Who is Commonwealth Collections?
Commonwealth Collections is a debt collector reporting a collection account on your credit report.
Generally this means they’ve purchased your debt from the original creditor (such as a credit card or loan company). They often pay pennies on the dollar (sometimes as low as 1/10th of the original cost), to purchase your debt. But there are cases when they may not own the debt, and are just collecting on behalf of another company.
In any case, they must adhere to the law when collecting & reporting your debt. If they don’t, you may be eligible for a settlement/compensation.
How do we use the law to protect you against Commonwealth Collections
There are 2 key acts we use to help our clients. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
The FCRA serves to ensure the information reported on your credit report is accurate. It also gives you the ability to dispute inaccuracies.
We have extensive experience dealing with these cases, some common violations are:
- Reporting inaccurate information
- Reporting inaccurate balances or payment history
- Reporting debt as charged off, when it has been settled
- Reporting a debt that doesn’t belong to you
- Reporting outdated information
- Fails to report a discharge of bankruptcy
- Re-aging an account to continue the reporting in a bid to receive payment
- Reporting information that is more than 7 years old
- Mixing files up between consumers
- Failing to follow investigation procedures
- Requesting credit reports for an impermissible purpose
An example of a FCRA violation could be:
- Commonwealth Collections is inaccurately reporting the amount of debt you owe them
- You dispute this with them
- They fail to submit corrected information to every consumer reporting agency (CRA) involved
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)
The FDCPA is the primary federal law that governs debt collection practices. Its key purpose is to prohibit debt collectors from using abusive, unfair or deceptive practices in order to collect your debt.
Some common violations of the FDCPA are:
- Continued attempts to collect debts you no longer owe, or were not even yours to begin with
- Illegal or unethical communications methods (such as threats or profane language)
- Failure to provide a debt validation disclosure (needs to include the amount owed, name of the creditor, and a notice of the consumers rights)
- Taking or threatening illegal action (such as threatening to garnish a consumer’s wages)
- False statements or representations
- Disclosure of your debts to 3rd parties without your written permission
How much do attorneys charge to sue Commonwealth Collections for violating the FCRA/FDCPA?
$0.
That’s right, we do not charge you anything out of pocket, instead the opposing side will be forced to pay your attorneys fees, or we take a percentage of the recovered amount.
It’s a win-win for you. We don’t get paid unless you get paid.
Put an end to Commonwealth Collections harassment, today!
Fed up with Commonwealth Collections harassing you? So are we. Reach out to us today for your FREE case review.
