How To Remove LVNV Funding from Your Credit Report
When my lender first pulled my credit report upon applying for my mortgage, a funny thing happened. LVNV Funding popped up out of nowhere, and threatened to sour my entire pending mortgage. Below are the steps I took to remove LVNV Funding from my credit report.
First and foremost, I must preface this post by saying I didn’t opt out prior to applying. Many credit coaches advise you to opt out from promotional screenings, because some collection companies will use this to detect when people are applying for credit. This is unproven. What is proven however is that collection companies will place sniffers on your file if they have permissible purpose, and will wait for just the right time to spring a collection on you. This happens often while applying for mortgages; because collection companies understand the importance of debt to income ratio for potential home buyers, and understand you will need to have this paid off prior to closing. LVNV Funding did a number on my, and I needed to desperately remove LVNV Funding from my credit report.
The good news. The lender didn’t know about this collection account because it popped up after the credit was run. Once again, this is the benefit of using a credit monitoring service. When I saw the debt, I genuinely had no idea what it was. This isn’t uncommon for a bottom feeder like LVNV, they will grab whatever debt they can find and try to have it land someplace where someone will pay it.
My first step to remove LVNV Funding was going to be a simple debt validation letter. I sent the letter and it was almost immediately returned to sender. Strange. No dunning notification was received, and now I cannot send a debt validation. This appeared to be a violation of the FDCPA, as reporting to the credit reporting agencies is considered collection activity. Now I felt like I had the ammunition to go straight up the chain and try to get fast resolution.
The first thing I did was file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau of South Carolina. I knew that Resurgent Capital often collects on behalf of LVNV, and is owned by the same parent company, Sherman Financial. My complaint was as follows:
I writing you today to lodge a formal complaint against Resurgent/LVNV Funding LLC. This debt collector placed marks on all three of my credit reports (Equifax, Experian, and Transunion) without proper notification, as I received no dunning notification per required by the FDCPA legislation. Credit reporting is considered collection activity. When I attempted to send debt validation to the address they provided, the notification was sent back to me return to sender, as the address was inaccurately listed on my credit report. This company has an F with the Better Business Bureau, and has effectively destroyed my chances of getting a mortgage, as they have also incorrectly listed these accounts as Installment loans on all three credit reports instead of a collection account.
Additionally, they have listed this item as a Factoring Lender, when per FCRA collection companies are not. I am requesting your office look into these allegations and help me procure a deletion from all three credit reporting agencies until this company can successfully validate my debt as they are mandated by law to do.
I am considering legal action against Resurgent/LVNV, however, I felt compelled to urge your office to help me in my crusade to remove LVNV Funding and reestablish my name and credit. I am not sure if this debt is mine or not, however, their inability to provide correct addresses, and their intentional act of misleading their reporting should be enough to sue them, and should be enough for your office to force their compliance in this issue. I hope you can help me out in this matter, as I am going through the mortgage closing process and this one account has completely derailed my home purchase. Thank you very much for your time!
As soon as the complaint was lodged I sent the exact same complaint to the FTC. The goal is simple. Remove LVNV Funding by any means. I would be willing to do a pay for delete as well, but without a debt validation I wasn’t even sure this was mine.
A couple of days went by, and I was nervous about the status of the account. Approximately one week later, I received a response from Resurgent Capital via the Better Business Bureau. Resurgent Capital advised that although they have investigated and believe the validity of the debt, they will no longer be pursuing collection and have advised to remove LVNV Funding from all reporting agencies. They indicated they report on the 10th and 20th of the month.
I checked my report, and on the 25th of the month, the account was removed from all three. I was able to remove LVNV Funding and my mortgage was back on track!
Recap of steps to Remove LVNV Funding from your credit report:
- Send a debt validation letter to the address on your credit report, not Resurgent Capital. As of my dealings with them, they had a bad address showing.
- Once the debt validation letter comes back return to sender(or even if it doesn’t) lodge a Better Business Bureau complaint. http://www.bbb.org
- Make sure when you file the complaint, you understand what you are talking about because Resurgent and LVNV will try to catch you up on improper usage of the FDCPA and FCRA statutes.
- After you file the complain with the BBB, File with the FTC as well. Show them you mean business.
- Wait for the response from the BBB. Many people have had similar success using this route.
Just a bit of warning: LVNV Funding and Resurgent do not just roll over. It isn’t always easy to remove LVNV Funding. Make sure you cover your bases in the complaints, because if you don’t they will continue to report and rub it in your face a bit. Good luck in your attempt to remove LVNV Funding from your credit report.
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