No one wants to pick up the phone and hear they owe money—especially when you weren’t expecting the call. If Diversified Consultants is contacting you in search of payment, take a breath and stay calm. We’ll walk you through what to do if you don’t think you owe a debt, and how to quickly and painlessly resolve the situation (even if you do owe the money).
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What is Diversified Consultants?
Headquartered in Jacksonville, FL, Diversified Consultants, Inc. was a debt collection agency that was incorporated in 1993. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), the company is officially out of business. 1 They closed down in 2020.
Before shutting down, Diversified Consultants performed the following debt collection services: 2
- Early-stage collections
- First-party and third-party collections
- Business process outsourcing
- Self-service solutions
Who did Diversified Consultants collect for?
Diversified Consultants previously specialized in collecting debts on behalf of businesses in the telecom industry. Specifically, complaints filed against the company on their BBB page indicate that they collected overdue telecom bills on behalf of AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, Dish Network, and Charter Communications. 1
It’s possible that Diversified Consultants is still showing up on your credit report, even though the company went out of business. You may see them appear under the following labels:
- DIVERSIFIED CONSULTNTS
- Diversified
- Diversified Consultants, Inc.
If this is happening to you, then you can file a credit dispute with the credit bureaus to try to get the mark off your credit report (more on this below).
Is Diversified Consultants a scam?
No, Diversified Consultants isn’t a scam or fake company, but they’re no longer in business. It’s possible that they sold your debt to another legitimate debt collection agency before shutting down, in which case you may start hearing from another company.
If you hear from someone claiming to be a representative of Diversified Consultants, it’s probably a scam. Scammers often impersonate representatives from various debt collection agencies to trick you into paying them. For that reason, you should always verify any debts you’re contacted about before making a single payment.
You can do so by asking the agency contacting you for a debt validation notice detailing the debt. We’ll explain how to do this later on.
If someone claiming to represent Diversified Consultants calls you and tries to collect a debt, be very careful. Wait for written confirmation of the debt before you consider paying anything, and be sure to ask questions during the call to clarify what they’re claiming their relationship was with Diversified Consultants.
What happens when debt collectors go out of business?
Diversified Consultants may still appear on your credit report even though they’re no longer in business. This has several implications for your finances and credit.
How Diversified Consultants can still appear on your credit report
Diversified Consultants can appear as a collection item on your credit report for up to seven years, even though the business is no longer in operation. 3
Items like this remain on your credit report for a simple reason. Your credit report shows records of your debts and credit activity, and it’s mainly used by lenders and other interested parties to assess your creditworthiness.
Accordingly, even after you close an account or pay off a debt, derogatory items like late payments and collection accounts remain on your credit report for years so that individuals and businesses can assess your risk as a borrower.
Ultimately, information will stay on your credit report until one of the following things happens:
- The reporting period ends (this is 7 years for most derogatory items, except for some types of bankruptcy, which can reach 10 years). 3
- The data-furnishing company (in your case, Diversified Consultants) tells the credit bureau(s) to remove the account from their records.
Unless Diversified Consultants has updated your account records with the credit bureaus, the collection item will remain on your account for seven years.
You may still have to repay the debt
Even though Diversified Consultants is no longer in operation, there is still a chance you’ll have to repay the debt—just not to the same company. It’s not uncommon for debts to be sold or transferred from one debt collection agency to another. The process can sometimes take a while, so debts that you thought were settled can sometimes show up years later.
Fortunately, the uncertainty regarding who currently owns your debt may make it easier to get the Diversified Consultants collection account removed from your credit report.
How to get Diversified Consultants off your credit report
If your credit score is suffering as a result of Diversified Consultants debt, then don’t worry. You have two options for getting their collection accounts off your credit report.
1. Send a credit dispute letter to the three credit bureaus
In accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) are required to delete disputed information on consumer credit reports if the information is inaccurate or cannot be verified. 3
If you dispute the items on your credit report by sending a letter to the bureaus reporting your Diversified Consultants debt, they have 30 days to obtain evidence that the debt is valid and belongs to you. If they’re unable to do so (which is likely, considering Diversified Consultants is no longer in business), then they’ll have to delete the collection account from your credit report. 3
The credit bureaus also need to delete the collection account from your credit report if the debt is past its statute of limitations.
2. Get help from a credit repair company
If you don’t have success filing a credit dispute or you just need some assistance, then find a credit repair expert who can remove Diversified Consultants collection items from your credit report for you. This can save you time and help you avoid the frustration of trying to remove their negative marks on your own.
