Are collections lowering your credit score? If you have a collections entry from Designed Receivable Solutions on your credit report, you can probably attribute it to a missed payment.
Late payments eventually go into collections, which can be detrimental to your credit.
In addition to a lower credit score, you could also be facing irritating phone calls and letters from the agency.
If you’re ready to get DRSI off your report and stop their communications with you, the guide below has the advice you need.
About Designed Receivable Solutions
While debt collectors may seem scammy with their frequent phone calls and letters, Designed Receivable Solutions, Incorporated is a legitimate third-party debt collection agency.
DRSI got its start in 2001, founded and headquartered in Southern California.
The agency primarily collects on debt for businesses in California and Arizona, but they are active nationwide.
The agency focuses on medical debt, working with both small local healthcare providers and large hospitals.
If you’ve fallen behind on your healthcare payments or forgot about an outstanding balance on an old account, it may have been turned over to DRSI.
The agency may buy ownership of debts for pennies on the dollar, or they may be paid a service fee for helping your medical provider to collect your debt.
When that happens, the agency can call and write to you regularly. They’ll also report your late payment to the bureau(s), which will result in a collections entry being added to your report.
Collections entries may drop your score by a few points, or by dozens, it depends on your other credit factors and the extent of your collections-stage debts.
At any rate, collections entries stay on your report for a total of 7 years, regardless of whether you pay them or not.
That’s why it’s crucial to follow the steps below to get them off your report.
If you are overwhelmed by dealing with negative entries on your credit report,
we suggest you ask a professional credit repair company for help.
Ask Lex Law for Help
How to Deal with Designed Receivable Solutions
As a collections agency, DRSI is no stranger to consumer complaints.
Both the Better Business Bureau and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have closed out complaints against the agency, with a handful of litigation cases against them as well.
Most often, consumers complain about debt collectors’ pushy collection techniques, erroneous reporting, and inadequate response to debt validation requests.
Because these issues are frequent with collections agencies, you need to realize that you are protected by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
This law sets the bar for how debt collectors contact you and report your debts, among other guidelines, it states agencies must:
- Contact you between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.
- Contact you and only you about your debt
- Avoid calling you at work at your request
It also prohibits them from threatening to take unlawful action against you or using abusive or inappropriate language.
The law also lets you choose the method of communication with agencies like DRSI.
We suggest contacting the agency to let them know you are aware of your rights under the FDCPA and wish to only communicate in writing, that way, you’ll have clear evidence of every interaction.
This documentation can make getting the agency off your credit report easier and help out if you run into any legal issues with them.
3 Ways to Remove Designed Receivable Solutions from Your Credit Report
While you might be tempted to put dealing with DRSI on the back burner, don’t. The longer you let the entry stay on your report, the worse damage it may cause.
With that in mind, here are three tips for confronting the agency and getting their collections entry off your credit report.
1. Send DRSI a Debt Validation Letter
A simple debt validation letter could be the solution to all your collections problems.
Thanks to the FDCPA, you get one month to dispute shady collections entries on your report.
All you need to do is mail in a letter requesting validation of a debt within 30 days of its addition to your credit report.
The agency should respond by providing details that confirm the debt’s validity.
If they can’t furnish you with adequate proof, the entry will be removed from your report and they will cease communications.
Don’t assume this strategy won’t work for you if you do owe money to DRSI.
In many cases, third-party agencies don’t have the records they need to validate debts.
That means your collections account could potentially be forgiven without you having to pay a penny.
It’s definitely worth trying whether your debt is legit or you’re worried there’s been a mistake.
Just remember to move quickly since there is a cut-off for debt validation.
Mailing Address:
Designed Receivable Solutions
10833 Valley View Street #415
Cypress, CA 90630
2. Negotiate a Payment
If debt validation doesn’t get DRSI’s entry off your report, negotiating a pay-for-delete agreement should.
Paying your balance might eliminate the daily stress of dealing with a collection agency’s calls and letters, but it won’t help your credit.
The agency must consent to report your payment to the credit bureaus to guarantee that the entry is removed.
Reminder: You need to arrange an agreement in writing as a phone conversation doesn’t provide any concrete guarantees.
Send a letter by certified mail offering to make a partial payment in exchange for the deletion of the entry from your credit report.
Since collection agencies purchase debts at such a low rate, they’re often eager to make these sorts of agreements as they are still profitable.
Start your negotiations at around 50% and see what happens.
Once you make a payment, be sure to monitor your credit closely to ensure the entry gets removed. Your reports should be updated within about 30 days of your payment posting.
If any of your credit reports are still showing the entry after you’ve met the terms of your agreement, contact DRSI to make sure they uphold their end of the bargain.
3. Hire a Credit Repair Company
Facing a debt collector like Designed Receivable Solutions can be downright frustrating, especially when you’re dealing with burdensome medical debts.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you could benefit from a consultation with a credit repair company.
Credit repair companies help individuals like you get healthcare collections off their reports every day.
They’ll take care of the heavy lifting, seeking debt validation, negotiating payments, and keeping the collections agency in line.
If you simply don’t want to deal with the agency directly, a credit repair company is your go-to.
More than dealing with stressful collections calls, they can help you confront some serious credit problems, such as:
- Bankruptcy
- Liens
- Repossessions
- Judgments
- Hard inquiries
- Identity fraud
If you’re tired of seeing your credit suffer from late payments, consider working with one of the best credit repair companies or using the tips above to get your credit score back on top.
