How to beat National Credit Systems

Dena Standley | October 19, 2022

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: Is National Credit Systems suing you for a debt? SoloSuit can help you take a stand and win in court.

Did National Credit Systems contact you recently? Have they entered the debt in your credit report? If so, you may have an unpaid rent balance owed to a landlord. National Credit Systems Inc is a legitimate third-party collection agency specializing in collecting for the multifamily residential industry.

It is best not to ignore National Credit Systems (NCS) because their presence in your credit report harms your credit score. Collection agencies tied to unpaid housing debt have a more substantial weight on your credit report than other collection activities.

Despite the ability NCS has to hurt your credit score, you can still beat them and have the credit removed from your credit report by knowing your rights. The Fair Credit Reporting Act protects you from unfair credit reporting. It allows you to request National Credit Systems to prove ownership and accuracy of the debt or have it removed from your credit report. Today, we will look at how you can remove the debt from your credit report. But first, how genuine is NCS?

Is National Credit Systems a legitimate company?

National Credit Systems is one of the leading debt collection agencies that collect debt for apartment owners or managers. The company started in 1991 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia. They have a legitimate license allowing them to collect debt throughout the United States.

Ironically, NCS is not Better Business Bureau (BBB) accredited. It has a BBB rating of D and a star rating of 3.49 from 82 recnt customer reviews. Their Google rating is 2.1 from 535 customer reviews. The complaints from these platforms include:

Dealing with unprofessional representatives
Failure to validate debt after sending a Debt Validation Letter
Wrong debt entry to credit report
Being contacted for a debt that has been previously paid

You can report NCS to the Fair Trade Commission or write a complaint on their BBB profile. National Credit Systems' contact information is:

Headquarters:
3750 Naturally Fresh Blvd
Atlanta, GA 30349

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 312125,
Atlanta, GA 31131

Phone Number:
(404) 629-9595, Toll-Free: 800-367-1050

Website: https://www.nationalcreditsystems.com/

Remove National Credit Systems from your credit report

A debt entry by NCS in your credit report remains there for seven years. You will experience difficulty getting a credit card or asking for a loan because of the weight given to residential real estate collections. Here are steps you can take to remove the debt from your credit report.

Ask NCS for a goodwill deletion for paid debt

Write a letter of goodwill deletion if you have paid the debt but NCS has not removed it from your credit report. Collection agencies are legally allowed to either change the status to paid or delete the debt after payment.

A paid status on your credit report still limits your chances of getting a loan because it still shows you previously had an unpaid debt. Requesting for goodwill deletion involves explaining the reason for delayed payments and why you would like the paid debt deleted.

Make the request politely and refrain from demanding deletion as they are still operating within legal grounds by having it on your credit report with a paid status.

Ask National Credit Systems to verify the debt

If you have not paid the debt because you doubt whether you owe NCS or the debt amount is inaccurate, send SoloSuit's Debt Validation Letter to get more details. Even if you recognize the debt, sending a Debt Validation Letter is a good idea to ensure that National Credit Systems has complete and accurate information about the debt. It is common for debt information to get lost or mixed up as it moves from the original creditor to collection agencies.

Send the Debt Validation Letter within 30 days of the first contact from NCS for the request to be considered valid. National Credit Systems should respond with a debt validation that includes a breakdown of the debt, more information on the original creditor, and a statement allowing you to dispute the debt.

Go through the validation document carefully, and if you notice discrepancies, request NCS to correct the errors or remove the debt from your credit report. If they fail to respond, dispute the debt with the credit bureaus.

Dispute the debt with the credit bureaus

The law allows you to receive a free credit report once a year from Equifax, Experian, and Transunion. Contact each credit bureau within 30 days after receiving the validation notice and ask for your credit report.

Check for the errors you saw on the NCS validation document on your credit report, highlight them and dispute the debt online, by mail, or via phone call using the following contact information:

Credit Bureau Contact Information
Bureau	Contact information
Experian	P.O. Box 4500 Allen, TX 75013 Phone: (714) 830-7000 https://www.experian.com/consumer/upload/
TransUnion	P.O. Box 2000 Chester, PA 19016 Phone: 800-916-8800 https://dispute.transunion.com
Equifax	P.O. Box 740256 Atlanta, GA 30374 Phone: (800) 846-5279 https://www.equifax.com/personal/disputes

These credit bureaus have 30 days to investigate and correct or remove any incomplete, inaccurate, or unverifiable information.

Negotiate a settlement with National Credit Systems

Collection agencies sometimes agree to settle for a payment less than the original debt amount either due to the financial inability of the consumer or the age of the debt. Once you confirm the debt is accurate and rightfully yours, you can approach NCS and make a settlement offer.

Start the settlement negotiation process by sending a Debt Lawsuit Settlement Letter to National Credit Systems. The agreement should be done in writing, and NCS should mail you a letter stating that they have accepted a reduced amount of the debt and will remove it from your credit report.

Give NCS a month after you have paid to fulfill their end of the agreement and check your credit report for confirmation that they have removed the debt. Here are some tips for negotiating a settlement that is most ideal for you:

Tips and tricks for negotiating a debt settlement

What if National Credit Systems is suing you?

The first step after receiving a lawsuit is to draft an Answer and send it within the 14–30 day deadline. SoloSuit can help you draft an Answer for free within minutes. We can also have an attorney review the document and file it with the courts at a small fee.

Here are 6 helpful tips for drafting a winning Answer:

The Answer isn't the place to tell your side of the story in detail: At this stage in the lawsuit, the burden of proof is not on you. This means that you don't have to elaborately explain your side of the story. In fact, doing so can actually hurt your case. Let the plaintiff (in this case, National Credit Systems) prove their claims. All you have to do is respond to each claim listed in the Complaint.
Deny Deny Deny: Most attorneys recommend that you deny as many of the claims against you as possible. Denying is kind of like saying, “prove it,” which requires more work and documentation on National Credit Systems' end. If NCS doesn't have enough evidence to prove you owe the debt, it will likely dismiss the case altogether.
Include defenses: You should include a section in your Answer where you state your affirmative defenses. These are short statements that are reasons National Credit Systems doesn't have a case against you. For example, the debt may be past the statute of limitations, you may be sued in the wrong state or county, and you may not have received a Summons notifying you of the lawsuit. These are all common affirmative defenses that can strengthen your case.
Use standard formatting or “style”: Your Answer should be clean and professional, with standard font, font size, and formatting. It should include a caption that states the court information, parties, and case number.
Include certificate of service: The certificate of service is a short statement at the end of a legal document that certifies the document was actually sent to the opposing party. It should include the address that was used and the manner in which it was sent. So, you should certify that you sent the Answer to the attorney representing NCS with the address listed on the Summons document.
Sign it: Almost all courts require a signature at the end of the Answer. Without an Answer, the court will most likely reject the document. Make sure to double check whether your court accepts electronic signatures or not.

Learn more about these 6 tips from SoloSuit's CEO, George Simons, who breaks each one down in this video:

If you wish to settle the debt outside the court, you can also send SoloSuit's Motion to Compel Arbitration after sending your answer. This letter allows you to settle the debt via arbitration instead of going to court.

SoloSuit can assist you in filing an Answer and send a Motion to Compel Arbitration in all 50 states.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to respond to a debt collection lawsuit.

How it works: SoloSuit is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your answer. Upon completion, you can either print the completed forms and mail in the hard copies to the courts or you can pay SoloSuit to file it for you and to have an attorney review the document.

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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