Have you been buried in letters from Alltran Financial Services pressing you to pay up on a debt? If you take action quickly enough, you can stop the deluge of calls and messages, at least temporarily.
If you’re lucky, or the debt is in error, you may even be able to eliminate the debt entirely. Here’s how to do that and get your credit back in shape.
Table of Contents
- What is Alltran Financial Services?
- Who does Alltran Financial Services collect for?
- Is Alltran Financial Services a scam?
- How to stop Alltran Financial Services from calling you
- How to remove Alltran Financial Services from your credit report
- How to deal with Alltran Financial Services harassment
- Should you pay Alltran Financial Services?
What is Alltran Financial Services?
Established in 1987, Alltran Financial Services is a debt collection agency that works for financial institutions. They also do business as Alltran Financial, L.P.
Alltran Financial Services was formerly a division of the debt collections agency Alltran, but they were acquired by Transworld Systems in 2020. 1
Alltran Financial Services provides the following debt collection services: 2
- First-party early out collections (helping creditors collect debts on their own behalf)
- Third-party collections (collecting debts that the original creditor has given up on)
What is United Recovery Systems?
United Recovery Systems became Alltran Financial, L.P. in 2016 when they were bought by Alltran. 3
All of the following names also refer to Alltran Financial Services:
- Alltran Financial Corp
- Alltran Financial Corporation
- Alltran Financial Collections
- Alltran Financial, Inc
Who does Alltran Financial Services collect for?
Alltran Financial Services collects debts for banks and credit unions, auto and mortgage lenders, retailers, and online lenders. 2 More specifically, they collect the following types of debt: 4
- Auto loans
- Mortgages
- Student debt
- Taxes and court fees
- Parking and toll fees
- Credit card debt
- Personal and commercial loans
When it comes to credit cards, Alltran Financial Services collects debt that has accrued on personal and commercial credit cards, retail cards, and charge cards. 4 5
Is Alltran Financial Services a scam?
No, Alltran Financial Services isn’t a scam. They’re a legitimate debt collection agency certified by the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals. 6
However, even though Alltran Financial Services is a legit company, they might not always behave ethically. For example, in 2018, Alltran Financial was accused of violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by sending false or misleading letters. 7
Some scammers may also pretend to represent Alltran Financial to trick you into giving them money. For this reason, make sure to verify the validity of the debt you’re being asked to pay. To do so, fill out the company’s online form or contact Alltran Financial Services directly using the contact information below.
VIDEO: Alltran Financial Services in 2 Minutes—Fix Your Credit Report & Know Your Rights
How to stop Alltran Financial Services from calling you
Alltran Financial Services will call, email, or mail you if they believe you have an unsettled debt. The reason debt collectors like these are calling you is simple—they want to pressure you into paying up.
Unfortunately, Alltran Financial Services representatives will keep trying to contact you unless you pay the debt, prove that it doesn’t belong to you, or reach an agreement with them (or with your original creditor).
Don’t ignore debt collectors like Alltran Financial Services—in the end, you may get sued, and you may even have your wages garnished. It’s smarter to engage with them tactically to ensure you don’t have to pay, or that you get the best deal you can.
To begin, you can get Alltran Financial Services to stop calling you—at least temporarily—by sending them something called a debt verification letter.
Send a debt verification letter
A debt verification letter is a formal request that obligates a debt collector to provide further evidence of a debt. You must send it within 30 days of them first contacting you. Note that Alltran Financial Services should have sent you a debt validation letter proving you owe the debt first, as it’s required by law.
Benefits of sending a debt verification letter
Sending a debt verification letter has three benefits:
- You’ll prevent Alltran Financial Services from calling you during this period: When you send a debt verification letter, third-party debt collection agencies like Alltran Financial Services are required by law to stop contacting you until they can provide evidence that you actually owe the debt they’re trying to collect. 8
- You’ll get more information about the debt: You should never pay a debt that you don’t recognize. Forcing Alltran Financial Services to provide documentation will help you determine whether this is a legitimate debt that you actually need to pay. It’s an easy way of figuring out if the debt collector is a scam agency.
- You may successfully disown the debt: If Alltran Financial Services can’t provide more information about the debt (which is frequently the case), then they have no choice but to delete it from your records.
Beware the statute of limitations
The verification materials that you receive may show that your debt has passed the statute of limitations. This is a legal limit that means the debt is too old for Alltran Financial Services to sue you over, at which point it’s known as time-barred debt.
If this is the case, you can send Alltran Financial Services a letter telling them to stop contacting you. Legally, they’ll have to abide by that.
The statute of limitations on most debts is between 3 and 6 years, but the exact amount of time depends on several factors, including the state you live in. The best approach is to check your state attorney general’s website and email their office if the information you’re looking for isn’t available online.
How to remove Alltran Financial Services from your credit report
If your credit score is suffering as a result of Alltran Financial Services debt, there are three ways to recover:
1. Dispute the debt with all three credit bureaus
If you think that the debt associated with Alltran Financial Services on your credit report is illegitimate (e.g., if you paid it on time or it belongs to somebody else), dispute the item on your credit report. You can also dispute debts that are older than 7 years (measured from the date of your first missed payment)—by law, they’re supposed to fall off your credit report by then.
To dispute a debt for free, send a credit dispute letter to the credit bureaus that are showing Alltran Financial Services on your credit report.
To find out which credit bureaus you need to send the letter to, request your free credit report from each of the major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) at AnnualCreditReport.com. If they don’t respond to your dispute within 30–45 days, then they’re legally obligated to remove the item in question.
2. Negotiate with Alltran Financial Services
Unfortunately, if the debt is legitimate and it’s less than 7 years old, removing Alltran Financial Services from your credit report will be very difficult (although not impossible).
Your best move at this point is to simply pay the debt. Newer credit scoring models ignore paid-off collection accounts, which means paying off your collection will boost your credit score even if you can’t remove the item.
However, when you pay, there are two negotiation strategies you can try as a last-ditch attempt to remove Alltran Financial Services from your credit report:
- Pay for delete: You might be able to convince Alltran Financial Services to remove the negative mark in exchange for paying off the debt. You can open these negotiations by sending them a pay-for-delete letter.
- Goodwill deletion: This is an alternate strategy you can try after paying your debt. Once the account is paid off, you can send Alltran Financial Services a goodwill letter asking them to empathize with your situation and remove the mark from your credit report as an act of kindness. Create your letter using our free goodwill letter template.
3. Wait 7 years for Alltran Financial Services to fall off of your credit report
Unfortunately, most collection accounts will stay on your credit report for 7 years after your first missed payment. Even if you pay off your debt to Alltran Financial Services, it will remain on your credit report.
Learn more about Alltran Financial Services’s impact on your credit score:
- How many points will my credit score increase after I pay off collections?
- How to rebuild your credit after having a debt sent to collections
How to deal with Alltran Financial Services harassment
Unless you tell them not to, Alltran Financial Services will keep contacting you until you pay off or settle your debt. However, there are restrictions on how they can go about doing this.
Restrictions on Alltran Financial Services
When attempting to collect payments from you, Alltran Financial Services must adhere to the regulations specified in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This is a federal law that prevents debt collectors from engaging in harassment or predatory behavior, such as lying to you or calling you incessantly or at unreasonable hours.
Alltran Financial Services representatives also need to follow the rules set out in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with these laws so that you can take action against Alltran Financial Services if they do something illegal.
Can I sue Alltran Financial Services for harassment?
Yes, you can sue Alltran Financial Services for harassment. If you can show that they’ve violated your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, then you can collect $1,000 in statutory damages for each violation as well as payment for any damages that you’ve sustained as a result of their violation. Alltran Financial Services will also have to pay your attorney fees and court costs.
How to file a complaint against Alltran Financial Services
If a debt collector violates your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or does something illegal, then you can report them to the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or your state attorney general. From there, you’ll be able to find out whether you can also sue Alltran Financial Services.
Another option is filing a complaint on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website, but this might not have the outcome you’re hoping for. Bear in mind that the BBB is actually a private organization that has no affiliation with the US government. They’ll forward your complaint to Alltran Financial Services, but there’s no guarantee that the agency will address it in a satisfactory manner. What’s more, if your dispute is sent to an arbitrator, then you may give up your right to take Alltran Financial Services to court.
Should you pay Alltran Financial Services?
You should only pay a collection agency like Alltran Financial Services if you’re certain the debt is yours and you owe it. If you’re struggling financially and can’t afford to pay this debt collector, you can get help from a non-profit credit counselor.
