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Don’t let MRS Associates ruin your chances of securing new credit. If you fell on hard times and your accounts went to MRS Associates, you have options.
It is possible to remove MRS Associates from your credit report if you take the right steps.
What is MRS Associates?
MRS Associates is a debt collection company. If you default on your debts, the creditor may sell it to MRS.
When a creditor sells debt to a collection agency varies. Some send it after 90 days of missed payments. Others wait longer, trying to handle their own collection activities. If your account ends up with MRS, it’s not good.
Not only can they harass you to get payment, they can ruin your credit score too.
Collections stay on your credit report for 7 years. Today, though, if you pay the debt, it doesn’t affect your credit score. FICO 9 and VantageScore 3.0, the newest credit scoring models, don’t include paid collections in your credit score. Not all lenders use these models though.
Plus, if you don’t pay the collection in full, it haunts you for almost a decade. While your credit score will eventually increase with good credit habits, it takes a good two years to see a change if you do not do anything about your collection account.
Is MRS Associates a Real Company? Are they Legit?
MRS Associates is real and unfortunately, they are legit.
They’ve been in business for about 15 years, collecting on behalf of creditors. They operate out of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, but work with creditors and consumers around the country.
Does MRS Associates Report to the Credit Bureaus?
Most collection agencies report to the credit bureaus. It’s how they get you to act faster. Without that leverage, you may not care about the collection.
Most MRS Associates collections report to all three bureaus – TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. Every time a lender pulls your credit, they’ll see the collection action and use it as a part of their decision to lend.
Lenders often see collection accounts first, as they report at the top of your credit report. Many lenders won’t look any further and decline your application based on the collection information.
Your credit score will suffer from the collection activity too. If you have a ‘good’ credit score, you have more to worry about. High credit score consumers lose as many as 50 points when MRS Associates reports a collection.
A consumer with a lower credit score may not lose as many points, but if you already have ‘bad’ credit, it doesn’t make much of a difference. The collection adds to the ‘bad’ credit, and any lender’s decision to lend.
Why would high credit score consumers suffer worse? It’s simple.
High credit scores give lenders the illusion that you are financially responsible. If you have a collection account, though, you had financial difficulty. Lenders wouldn’t know this unless they combed through your credit history. Many lenders don’t bother on high credit score consumers. This could put lenders in an awkward position.
How to Remove MRS Associates from Your Credit Report
If MRS Associates is on your credit report, finding ways to remove a collection from your credit report is important. You can try removing it yourself, but it takes a lot of legwork. You may also secure the professional help of a credit repair company.
1. Hire a Professional
Handling a collection agency like MRS Associates yourself is risky business. Handling aggressive debt collectors isn’t for the weak. A credit repair company can take over, dealing with the debt collectors and getting the debt removed.
Thebest credit repair companies know what to look for in a collection debt. Collection agencies have laws they must follow, and many don’t follow them.
Unless you know the Fair Credit Reporting Act and all its nuances, you may miss a chance to remove a collection from your account.
A legitimate credit repair company will review your accounts, and ensure they follow the law. Even the smallest mistake is grounds for removal, which credit repair companies handle.
>> More: Credit Saint Reviews
2. Validate Your Debt
Debt collection companies must validate your debt upon request. After they contact you one time, they have 5 days to follow up in writing. From that point, you have 30 days to ask for further validation.
If you don’t agree with the debt, ask for debt validation. Collection agencies have 30 days to respond or you have the grounds to have it removed.
Be as specific as possible in your validation letter. Ask about the amount of debt, its original creditor, and the debt’s age.
Also look up the collection agencies right to collect in your state – many collect outside of their allowed areas. Since most consumers do not know they can’t collect there, they get away with it.
Send your debt validation letter via certified mail and request proof of receipt. This eliminates the collection agency’s ability to deny receiving the letter.
3. Negotiate a Pay-for-Delete
Pay-for-delete isn’t as common as it used to be. While its legal, many companies don’t do it, here’s why.
A pay-for-delete means you and the collection agency (or creditor) agree that they will delete your debt if you pay it in full or the agreed amount. This does not give an accurate view of your financial responsibility, though.
While a collection account hurts your credit – it’s a part of your financial history. Deleting it means it never existed. Future creditors wouldn’t know about it and may take a risk lending you money that they wouldn’t have taken if they knew about the collection.
Today, paid collections don’t affect your credit score, like they used to. FICO 9 and VantageScore 3.0, the two most recent credit scoring models, eliminated paid collections from their algorithms.
If you’re going to pay the collection, you don’t have to worry about it hurting your credit score.
4. Ask for a Goodwill Deletion
A goodwill deletion is different than a pay-for-delete. Consumers use it most often with late payments. If you’re normally a ‘good’ consumer who pays his/her bills on time, but you missed one payment, you may ask for a goodwill deletion.
Basically, creditors agree to erase the ‘bad’ credit. They do this for consumers who pay their debts on time and either made a mistake or had an emergency and couldn’t help the issue.
Getting MRS Associates to do a goodwill deletion isn’t very likely since it’s obvious that you missed more than one payment. Credit accounts don’t go to a collection agency until you’re at least 90 days late.
MRS Associates Consumer Complaints
Like any collection agency, consumers complain about the tactics MRS Associates uses. If you have a collection account, you’re obviously in a financial bind. No one chooses to have their account sent to the collection agency.
But MRS Associates doesn’t use the nicest tactics when calling or emailing you.
Know your rights when dealing with them. If you feel harassed or you don’t want them calling you anymore, send them a written notice. Request that the only communication they have with you is via written letter and not verbally.
If the violate your request, you can use it against them when you dispute the collection and/or use a credit repair company.
MRS Associates (MRS BPO) Contact Information:
- Phone Number: (888) 334 – 5677
- Mailing Address: 1930 Olney Ave, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, 08003 – 2016
Will MRS Associates File a Lawsuit Against Me or Sue Me?
MRS Associates can file a lawsuit against you or sue you. They probably won’t, but is it worth the risk?
If they do, it becomes an even larger nightmare than the original debt/collection account. That’s why enlisting a credit repair company right away is important. They help millions of consumers clear their credit without getting sued.
Instead, they turn it around on the collection agency, proving what they did that was illegal, rendering your collection invalid.
Who Does MRS Associates Collect for?
MRS associates collects for a wide range of industries. Here is a list of who they collect for:
- Medical
- Financial Services
- FinTech/Marketplace Lending
- Auto Deficiency
- Student Lending
- Municipal/Tolling
- Cable/Telecommunications
- Utilities
- Customer Services
As you can see, MRS Associates collects for some of the largest industries in America. Chances are your debt falls within one of these sectors.
Bottom Line: MRS Associates
If you’ve tried everything you can to remove MRS Associates from your credit report, consider hiring a credit repair company. Do your research and hire a legit company with experience working with MRS Associates.
If you do nothing, your MRS Associates collection will sit on your credit report for 7 years. That’s 7 years of difficulty getting approved for new credit. No one wants that or deserves it. Get the help you need today and start improving your credit score!
