Does Dynamic Recovery Solutions, LLC appear on your credit report? If so, you probably have a collections account. DRS is a collections agency working on behalf of an original creditor to collect money they think you owe. This means you may receive harassing phone calls, excessive past-due notices, and threatening letters.
Stay calm. You have rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). This post will explain your consumer rights and ways to remove DRS from your credit report.
What is DRS?
Founded in 2008, DRS is a debt collection agency in Greenville, South Carolina. DRS handles all sorts of debt collections across the U.S. Creditors use DRS to collect unpaid debt in areas such as:
- Healthcare
- Banking
- Utilities
- Retail
- Credit cards
- Student loans
If a creditor can’t collect an old debt, it will turn to a company like DRS for help.
Is DRS legit?
Many people ask if DRS is a scam. You may question DRS’s business practices, but it’s a legitimate debt collections company. The company won’t break the law, especially if you prove you know your consumer rights. However, it may do things to stir up fear and apprehension, hoping to encourage you to make payments on the old debt.
Why is DRS contacting me?
In short, DRS agents are contacting you because they want you to settle an old debt. If you have a medical bill, student loan, or any other type of debt that you couldn’t pay, the original creditor will hire DRS to chase you for repayment so that they don’t have to waste any more resources. DRS has no qualms about harassing you until you make a payment. Even then, the account may not disappear from your credit history and can harm your chances of getting a loan for years to come.
You may find the same debt shows up twice on your credit report: one account for the original creditor and another for DRS — sometimes appearing as Dynamic Recovery Services. This problem won’t go away on its own, and you can save yourself the frustration and anxiety by dealing with it as soon as possible.
How to remove DRS from your credit report
The process to remove a collections account from your credit report is not as daunting as you may think. Follow the three steps below to get your credit report back on track:
- Communicate via mail
- Request debt validation
- Negotiate a pay-for-delete
1. Request all communication by mail
Your first step is to ask DRS, or any debt collections agency you deal with, to communicate with you by mail only. The FDCPA is a federal law that gives you the right to set the terms of your correspondence with a creditor or debt collector. Insisting on written communication prevents DRS from calling you early in the morning or late at night. More importantly, written communication gives you evidence if DRS fails to behave properly.
Debt collectors make promises or agreements over the phone, but they don’t always remember their agreements. If you complain, the case review may find no evidence of your agreement, meaning you’re back to square one. By keeping everything in writing, you have proof of the agreement and that you kept your end of the bargain. You can also produce this if you need to complain to the Federal Trade Commission or the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
2. Send a debt validation letter
Once you establish written communication, it’s time to make sure the debt in question actually belongs to you and is accurate. Did you know that one in five Americans has credit report errors? That means some of the information on your credit report may not belong to you, so it’s important to verify this.
By law, DRS must disclose your right to verify the debt within five days of their first contact with you. Once they disclose this to you, you have 30 days to send a debt validation letter. If you wait longer than that, you may not receive a reply from the debt collection agency, which is the best reason not to procrastinate.
To confirm the debt is yours, complete a Section 609 (A) form. The purpose of this form is to confirm the name, Social Security number and transaction date of the debt. If filling out the form correctly concerns you, you can find online templates to walk you through the process. If it turns out that the debt doesn’t belong to you, you need to send a letter disputing it to DRS and the credit bureau. They should remove the debt from your credit report immediately.
If you need to contact DRS, its address is 135 Interstate Blvd., Greenville, South Carolina 29615.
3. Negotiate a pay-for-delete agreement
Collections accounts on your credit report can negatively impact your credit score, even if you pay them off in full. That’s why it’s important to negotiate a pay-for-delete agreement upfront. A pay-for-delete agreement is exactly what it sounds like: the debt collection agency agrees to remove the collections account from your credit report as long as you pay your debt or an agreed-upon percentage of your debt.
You may consider offering to pay DRS half of the debt in exchange for deleting the entry on your credit report. Make sure you receive a decisive agreement in writing before making any payments. Agents may try to use tricky language to get around this arrangement, so make sure the terms of the agreement are clear and simple. For example, in exchange for paying (dollar amount) on this account (account number), DRS will remove the account from my credit report with the three major credit reporting bureaus.
After you make the payment, check your credit report after 30 days. Hopefully, you find that DRS contacted the credit bureaus to remove the collections account from their report. If not, demand that DRS remove the account and provide proof of the agreement. If they refuse, you may consider involving a law firm.
4. Have a professional remove the DRS collection
Over the past few decades, professional credit repair companies have grown in popularity. These companies do the leg work, such as writing letters and following up on your requests. They’re familiar with federal laws, including the FDCPA and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. They will act for you, so you can do other things with your valuable time.
Does DRS have any complaints?
DRS has a litany of consumer complaints citing violations of the FDCPA. This act protects consumers from most forms of harassment from debt collectors. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reports more than 1,300 complaints concerning DRS. These complaints accuse DRS agents of attempting to collect a debt that isn’t owed, lying about their identity, using abusive or otherwise unprofessional language and improperly sharing information with employers, friends or family. The BBB reports at least another 400 complaints against DRS in the past three years.
Understanding your consumer rights when it comes to dealing with debt collectors is essential. Many people don’t know how the FDCPA protects them, and DRS has no intention of informing you of your rights. Keep track of your interactions with this company, and make a note if it does any of the following:
- Call before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. without your explicit permission
- Call your work phone number or cell phone after you ask them not to
- Contact friends, family members or co-workers and tell them about your debt
- Call you at a time you have told them is inconvenient
- Use abusive language or harass you in any way
- Lie about their identity or the amount owed
- Threaten legal action or wage garnishment
Experiencing any of the above may entitle you to $1,000 per infraction. You would need legal representation to sue, but it may be worth it if DRS/Dynamic Recovery Services abuse you in any way.
Are you dealing with DRS?
Debt collections agencies make robocalls, leave cell phone messages, fill your mailbox with letters and sometimes make veiled threats of lawsuits, real estate liens or wage garnishments. These agencies don’t want to break the law, and they don’t have to. They know that your fear of their vague but persistent threats will prompt you to pay off the old debt concerned.
DRS is no exception, but knowing your consumer rights can help you control your fear and start the process of removing DRS from your credit report. It’s important that you do this, otherwise you’ll have higher interest rates each time you apply for a loan during the next seven years. Yes, the statute of limitations on your debt may expire sooner, but this won’t help your credit score; it’ll just stop a judge from ruling against you in court.
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