they do not intend to take.

Learn more about how to settle debt with Penn Credit.

Draft and file an Answer to a debt lawsuit against Penn Credit

The first step to beating Penn Credit Corporation in court is to respond to the Summons and Complaint. The proper way to respond is by filing a written Answer with the court and sending a copy of it to Penn Credit.

Know your state's statute of limitations

State laws set limits on the time creditors or debt collectors can sue. This is known as the statute of limitations, which varies by state. Generally, the time is two or more years depending on your state. You may not need to pay the debt after the statute of limitations expires.

In some states, even partial payments will restart the timer. Make sure to investigate the statute of limitations before making any payments to Penn Credit.

Draft and file the Answer on time

Make sure to file the Answer before the deadline, which is 14-35 days depending on which state you live in.

Follow these 6 tips when drafting your Answer:

  1. The Answer isn't the place to tell your side of the story in detail.
  2. Deny, Deny, Deny.
  3. Include affirmative defenses.
  4. Use standard formatting or “style”.
  5. Include certificate of service.
  6. Sign it.

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

After you've drafted your Answer, file it with the court immediately. Some courts require you to file electronically, but usually you can mail it in or drop it off in person. You should also send a copy of the Answer to Penn Credit and request a return receipt for proof of delivery.

SoloSuit can help you file an Answer in all 50 states.

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