If you recently checked your credit report and found Diversified Consultants as a collections account, you may be wondering what it means. Diversified Consultants is a debt collecting agency. They purchase debt that creditors gave up on and charged off.
You may not think you owe money to Diversified Consultants, but it’s likely they took over on an unpaid debt you neglected, such as a phone or cable bill. When reading your credit report, Diversified Consultants may also appear as:
- DCI;
- Diversified Consultants Chicago;
- Diversified Consultants Comcast;
- Diversified Consultants Sprint;
- Diversified Consultants T-Mobile;
- Diversified Credit.
Dealing with debt collectors is never easy. Here’s everything you need to know about Diversified Credit and how to get them off your credit report — and off your back.
Table of Contents
Why Is DCI on My Credit Report?
If you’re seeing DCI on your credit report, you’ve probably started receiving phone calls and notices from the debt collector, as well. Diversified Credit buys debt from telecom companies and other lenders that have given up on trying to get a customer to pay what they believe is owed. Once DCI owns the debt, they will do what it takes to collect on it and make their money back. This may mean persistent phone calls and uncomfortable situations on your part until it’s resolved.
How Does DCI Affect My Credit Score?
By the time DCI appears on your credit report, the damage to your credit score is done. Not paying the original lender for several months before they wrote off the bad debt damaged your credit score. The creditor reported you to the credit bureaus for late payments, delinquent account status, and the final charge off. Even if you pay your debt off with DCI, the creditor’s reported items will remain on your credit file for seven years.
How to Remove Diversified Consultants from Your Credit Report
Paying off the debt may not necessarily improve your credit score for a while, but may still be in your best interests. If you don’t pay your collections debt off, DCI could sue you for the debt, or at the very least continue to call and send notices.
Here are some approaches you can take to remove the Diversified Consultants collections account from your credit report. It may be harder and more time consuming than removing other inquiries, but it’s possible.
Ask for the Debt to Be Validated
The first step you should take is to confirm the debt DCI is collecting on is accurate. It’s up to them, not you, to prove it’s accurate. You have a right to request that a debt collection agency prove the debt is yours in writing.
You’ll need to submit a written request to Diversified Consultants within 30 days of their first contact with you. They must run a verification process and provide you with the results in writing.
When you receive the validation letter, meticulously review it for errors. If any information is incorrect, such as failure to list past payments or providing the wrong dates for the debt, the debt may be disputed and dismissed because it’s incorrect.
Negotiate a Settlement for Removal
If the debt is verified as yours, you may have to pay the debt or risk being taken to court or continuously harassed. Remember that DCI purchased your debt — it’s in their best interest to collect on it, even if they glean just a portion of the initial amount.
You could negotiate to pay a certain amount of the debt in exchange for a deletion of the account from your credit report. Get the agreement in writing from Diversified Consultants before you pay the debt off and make sure the agreement clearly states they will delete the account from your credit report once they’re paid — verbal agreements don’t hold any weight if they don’t follow through.
Hire a Credit Repair Agency
If you’re unable to come to an agreement with the collection agency, hiring a reputable credit repair agency may be a last resort. You might have to pay for the service, but getting DCI to stop trying to collect from you may be worth the expense.
Are Diversified Consultants Legit or Is It a Scam?
Diversified Consultants is a legitimate debt collection company, although their methods to collect on the debt may not always be fair. It’s their job to collect from you and they may do so by making the situation look bigger than it actually is. It’s important to know your rights when dealing with debt collectors. These include:
- The right to written communications only: Next time DCI calls, notify them that, as per the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you wish to communicate in writing only. They will have to comply by stopping all phone calls and mailing you written notices instead. If they don’t, you could report them to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB).
- The right to see proof of the debt: A debt collection agency must provide you with verification of the debt if you request it in writing. Some debt collectors may give you the runaround, but they’re required by law to provide you with proof of your debt. As mentioned, if any part of the information they provide you is incorrect, the debt can be dismissed.
- The right to privacy about your debt: A debt collector is not allowed to tell your boss, neighbors, or others about your debt. If they threaten to do so, you can report them to the CFPB for unfair debt collection practices.
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