For most of us, there’s almost nothing quite so unwelcome as a phone call from a debt collector. If Diversified Adjustment Service is bothering you, it means they’re convinced you owe them money. Is that true, or is this all a big mistake?
Either situation is possible—along with several edge cases (such as that the people claiming to be working for Diversified Adjustment Service are actually scammers). Don’t panic; we’ll explain what kind of company Diversified Adjustment Service is, how to verify that they’re who they say they are, and how to flex your rights and prevent them from pursuing you for debts you don’t actually owe or doing undue damage to your credit.
Table of Contents
- What is Diversified Adjustment Service?
- Who does Diversified Adjustment Service collect for?
- Is Diversified Adjustment Service a scam?
- How to stop Diversified Adjustment Service from calling you
- How to remove Diversified Adjustment Service from your credit report
- How to deal with Diversified Adjustment Service harassment
- Should you pay Diversified Adjustment Service ?
What is Diversified Adjustment Service?
Headquartered in Fridley, Minnesota, Diversified Adjustment Service, Inc. is a debt collection agency that began operations in 1981. 1 They collect debt on behalf of various businesses and institutions, and they operate in all 50 states as well as Puerto Rico.
Diversified Adjustment Service performs the following debt collection services: 2
- Tailored data and analysis reporting
- Skip tracing
- Credit bureau reporting
- Legal support
- Pre-collection services
- Warehousing management
- Early stage and post charge-off
- Secondary and tertiary collections
How Diversified Adjustment Services might appear on your credit report
You may see Diversified Adjustment Service on your credit report under its full name or as DIV ADJ SERV.
Who does Diversified Adjustment Service collect for?
Diversified Adjustment Service collects commercial and consumer debt on behalf of businesses of all sizes in various industries, including the following types of companies: 3
- Healthcare providers
- Financial institutions
- B2B commercial creditors
- Higher education institutions
- Government agencies
- Utility companies
- Telecommunications companies
Is Diversified Adjustment Service a scam?
No, Diversified Adjustment Service isn’t a scam—they’re a legitimate debt collection agency. However, that doesn’t mean that they’ll always behave ethically. Like many debt collection agencies, Diversified Adjustment Service has faced litigation for violating consumer rights by illegally charging consumers additional fees. 4
What’s more, scammers may pose as representatives from Diversified Adjustment Service to try to collect money from you. For this reason, it’s important to always verify the validity of any debts you’re contacted about before taking further action. You can do so by getting in touch with Diversified Adjustment Service directly using the contact information below.
VIDEO: Diversified Adjustment Service in 2 Minutes—Fix Your Credit Report & Know Your Rights
How to stop Diversified Adjustment Service from calling you
Diversified Adjustment Service 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, Diversified Adjustment Service 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 Diversified Adjustment Service —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 Diversified Adjustment Service 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 Diversified Adjustment Service 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 Diversified Adjustment Service from calling you during this period: When you send a debt verification letter, third-party debt collection agencies like Diversified Adjustment Service are required by law to stop contacting you until they can provide evidence that you actually owe the debt they’re trying to collect. 5
- You’ll get more information about the debt: You should never pay a debt that you don’t recognize. Forcing Diversified Adjustment Service 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 Diversified Adjustment Service 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 Diversified Adjustment Service to sue you over, at which point it’s known as time-barred debt.
If this is the case, you can send Diversified Adjustment Service 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 Diversified Adjustment Service from your credit report
If your credit score is suffering as a result of Diversified Adjustment Service debt, there are three ways to recover:
1. Dispute the debt with all three credit bureaus
If you think that the debt associated with Diversified Adjustment Service 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 Diversified Adjustment Service 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 Diversified Adjustment Service
Unfortunately, if the debt is legitimate and it’s less than 7 years old, removing Diversified Adjustment Service 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 Diversified Adjustment Service from your credit report:
- Pay for delete: You might be able to convince Diversified Adjustment Service 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 Diversified Adjustment Service 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 Diversified Adjustment Service 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 Diversified Adjustment Service , it will remain on your credit report.
Learn more about Diversified Adjustment Service ’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 Diversified Adjustment Service harassment
Unless you tell them not to, Diversified Adjustment Service 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 Diversified Adjustment Service
When attempting to collect payments from you, Diversified Adjustment Service 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.
Diversified Adjustment Service 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 Diversified Adjustment Service if they do something illegal.
Can I sue Diversified Adjustment Service for harassment?
Yes, you can sue Diversified Adjustment Service 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. Diversified Adjustment Service will also have to pay your attorney fees and court costs.
How to file a complaint against Diversified Adjustment Service
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 Diversified Adjustment Service .
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 Diversified Adjustment Service , 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 Diversified Adjustment Service to court.
Should you pay Diversified Adjustment Service ?
You should only pay a collection agency like Diversified Adjustment Service 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.
