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How to Settle Debt With USAA Collections

George Simons | January 31, 2025

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: If USAA Collections contacts you, verify the debt's legitimacy, know your rights, and negotiate a settlement for less to resolve the issue efficiently. Use Solo to streamline the settlement process.

You wish you could keep up with debt repayments. However, when you lose a job or fall ill, you may lag behind and find your once up-to-date accounts in collection. Although it may be frustrating, there are practical steps to resolve the debt soon enough. You may even settle it for half of what you owe.

If USAA Collections is calling you, keep reading to learn how to respond and settle the debt out of court.

Settle debt with USAA Collections

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

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What is USAA Collections?

The United Services Automobile Association, or USAA Federal Savings Bank, is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Its services include insurance, banking, credit cards, auto loans, investments, and retirement planning for millions of military personnel and their families.

If you are late on an auto loan or another credit line, USAA Collections will contact you via mail or telephone. This missed payment will be reported to the credit bureaus. If a collection account is listed on your credit report, it will lower your credit score and make it harder for you to get approved for a loan or any other significant financial transaction.

Below is the USAA Collections phone number and other contact information:

  • Phone: (800)-531-8722
  • Address: 9800 Fredericksburg Rd, San Antonio, TX 78288-0001
  • Website: https://www.usaa.com/

Who does USAA collect for?

USAA provides consumer credit through a multitude of products, including:

  • Auto loans
  • Credit cards
  • Home mortgages
  • Lines of credit

If you are late on repayments, you may receive a warning. Afterward, the company employs various debt collection methods, such as phone calls and letters. If USAA cannot collect through these means, they may take you to court. If they win the lawsuit, the company requests an order to garnish your wages or bank accounts.

Although not primarily a debt collector, USAA has the right to collect money owed to the company. They may also involve a third-party debt collector to pursue defaulted accounts.

Read USAA Collections reviews online for more information

One flaw all bill collectors have is that they frequently lack knowledge regarding their target accounts. According to the Federal Trade Commission's database, a large percentage of consumer complaints are filed against collectors.

If you want to find ways to negotiate with USAA, consider learning from others’ experiences. Read the following USAA reviews online to learn how to resolve your debt with the company:

Consumers find that engaging USAA agents is the best way to resolve past-due accounts. Ensure all communication with debt collectors is in writing to preserve records. When you must send a letter to USAA, use certified mail to receive notification when they receive it.

Tips for handling USAA debt collection

One flaw all bill collectors have is that they frequently lack knowledge regarding their target accounts. According to the Federal Trade Commission's database, a large percentage of consumer complaints are filed against collectors.

Verify the legitimacy of the debt

If debt collectors are contacting you, begin by investigating the legitimacy and accuracy of the debt. You can also inquire about who owns the debt and how they gained the authority to collect it. Asking for debt verification is standard practice and should not make you feel bad. After all, you must be sure the debt isn’t from fraud or a misplaced address or name.

Ask USAA to validate your debt

If you do not have all the details of an account or notice inaccuracies, draft a letter informing USAA that you would like them to provide a trail of the debt documents. The letter also serves as a formal dispute. Ensure you file it within 30 days of the collector's first contact. The collector should not contact you again until they formally validate the debt.

The illustration below shows how much time you and the collector have to verify and validate the debt.

Know your rights

Many consumers have found themselves dealing with scammers posing as legitimate debt collectors. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) protects you from such illegal practices. You can identify fake debt collectors and fraudsters if they are guilty of one of the following practices:

  • Contacting you before 8 am or after 9 pm
  • Contacting you at work if your employer forbids such communications
  • Using threats of violence or other crimes to persuade you to pay the debt
  • Using obscene language or profanity
  • Calling you repeatedly with the intent to annoy, abuse, or harass
  • Communicating with you if they know you have found an attorney to represent you

Knowing your rights under the FDCPA can protect you from illegitimate debt collectors and encourage you to engage USAA to resolve defaulted debts.

How to settle a debt with USAA Collections

Once you have reviewed the debt and verified it is legitimate, you can negotiate a settlement with the collector. USAA may be willing to accept a settlement offer for less than the original amount that you owe. Making low initial offers can open up ideal negotiation opportunities.

USAA collections are experienced debt collectors, so you must know your rights and responsibilities before opening up communication with their debt collectors. All correspondence with collectors should be in writing, and you should always keep a detailed record of all communications with collectors. Follow the steps below to negotiate a debt settlement.

  1. Calculate what you can set aside to pay the debt balance by considering how much money you have left after covering your living expenses. You may request debt settlement if you determine that your finances allow you to spare at least half of the balance.
  2. Make a reasonable settlement offer asking USAA to consider settling for less than the number you calculated in Step 1. This leaves room for you to negotiate upward if they counter your offer. Use written communications throughout the process.
  3. If you agree on a settlement amount, request a debt settlement agreement for both parties to sign.
  4. Pay the agreed amount in time.

Learn more about negotiating with USAA in the video below where an attorney shares tips, tricks, and strategies for negotiating with debt collectors to resolve your debt.

What are my rights in the case of a USAA Collections lawsuit?

You have the right to contest any debt from USAA collections that you feel does not belong to you or contains erroneous information. If USAA is the original creditor but has sold your debt to another debt collection agency, you retain the same rights to dispute the debt. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act apply to such cases. These acts were created for consumer protection against abusive actions by collection agencies. They are powerful when you know how to use them.

If a debt collector contacts you about an old debt, check the statute of limitations on the debt before making any payments. The statute of limitations is when a creditor or debt collector can file a lawsuit to recover a debt. If you start making payments on an old debt that was past the statute of limitations, you will restart the clock on the statute of limitations. As a result, the collector will have the right to take the case to court if you fail to pay it off in full.

How to remove USAA Collections from your credit report

Collections can negatively impact your credit and remain on your credit report for up to seven years, regardless of whether you pay them. The derogative entry lowers your credit score. So, it’s understandable if you are considering ways to remove collection accounts from your report.

The fastest way to remove USAA collections from your credit report is if any information on the account is incorrect, erroneous, or fraudulent and cannot be corrected within a reasonable time. According to the FTC, one in five consumers have errors in their credit reports. Many who dispute such errors report an increase in their credit score. You should not hesitate to dispute a mistake with the credit reporting bureau and USAA as soon as you notice it.

Can USAA Collections accept a goodwill deletion letter?

A goodwill deletion letter is a correspondence to a creditor asking USAA to remove negative remarks from credit reports. Some creditors are willing to do so once you demonstrate an attempt to handle the debt responsibly, but this is completely at their discretion. No law requires creditors or debt collectors to remove correct information from consumers' reports.

What if USAA sues me?

The first step in a debt collection lawsuit is to respond. Corresponding with a court of law might seem intimidating, especially if you've never been involved in a debt lawsuit. You might consider hiring r an attorney to take your case, but finding debt collection attorneys can be pricey and time-consuming.

Fortunately, you can represent yourself with the help of Solo!

The first step is to respond to the court summons and complaint with an Answer. You can draft your Answer with SoloSuit and have us file it for you for a fee. If you file for yourself, ensure you do it before the deadline to prevent a default judgment against you.

Here are all the possible routes a debt collection lawsuit can take:

If you are new to debt collection lawsuits, watch this video to learn what to do.

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