Imagine you’re out with your friends in the middle of the day, and a debt collector contacts you for money.
Have you been receiving constant letters and phone calls from AFNI?
Were they demanding payment of a decade-old or non-existing debt and threatening that they’ll take legal actions?
Receiving annoying phone calls like this is annoying, especially if you want to go on with your day.
If you’re unsure how to deal with this kind of situation, then read on! The information below includes information about AFNI, what to do if they contact you, laws concerning this issue, how to remove a collection account from your credit report, and AFNI’s contact information.
All about AFNI Collections Inc
AFNI Collections started in Bloomington, Illinois, in 1936 as a collections agency. AFNI was called H.A Slaven’s Collection Bureau before. When Earl Anderson purchased the agency in 1976, it was renamed Anderson Financial Network Inc. hence the acronym AFNI.
Additionally, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Better Business Bureau stated the company violated FDCPA with 473 complaints in BBB and 2,800 in CFPB. AFNI Collections might have mistaken you for another person. To resolve the issue quickly and intelligently, click this website https://www.crediful.com/collection-agencies/afni/.
What Should You Do If an AFNI Collection Contacts You?
If Anderson Financial Network Inc. contacted you about a charge-off, avoid talking with them on the phone. Tell them to send you a letter or a certified mail instead. Suppose the debt is yours and has already exceeded the statute of limitations. In that case, debt collectors cannot legally collect the debt.
First, you must make AFNI Collections prove that the debt is yours; send them a debt validation letter to do so. There are numerous cases where debt collectors collect invalid debts that do not belong to the consumer; they will do this if they think they have a chance to make you pay. Second, suppose the collection agency proved that the debt is yours. In that case, they must prove next that the original creditor authorized AFNI to collect your debt for them.
Send the agency an initial dispute letter If the debt isn’t yours. Then, the debt collectors Singapore cannot contact you until they’ve proven that the debt is valid after receiving the initial dispute letter.
What can AFNI Collections legally do to you?
All debt collectors can contact you through letter, text, email, or phone calls. Calling at inconvenient times such as after 9 pm, for example, is illegal. If AFNI told you that they might garnish your wages or sue you, they could do this only after getting a judgment in court.
Know Your Laws
Collection agencies are known for using scare tactics to get you to pay immediately. But FDCPA is here to tell you that you have rights! The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act guarantees the protection of consumers and prohibits collection agencies from doing the following:
- Harassment of a Consumer. Suppose you told a debt collector that a time is inconvenient to you. In that case, they are prohibited from calling you, your family, your friends, significant other at an unusual time or place. Violence is illegal, and threatening is included as abuse.
- Use of misleading and inaccurate information. Any false information to mislead a consumer is illegal, and consequences might be in effect if proven.
- Unfair practice. A debt collector is prohibited from using unconscionable means to collect a debt.
How to Remove Anderson Financial Network Inc from Your Credit Report
The three credit bureaus mentioned that if a debt is yours, you can agree to pay the debt in full to remove the collection account in your credit report. Before paying them, make sure that you have the agreement in writing. Since some collection companies use deception tactics when dealing with collections to take advantage of an unaware consumer.
Once you have a physical copy of an agreement, AFNI doesn’t have a choice but to follow through. If they didn’t, you could file a lawsuit against them in court.
Note that any form of communication with a debt collection agency must be done through writing, e.g., email or letter. Communications must also be done in other mediums such as lawyers or even a credit repair company like Crediful. Avoid speaking with them through the phone as most agencies record their conversations. Speaking for yourself without knowing the intricate details of such debts can also lead to mistakes which can be used against you.
Takeaway
When dealing with any collection agency, including AFNI Collections, read more about your rights to exercise them. Make sure that AFNI proved that the debt is yours and avoid communicating through phone calls. Don’t let debt collectors deceive and get the best of you – this is just their way of scaring you to give them money.