If you have been contacted by Sunrise Credit Services, you are probably being pursued for an old debt.
Sunrise Credit Services is a debt collector that has been hired by your old creditor to collect payment on your debt. They may also have purchased the debt to profit off your payments.
Either way, they are legally able to collect the debt because they have opened a collections account on your credit report.
This entry can cause trouble for your credit score and future financial decisions. Having a collection account on your credit report is extraordinarily damaging to your credit report. Unless it is removed, it will impact your score for up to seven years.
It can also serve as a reminder to future lenders that you have a history of not paying bills. This can mean that you may be passed over for loan and credit card approvals in the future.
The only way to get your credit score back on track is to remove the collection entry as soon as you can.
To learn more about Sunrise Credit Services and how to remove their entry from your credit report, check out our in-depth guide below.
What is Sunrise Credit Services?
Originally founded in 1975, Sunrise Credit Services is a medium-sized debt collection agency that employs about 600 employees.
They are headquartered in Farmingdale, NY, and are known as a “late-stage” debt collector, which means they may have purchased the right to collect the debt from the original creditor.
Sunrise Credit Services collects a variety of debts, including payday loans, credit card debt, installment loans, auto loans, student loans, healthcare debt, and more.
Although Sunrise Credit Services is indeed a legitimate debt collector, they are not thought kindly of by their customers.
Sunrise Credit Services currently has about 620 complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and about 150 with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
These complaints are in regard to inaccurate reporting, harassment, and other FDCPA violations.
We will describe what constitutes an FDCPA violation in the event that you need to file a complaint as well.
Steps to Remove Sunrise Credit Services from Your Credit Report
So how do you go about removing a collections account from your credit report?
Here are the essential steps to take to ensure that Sunrise Credit Services stops reporting the debt to major collection bureaus.
- Understand Your Rights
- Request a Goodwill Deletion
- Validate the Debt
- Pay for Delete Agreement
Understand Your Rights
No one enjoys dealing with debt collectors because they are often rude and aggressive.
Debt collectors like Sunrise Credit Services use a number of questionable tactics to get you to pay a debt.
However, most of these tactics are actually unlawful under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).
The FDCPA is federal legislation that is meant to protect you from harassment, abuse, and deception from debt collectors.
It forbids a number of practices including:
- Harassing you by telephone
- Using profane or abusive language
- Misrepresenting themselves when communicating with you
- Reporting false information to credit bureaus
- Contacting your friends, family, or place of work regarding your debt
- Calling before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
- Calling after you have requested that they only contact you through U.S. Mail
Most debt collectors assume that customers are not aware of their rights and will treat them poorly in order to coerce payments.
However, they will stop if you call them out on their bad behavior.
That is why it is important to understand what your rights are under the FDCPA.
By educating yourself, you are setting yourself up for smoother sailing with Sunrise Credit Services down the line.
Request a Goodwill Deletion
If you have already paid off the debt, you should ask Sunrise Credit Services if they are willing to delete the entry out of benevolence.
This is known as a goodwill deletion, and it is a common tactic used by people that have already paid the debt and are looking to get back into the good graces of creditors.
Sunrise Credit Services may be willing to do this for you if you are generally a good customer and have a relatively clean credit history.
To request a goodwill deletion, you will need to write a letter to Sunrise Credit Services explaining the reason why you were late on the payment in the first place.
If you were laid off from your company or lost income because of something else, this is a good thing to mention.
Anything that can inspire sympathy from the debt collector is worth including in your letter.
Make sure that you are polite and apologetic in your letter rather than angry and demanding.
After all, Sunrise Credit Services would be doing you a favor by granting you a goodwill deletion.
As the old saying goes, you’ll catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
Validate the Debt
If you haven’t paid the debt, or were denied a goodwill deletion, you can try to get the entry deleted on a technicality.
You can do this by looking for inaccurate or incomplete information through a debt validation request.
Although this is third on our list of steps, it really is the first thing you should do when you hear from a debt collector.
Under the FDCPA, you are allowed to ask a debt collector to verify that the debt belongs to you before you make any payments on it.
Unfortunately, you only have 30 days after they first contact you to do this. Whatever you do, don’t procrastinate on this step.
To request debt validation, you will need to write a debt validation letter.
This asks Sunrise Credit Services to confirm various details of the debt, such as the name, date, and balance of the debt.
It also asks them to prove that they are authorized to collect this debt.
Sunrise Credit Services should respond to your debt validation letter with various documents that supposedly prove that the debt is yours.
Go through these papers with a fine-toothed comb and note any information that seems inaccurate.
If you see anything that does not match up, file a dispute with the three major credit bureaus and demand that Sunrise Credit Services close the account.
This can get you out of paying the debt altogether.
Negotiate a Settlement
If the debt does indeed belong to you, your next step should be to negotiate a pay-for-delete settlement with Sunrise Credit Services.
A pay-for-delete settlement is when the debt collector agrees to stop reporting your debt in exchange for payment.
Sunrise Credit Services may even be willing to accept less than the full amount, but this will require some negotiating power on your behalf.
Begin by offering to pay Sunrise Credit Services half of the total balance and go from there.
Once you come to a compromise, ask that they provide the details of the agreement in writing.
Tell them that you won’t make a payment until you see the terms of the agreement in writing.
After you receive the contract from Sunrise Credit Services, make your first payment and then check your credit report after 30 days.
You should notice that Sunrise Credit Services’ entry is no longer present on your credit report.
If they are still listed, reach back out to them and remind them of your agreement.
Let them know that you have proof in writing and won’t make another payment until the entry is gone.
Get a Free Copy of Your Credit Report
Dealing with Sunrise Credit Services
If all else fails, you can always seek the help of a credit repair company.
A credit repair company specializes in identifying and removing negative entries from credit reports.
They handle all of the back and forth between the debt collector so that you don’t have to.
They can also review your current financial habits and show you ways to improve your score through everyday practices.
It’s important to work with a reliable credit report company to ensure that you are getting your money’s worth.
That is why I recommend Sky Blue. They are longtime industry experts, and they have had success with collectors like Sunrise Credit Services for many years.
If you are seeking a professional that can help you get your credit back on track, they are the ones to call.
Improving your credit score is a journey, and I want to help you along the way.
Make this the year that you achieve your financial goals.
