DCM Services (DCMS) on Your Credit Report? Fight Back and Win

If you’ve started getting calls from DCM Services, or they’re reported negative information about you to one or more of the three main credit bureaus, it’s stressful to say the least. Dealing with debt collectors is notoriously challenging, but there are ways you can beat them and come out on top, clearing your credit and stopping their seemingly nonstop phone calls.

What Is DCM Services?

DCM Services is also known as DCMS and is a third-party debt collection agency. Third-party debt collectors are not the same as creditors—at no point in the financial process are they considered a creditor. A creditor is the original company that someone has an account with, such as a credit card company, mortgage lender, or some other provider of financing.

If someone doesn’t keep up with their payments, an original creditor might first try to collect past-due amounts from them in-house. Eventually, the original creditor might sell delinquent accounts, or in the case of DCM Services, outsource the collection work to another company. That’s why DCM Services is a third-party collector.

Understanding the differences between a creditor and third-party debt collector is important, because your consumer rights vary depending on which you’re dealing with. Debt collectors have to adhere to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The FDCPA says that debt collectors can’t do any of the following;

• ·         Contact you before 8 a.m.
• ·         Call you after 9 p.m.
• ·         Use profanity, harassment or threatening language.
• ·         Be deceptive or non-transparent in communication.
• ·         Contact you too often in a certain period of time.
• ·         Contact your employer for any reason other than to verify your identity.

While these are legal requirements, debt collectors might not always be compliant with the FDCPA.

Why Is DCM Services Calling Me?

There are a couple of situations where DCM Services might be calling you. First, you could legitimately owe a debt and they’re trying to collect it. In the second situation, you don’t owe a debt, and there’s a mistake that’s happened somewhere along the way.

Who Does DCM Services Collect For?

DCM Services works in estate and probate debt collection. When someone passes away, they might have owed debts before their death. If you’re a surviving family member or spouse, you could start to get communication from a company like DCM Services. You’re not responsible for someone else’s debt, but if a debt needs to be paid and the person who owed it passed away, it will likely be paid from their estate. 

That’s why DCM Services might call someone—they could be an estate representative.

You might be responsible if there’s a shared debt, depending on the situation. For example, if you’re in a community property state and you’re a spouse, you could be responsible for some marital debts. If you were a joint account owner, you might be responsible for the debt, or if you were a co-signer on something, you could also be responsible.

Is DCM Services Legitimate?

DCM Services is a legitimate company and not a scam. Based in Minneapolis, DCM Services is led by Scott Lane as Chief Financial Officer and Michael Rosenthal, the Chief Executive Office.

What If DCM Services Is Calling About Inaccurate Information?

Common types of errors related to credit reporting include:

·         Reporting inaccurate balances.

·         Balances that are already paid are reported.

·         Reporting missed payments that were actually on time.

·         Identity theft.

·         Accounts that become merged with another person’s.

·         Issues related to bankruptcy reporting.

·         An account that’s not yours.

·         Accounts that are old and should have fallen off your credit report.

You’re protected as a consumer against situations like the ones above by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The FCRA is a broad federal law that is meant to ensure you have fairness and accuracy as far as how your financial information is reported and maintained.

Despite this law, many people find that collection agencies contact them because of a situation that’s in violation of it.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act also gives consumers the right to dispute anything that’s incorrect or have an attorney do it on their behalf. When a dispute is submitted to DCM Services or another debt collection agency, the company has 30 days to do an investigation and then report its findings. 

If the findings are that some or all of the information is incorrect, then it should be updated and removed from your credit report if relevant.

Despite this being what’s called for under the law, there are countless situations where consumers try to dispute debts on their own and find it’s a frustrating, dead-end situation. They might not be able to get in contact with the debt collection agency at all, or even when they do, the company is generally non-responsive to their dispute or complaints. 

There are also many situations where a consumer thinks they’ve done everything right to dispute incorrect information, yet it remains on their credit report and continues to affect their lives negatively.

Sometimes, talking to a debt collector directly without legal representation can even make the situation worse. For example, saying or doing certain things can restart the statute of limitations on a debt, so it’s like it becomes new again. That can further damage your credit report and make it harder to undo this damage.

These are just some of the reasons why you should talk to a Fair Credit Reporting Act attorney as soon as possible.

Call Fair Credit Today

We know how annoying phone calls from a debt collector can be and how destructive wrong information on your credit report is. If DCM Services are calling you, we can help. Fair Credit is a team of FCRA attorneys. We’ll review your case for free and then determine the best steps to take next in your given situation. 

This might include us handling your entire dispute to make sure the wrong information no longer affects you. We can also stop the calls from DCM Services, giving you peace of mind.