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Is Congress Collection Legit? How to Respond

Dena Standley | April 23, 2024

Dena Standley
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

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: Congress Collection is a legit debt collector, and if contacted by the company, here's how to respond: validate the debt, know your rights, respond to any pending lawsuits, and settle the debt outside of court. SoloSuit can help with all these steps and more.

Congress Collection is a legitimate debt collection agency that claims it wants to empower consumers to resolve debt. However, most consumers report negative experiences with Congress Collection because of the aggressive nature of its debt collectors.

Even when you call the Congress Collection phone number asking them to stop harassing you, the agents respond by trying to force you to pay the debt so that they stop contacting you. You do not have to give in to their threats, even if you know you owe the debt. You can respond to Congress Collection at various stages of the collection process, and this article will discuss how to do just that. But let's start by looking at Congress Collection in more detail.

Sued by Congress Collection? Respond to the Summons for debt before the deadline.

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What is Congress Collection?

Congress Collection is a third-party collection agency located in Farmington Hills, Michigan. It has been in business for over 67 years and boasts of reinventing debt collection by delivering consumer-centric solutions. They serve clients from various industries, including government agencies, healthcare providers, financial institutions, businesses, and higher education institutions. Their contact information is as follows:

Congress Collection makes it clear on its website and BBB profile that it does not buy debt but only helps creditors recover what is owed to them.

How to respond when Congress Collection calls you multiple times a day

It is frustrating to receive many calls throughout the day only to see that it's the same Congress Collection phone number. Sometimes, they use Robocalls, which can be overwhelming. The best immediate action is to send Congress Collection a Debt Validation Letter asking them to give you more details about the debt and creditor. They are supposed to stop calling until they respond to the letter.

If they do not respond to the letter or stop calling, they will have violated your consumer rights, which can open a loophole you can use to legally hold them accountable. The following video teaches you how to make a Debt Validation Letter.

How to respond when Congress Collection violates your rights

Consumers who do not know their rights feel helpless when dealing with collection agencies. However, those who know their rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act get better outcomes when Congress Collection follows them up unlawfully for their debt.

The Act states that Congress Collection should award you $1000 for every right they violate, and you can prove it in small claims court. Sometimes, they would rather settle with you for less than you owe if you show them they have violated your rights. The guidelines state that Congress Collection should not:

  • Phone you many times a day for the same debt
  • Call your friends, colleagues, or family members to ask about your debt
  • Call you while at work, and you have told them not to
  • Use profanity or abusive language while communicating with you
  • Threatening a lawsuit or taking your crucial documents

If Congress Collection violates these laws, report them to the Fair Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and write a complaint on their BBB profile. You can also report to the attorney general's office in your locality.

How to respond when Congress Collection sues you

When debt collection agencies use all means possible to collect their client's debt and fail to convince consumers to pay, they are legally allowed to sue them. If you have received a Summons and Complaint document from Congress Collection, do not despair. You still have a fighting chance by following these steps:

  1. Answer each allegation listed in the Complaint document: you have three ways to respond to each claim; you can admit, deny, or deny for lack of knowledge. The best approach is to deny most claims and let Congress Collection prove their case.

  2. State your affirmative defenses: this step requires you to explain why you are not responsible for the debt. And if the debt is yours, why you should not pay. Examples of affirmative defenses include Congress Collection violated your rights, the debt is incorrect, or the debt has expired.

  3. Send the Answer document to court before the deadline in your state. You should also send the document to Congress Collection and keep another copy in your records.

SoloSuit can help you draft a professional Answer document that contains all the crucial information that can increase your chances of winning the case or forcing Congress Collection to withdraw the case. SoloSuit makes it easy to draft and file an Answer to a debt Summons and resolve debt with collectors outside of court.

For more tips on how to respond to a debt lawsuit, check out the following video:

How to respond when Congress Collection enters a wrong debt on your credit report

A wrong entry on your credit report can cause your good credit score to drop several points, affecting your chances of getting a new line of credit. If you notice Congress Collection entered an inaccurate amount on your credit report or an entire debt entry that is not yours, take action using the following steps:

  • Request for your credit report from the three credit bureaus
  • Carefully read through your report and highlight the errors
  • Inform Congress Collection of the errors
  • Write a dispute letter to the three main credit bureaus and attach the evidence
  • Wait for 30 days for the bureaus to investigate
  • The bureaus will correct or remove the debt from the investigation results

SoloSuit can help you settle a pending debt and start the process of improving your credit score. SoloSettle a tool that connects you with the creditor and helps you send and receive settlement offers until you reach an agreement.

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