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How to Settle Debt With FBCS

George Simons | July 25, 2024

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.

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.

Summary: FBCS stands for Federal Bond Collection Service, a debt collection agency that specializes in collecting on auto, commercial, consumer, educational, and medical debt. If you've been contacted by FBCS about a debt, SoloSuit can help you request debt validation, respond to a debt lawsuit, and settle your debt before going to court.

Getting threatening and harassing phone calls and letters from a debt collector with FBCS Collection Agency is stressful and annoying. This is because FBCS, like many other debt collection agencies, use questionable and inappropriate methods to try and coerce you into repaying on a debt that is allegedly owed. This is why FBCS will probably contact you via the phone multiple times a day, try to find you on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms, and send many nasty letters to your home.

If you are being subjected to this type of abuse and harrassment, it is important to understand that you do not have to endure such behavior. In fact, you have legal rights and protections under both federal and state laws.

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Who does FBCS collect for?

Federal Bond Collection Service (FBCS), also known as FBCS Inc, is a debt collection agency operating out of Pennsylvania. FBCS collects for businesses that issues the following types of loans, credit, and services:

  • Auto loans
  • Commercial debt
  • Consumer credit
  • Educational debt
  • Medical debt
  • Utilities

Many collection agencies, FBCS included, are known to have numerous consumer complaints filed against them with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The most common complaints include inaccurate reporting of a debt, harassing phone calls, and failing to verify that you actually owe the debt.

Let's take a closer look.

FBCS has received many complaints

If you're feeling frustrated with FBCS, you're not alone. The Better Business Bureau has received more than 100 complaints against FBCS, most of which mention the following actions by the collection agency:

  • Using the wrong number to try to collect on a debt.
  • Trying to collect on a debt that is past the statute of limitations.
  • Failing to validate a debt.
  • Calling repeatedly, even after requests to stop the calls.
  • Calling consumers liars when they dispute a debt.
  • Calling consumers at their workplace.
  • Refusing to give information about FBCS as a company or the original creditor of a debt.

FBCS Inc reviews on Google give it an average rating of only 1.4 out of 5 stars. Check out some real FBCS reviews below:

Many of these reviews and complaints mention actions are considered violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Before you respond to a debt collector, you should understand your rights. Keep reading to learn about how to use your rights to protect yourself.

Understand your legal rights when FBCS contacts you about a debt

FBCS has a reputation for taking advantage of people who do not know their legal rights and protections under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The FDCPA lays out rules that state what debt collectors are allowed and not allowed to do. Some of the limits on debt collectors are:

  • A debt collector cannot call you when you are at work.
  • A debt collector cannot use vulgar language when they talk or write to you.
  • A debt collector is not allowed to threaten to sue you.
  • A debt collector may not call you at home before 8 AM or after 9 pm.

If you are a victim of any of these practices, report your experience to the FTC, CFPB, and your state's attorney general.

You can fight a debt collection lawsuit against FBCS

If FBCS sues you, it is vital to be aggressive and respond well to the lawsuit. Never do what many people do, which is ignore the lawsuit and hope they forget about it. It's not going to go away, even if you throw it away. If you don't pay attention to the lawsuit, it just means you gave up and the collection agency wins. Never make this error. You can fight them and win!

Follow these three tips to respond to a debt lawsuit against FBCS:

  1. Respond to each allegation in the Complaint.
  2. State your affirmative defenses.
  3. File your Answer in court, and send a copy to FBCS.
  4. Settle your debt before your court date.

Keep reading to learn more about each of these three steps. Don't like reading? We've got you covered. Check out this video to explore these three steps:

1. Respond to each allegation in the Complaint

The first step to beating FBCS in court is to file a written Answer. In your Answer, respond to each claim listed in the Complaint document. You can admit, deny, or deny due to lack of knowledge. Most attorneys recommend that you deny as many claims as possible. This forces FBCS to prove their case, and if they don't have the proper documentation, they might have to drop it altogether.

Most importantly, don't ignore the lawsuit. When you fail to respond to a debt lawsuit, you will lose by default. With a default judgment, FBCS can garnish your wages, seize your property, and use other means to collect the debt.

Use SoloSuit to draft your own Answer in minutes—for free!

2. State your affirmative defenses

When you answer the debt collection legal action from FBCS, you have the chance to state that the lawsuit is deficient and their allegations are incorrect. As we said above, debt collection agencies must prove that you owe the alleged debt. This means the company has to prove the following points before it is established that you owe the money:

  1. The company has the right to sue you in court.
  2. You are the person who owes the debt.
  3. You are responsible for the specific sum that is stated by FBCS that was filed with the court.

If FBCS fails to meet these guidelines, you may win in court. You could even get the suit thrown out.

Depending on the nature of your case, you could say the company did not file the lawsuit within the required statute of limitations. The statute of limitations sets a strict time limit that a person has to file a lawsuit. If the debt collector files the case past the statute of limitations, you can file a motion of dismissal with prejudice.

Also, you may want to file a countersuit. If you think FBCS did not follow the FDCPA, you may be able to obtain compensatory damages. The debt collector may also have to pay your legal fees.

Make the right defense the right way with SoloSuit.

3. File the Answer in court, and send a copy to FBCS

Finally, be sure to file your Answer with the court before the deadline. The deadline to respond to a debt lawsuit is generally between 14-35 days, depending on which state you live in.

You should also make a copy of the Answer and send it to the attorneys representing FBCS. Their address should be on the Complaint document. Send the copy of the Answer vis USPS certified mail with a return receipt requested.

If FBCS called you about a debt, it’s best to ask them to validate the debt. This will force FBCS collectors to cease communications until they can validate the debt. If they cannot verify that you owe the debt, they should stop calling or they will be in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

According to § 809 of the FDCPA, a debt collector like FBCS must validate your debt by providing the following information:

  • Proof you owe the debt
  • The exact amount of the debt
  • The age of the debt
  • The debt collector’s documented ownership of debt account
  • The debt collector’s license, or right to collect on the debt in your state
  • A calculation of whether the statute of limitations has expired for collecting the debt
  • The last action taken on the account (i.e. your last payment on the account)

A FBCS phone call is enough to ruin your day, but there are ways to stop the calls. Send a Debt Validation Letter to stop FBCS calls today.

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

Settle your debt with FBCS

Once you've filed an Answer to your debt lawsuit, you now have time to work out a debt settlement plan if you know you owe the debt and want to resolve it for good.

Debt settlement typically involves paying off a portion of your debt in a one-time, lump-sum payment to clear your name of the debt. Since many debt collection agencies purchase old debt portfoilios at a fraction of the original debt amount, collectors are often willing to negotiate a lower settlement. And if you can show that you're experiencing financial hardship, they might be even more willing to work with you.

Debt lawsuits settle at a wide range, but a 60%-80% debt settlement is pretty typical. The more you can offer, the more likely the collectin agency will agree to settle. To learn more about how to settle a debt, check out this video:

SoloSettle, powered by SoloSuit, is a tech-based approach to debt settlement. Our software helps you send and receive settlement offers until you reach an agreement with the collector. Once an agreement is reached, we’ll help you manage the settlement documentation and transfer your payment to the creditor or debt collector, helping you keep your financial information private and secure.

Summary of how to deal with FBCS

Here's a summary of the actions you can take if FBCS harrasses you or sues you over a debt:

  • Know your rights under the FDCPA.
  • Respond to each allegation in the Complaint.
  • State your affirmative defenses.
  • File the Answer with the court before the deadline.
  • Send a copy of the Answer to FBCS.

You can save the time and money of finding a lawyer and represent yourself.

We wish you the best of luck!

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.

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>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate

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FBCS is being sued over a massive data breach that affected 2 million consumers

On February 26, 2024, FCBS noticed unauthorized users had access to confidential consumer information for almost two weeks before they discovered the activity. During this time, unauthorized users could access consumers' names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and other private account information.

Florida resident, Marc Reichbart, initiated a class action lawsuit at the beginning of May 2024 to hold FBCS accountable for the security breach.

Reichbart v. Financial Business and Consumer Solutions Inc. alleges that FBCS was aware of the vulnerability of the PII under its protection and that many cybercriminals would be looking to commit identity theft or fraud with this information. It also claims that FBCS ignored Federal Trade Commission guidelines for information protection standards and that the data breach was a direct result of its negligence.

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