You know you’re behind on your bills, and if you ever try to forget it, a bill collector will be sure to remind you. It’s an enormously stressful situation. However, you do have rights. Here’s how to handle collection calls from MRS Associates, one of the nation’s largest collection agents.
What is MRS Associates?
While it touts itself as an account receivables management company, MRS Associates is basically a New Jersey-based debt collector. Let’s be clear about that. The company tracks down student loan debts and purchases collection accounts from credit unions, banks, retailers, and consumer finance auto finance firms. It was founded in 1991, so it has loads of experience helping its clients get repaid.
Who are MRS Associates’ Clients?
It’s a company that collects for clients in many industries including telecommunications, utilities, auto, education, retail, parking, financial services, commercial, healthcare, e-commerce and technology.
Is the Company Accredited?
In fact, it is. MRS Associates belongs to ACA International, an organization that represents collection agencies. This is important because even though you you’d rather not deal with these agents, at least you know this one’s legit.
How to Deal with MRS Associates
What is MRS debt collector? You now know. But you should also know that you have a say in your outcome and how you interact. Here’s some guidance:
- Find out if the clock’s run out on your debt. To do this, you must discover when your account turned delinquent or when you last made a payment. You can get this info from your records. Barring that availability, try contacting the original creditor. You also might want to check your credit report to find out what the creditor and collectors reported to the credit agencies. If the delinquency date is inaccurate, you can get the negative info removed.
- See how long the statute of limitations is for your kind of debt. Then figure out if the statute has expired on your debt. If the statute has run out, you can’t be sued by an agency. While MRS may request that you pay your obligation, it can’t file a lawsuit or threaten you in any way.
- If the statute of limitations has not expired on your debt, you need to validate the obligation. It’s worth your while, whether the debt’s legit or not, since just half of all accounts cannot be validated. If the agency cannot provide the required validation, you don’t have to repay the debt. And if the debt shows up on your credit report, you can have it removed or corrected. Just know that you have 30 days from receipt of the collection letter to send a validation letter, so act swiftly.
- If the debt is validated and the statute of limitations has not run out, you can try to negotiate a settlement with MRS Associates, which has wide latitude in terms of the amount they can slash. Such settlements typically range from 40 to 60 cents on the dollar. If handling such negotiations is not up your alley, you can always contact a debt settlement agency such as Freedom Debt Relief to bargain for you. You won’t get resolution overnight, but you’ll come out much better with debt settlement than with bankruptcy, which will stain your credit rating for a long time.
Now you know how to handle collections calls from MRS Associates. It’s understandable to be anxious when you’re in this situation but take a deep breath and tackle your debt problem head on. Before you know it, you’ll be back on solid financial ground.