Allied Interstate on Your Credit Report? Fight Back and Win

If you get phone calls from a company called Allied Interstate, and you want to stop them, you aren’t alone. For some consumers, the first introduction to this company name is when they check their credit report and find them listed there. In either situation, there are steps you can take to regain control of your financial situation and stop contact with Allied Interstate.

Is Allied Interstate LLC a Real Company?

Allied Interstate LLC is a real company. They are legitimate and not a scam. Based in Minnesota, Allied Interstate is a third-party debt collection agency. Allied Interstate has been in business for nearly 70 years and is sometimes known as RMS or The Receivable Management Services. The president is Stephanie Schuitt, and the vice president is Jeffrey Swedberg.

The business has accreditation from the Better Business Bureau, despite quite a few negative consumer reviews and complaints.

Most complaints from people with experience in dealing with Allied Interstate claim the company continues to contact them about debts they don’t owe, often from original businesses they’ve never had accounts with.

Why Is Allied Interstate Calling Me?

Allied Interstate may be calling you because you owe a debt or because they believe you do, even if it’s a mistake. Debt collectors are contracted by other businesses to collect on accounts. Sometimes, a debt collector buys the debt from the original creditor. 

The company that someone owed an original debt to is called a creditor. The difference between debt collectors and creditors is important to understand because you have different rights and protections depending on which you’re dealing with.

For example, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a law that was put in place in the late 1970s as a way to restrict what third-party debt collectors are allowed to do as they try to recover money.

Creditors aren’t necessarily guided by the restrictions of the FDCPA. It’s only after you’ve fallen behind on payments with the original creditor that your debt would go to collections. During no time in this process are third-party debt collectors like Allied Interstate considered creditors.

Some of the rules that third-party collectors have to follow because of the FDCPA include:

• They can’t call you very early in the morning or late at night.
• Contact your employer unless they’re only verifying your identity.
• If you tell them not to contact you at work, they can’t.
• Call continuously.
• Use harassment, profanity, or abusive language.
• Threaten you with violence.
• Be deceptive about who they are or why they’re calling.
• Ask you to pay more than what’s owed.
• Make you pay fees or interest not part of your original agreement.
• Business debt isn’t covered under the FDCPA, but other types of household debt like mortgages, credit cards, and student loans are.

Who Does Allied Interstate Collect For?

Allied Interstate works as a third-party collector in a variety of industries for what it describes as blue-chip companies. Broadly, blue chip companies are well-established and well-known companies.

Allied Interstate and the FCRA

You have other rights aside from the FDCPA, and one of the biggest consumer protection laws that cover everyone in the U.S. is the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The FCRA is to ensure fairness, accuracy, and privacy in how your credit file information is reported. Rights that you have under the FCRA include:

• You must be told if something listed in your credit file is used against you.
• You have the right to transparency regarding what’s contained in your file.
• Incomplete or inaccurate information can be disputed.
• A consumer reporting agency has to delete, correct or update any information found to be unverifiable or incomplete.
• Negative, outdated information has to be removed.
• There are limits on who can access your credit file and why.
• If an employer wants to check your credit for a position, you have to give them permission explicitly.

The biggest parts of the FCRA that apply to Allied Interstate include your right to dispute information they’re calling about or have potentially submitted to one or more of the credit reporting bureaus, which are Experian, Equifax, and Transunion.

While you can, in theory, submit a dispute on your own, it’s not always the best idea. Talking to an FCRA attorney first can ensure you protect your rights and reduce the risk of worsening the situation. After reviewing your case, an FCRA attorney can submit a dispute on your behalf if that’s the appropriate course of action.

Once a dispute is submitted to Allied Interstate, they have 30 days to do a complete investigation. If the information is found to be partially or fully incorrect, then it should be updated in the files of Allied Interstate and also on your credit report.

Why Do Credit Reporting Mistakes Happen?

Mistakes on credit reports are incredibly common. It’s also more common than most consumers realize for debt collection agencies to have wrong information on file.

The wrong information can come from the original creditor. For example, maybe an original creditor had your balance or payment information wrong in their system and passed it on to a debt collector. The debt collector then starts to contact you based on this wrong information, plus they might report it to a credit reporting bureau.

Some mistakes occur on credit reports themselves. Examples include:

• The credit files of people with similar names get mixed up.
• Similar social security numbers can lead to mix-ups.
• Details of the debt are reported incorrectly.
• Old debts are reported as being newer than they are.
• Duplicate debts are listed.

If you’re an identity theft victim, this can also lead to calls from Allied Interstate - or other debt collectors - and wrong information on your credit report. For many, the first indicator they’ve been the victim of scammers or identity thieves is hearing from debt collectors.

We Can Help with a Free Case Review

If you’re ready to stop the calls from Allied Interstate and move forward financially, contact Fair Credit. We can help you deal with Allied Interstate, dispute any wrong information, stop their calls, and ensure your credit report is updated.