Are You Being Harassed by Diversified Consultants, Inc.?

Diversified Consultants Inc. or DCI is a third-party debt collection agency that specializes in the telecom industry. Usually, they seek payments from accounts that are related to landlines, wireless connections, satellite, and cable services for phones, televisions, internet access, utilities, and securities as well.

As debt collectors, they have been known to be extremely aggressive when trying to collect on delinquent accounts. They sometimes go above and beyond their professional conduct, and use tactics that are considered unethical, illegal and even immoral.

In this review, I shall be telling you about Diversified Consultants Review Inc. The review shall cover who they are, whether they are legit or not, how they work, and I shall finally tell you how to deal with them effectively, and ensure that you do not end up with a whole lot of headache in the end.

So, is DCI legit?

Yes.

This company is legitimate, and they currently have employed more than 900 staff members to help them collect from consumers. They use the motto “Legal, Ethical and Moral.”

They have their offices in Florida, Jacksonville, Oregon, and Portland.

On the Better Business Bureau website, they have an A rating.

The BBB is a representation of the consumer’s opinions about a given business enterprise. They give insight into how the public interacts with the company, how they feel towards the said company and how many complaints they have lodged against them.

The BBB, therefore, assigns companies ratings as per this feedback. The highest is usually an A+, while the lowest is an F.

A means that the company is in good standing.

The BBB has reported at least 1,000 complaints against DCI in the past, and these complaints included issues with collections, billings, and certain violations of the rights of the consumers.

How can you tell you are being harassed?

Most people are unaware that they are being harassed by debt collectors, because they may never have dealt with them before. As such, you end up letting them talk to you as they wish, calling you at all house of the night and even threatening you.

This is not right, and there are rights put in place in order to protect consumers.

Here is a copy of your harassment checklist. If a debt collector behaves in any of the following ways, then you are being harassed, and you must take action;

• If they are calling you very many times in one week.
• If you are receiving calls from them very early in the morning before 8 or very late at night after 9 pm?
• If they are calling you at your place of work.
• If they are talking to your friends, neighbors, and coworkers about your debt.
• If they are threatening you with violence, a lawsuit or even arrest.
• If they have attempted to collect more than you actually owe.
• If they have been intimidating you until you feel threatened.
• If they have used obscene language towards you.
• If they make calls using automated robocalls such that you are unable to follow up on who called you.

When you understand the rights you have, then you can take action against unscrupulous debt collectors who do not follow the rules and are out to harass you.

How do you deal with DCI?

When you receive their calls and letters, then, you need to come up with a game plan.

Do not just ignore them, thinking that they will go away. No. this shall not work. Instead, what happens with debt collectors is that they shall end up selling your debt off to another debt collector, and another one, and another one, and you may end up finding yourself in a position where all you do is receive calls from different debt collectors all the time.

The following points will help you learn how you can deal with these debt collectors;

1.     Don't pay anything:

This is very important. Just because a debt collector has called you, it doesn’t mean that you should now start gathering your finances to pay immediately. No. take time and investigate whether the debt belongs to you or not.

So, do not pay, and do not give the debt collector any information that they can use against you such as a promise to pay. Well, not yet anyway.

First send them a verification letter, requesting them to verify to you that the debt belongs to you.

This is the process known as “debt validation.”

The debt collector is required to respond back to you in 30 days with more information about the debt such as; when the debt was taken when you start repaying, how much you have repaid so far when you stopped repaying and the remaining balance.

They should also give you more proof that you owe the debt such as your name, your social security number and your address.

The time in which you stopped repaying the debt is important as it outlines the statute of limitations.

This is the time in which you are legally liable to repay a debt. If the statute has expired, then you are no longer liable and the debt should be removed from your credit report.

A debt collector will want you to turn back the clock on your statute by asking you to pay a small amount on the debt.

When you do that, the clock starts all over again, and therefore, you must be careful not to do this.

2.     Gather all the facts:

Creditors almost always will keep selling off debts from one to the next, and in this process, plenty of information is usually lost. This means that it is virtually impossible for you to receive all of the required documentation concerning a debt.

Ensure to have all of your information about a debt handy and in place, so you can give them as evidence of whether you paid up the debt or not.

3.     Know your rights:

As a consumer, knowing your rights is crucial, and it will help you better deal with debt collectors;

Here are some of your rights.

Communication;

You must never receive calls very early in the morning or late at night. In addition, you get to dictate how much a debt collector should contact you, and if at any time you feel that they should cease and desist, then you should write to them and ask them to stop.

Honesty:

Debt collectors must never at any one time mislead you as to who they are. They must never present themselves as the police, lawyers or even government officials.

Challenging the debt:

You have a right, under the federal laws to dispute a debt that you are asked to repay. When you challenge the debt collector, they must show proof that you owe the debt, and this takes at least 30 days.

You could also file a complaint against them if they violate your rights. You can find out about these rights from the federal state you live in. The rights are there to protect you, and if you ever feel at any one time that someone is not respecting you, you can take action.

A summary of all your rights:

Your rights are protected under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA). Here are some rules against debt collectors;

• They are prohibited from using unfair tactics when collecting from you.
• They must never contact any other person other than the rightful debt owner.
• They shouldn’t threaten you with a wage garnishment, harming your credit or taking you to court.
• They shouldn’t call you at unreasonable times such as very early in the morning or late at night.
• They must never contact you at work.
• They shouldn’t place calls to your employer or friends or neighbors and discuss them about your debts.
• They shouldn’t use profanities when talking to you.
• They shouldn’t send you letters to collect that have the government seal on them.
• They shouldn’t threaten to arrest you.

Conclusion:

You must never feel victimized by a debt collector. This is the reason why I am highlighting debt collection companies and how you should deal with them. In addition, it is essential to understand your rights.

Did you know that if your rights are violated, you can sue the debt collection company that violated these rights and receive up to $1,000 in damages? Did you know that you can ask them to stop harassing you with phone calls? Did you know that you can negotiate a repayment plan with a debt collector?

These are some of the rights you have, and options you can choose from when dealing with debt collectors.

I hope this helps, but, I always say that the best way to avoid this unnecessary experience with a debt collector is to ensure that you pay your debts on time, and also ensure that you try to live within your means, so you do not end up in debt.