Hillcrest Davidson & Associates on Your Credit Report? Fight Back and Win

Why is Hillcrest Davidson & Associates calling you? What type of company is this, is it a scam, and are they also listed on your credit report? These are all questions you may have, and if you find yourself facing a situation like this, there are steps you can take.

Is Hillcrest Davidson & Associates a Scam?

First, when you get calls from a company you aren’t familiar with, you probably initially wonder whether or not it’s legitimate. Hillcrest Davidson & Associates isn’t a scam—they are a legitimate company.

So what do they do?

They’re debt collectors. Companies will work with Hillcrest Davidson & Associates to collect debts on their behalf, making them a third-party collection agency. If consumers accrue debt with an original creditor or a company they have an account with, the company will usually try to collect late payments internally at first.

Eventually, they may give up and charge off the debt, assuming they won’t recover it. In that situation, the company can then sell the debt to a collector.

If the company doesn’t charge off the debt but hasn’t been able to collect it internally, they might work with a company like Hillcrest Davidson & Associates.

Why Is Hillcrest Davidson & Associates Calling Me?

If you’re getting calls from this company, they are likely attempting to collect a debt from you. They could also call you to try and get in touch about a family member’s debt.

The question can become whether or not you actually owe a debt. Any time you get phone calls from a company like this one, or any other debt collector, rather than trying to handle the situation on your own, speaking to a consumer protection attorney can be helpful. Talking to a debt collector can worsen the situation without the help of an attorney.

Who Does Hillcrest Davidson & Associates Work For?

This company collects in the following industries:

• Residential security
• Multi-family rental properties
• Medical bills
• Utilities

Consumer Reviews

Hillcrest & Davidson isn’t accredited by the Better Business Bureau, and there are a number of consumer complaints against them.

These complaints focus on some key areas.

For example, some people say they felt verbally harassed when receiving calls from this company. There are many instances of consumers who report that the company is trying to collect a debt from them wrongfully. Some complaints allege Hillcrest Davidson sent negative information to credit reporting bureaus like Experian, without first trying to make contact with them or let them know they owed a debt.

Issues also include consumers who say they weren’t able to get a response from anyone at the company and they believe they use deceptive practices when trying to collect.

Preventing Harassment from Debt Collectors

If someone owes money or not, debt collectors in the United States are prohibited from doing certain things as they try to collect it. There’s a law, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, that’s relevant. Limitations this law puts on debt collectors includes:

• Prevents harassment
• Threats or intimidation aren’t allowed
• Collectors have to be transparent and non-deceptive
• Calls can’t happen early in the morning or late at night
• A debt collector can’t call excessively

What To Do About Hillcrest Davidson & Associates

If you’ve started getting calls from this company, or you’ve checked your credit report only to find them listed there, it’s upsetting. Anything affecting your credit is going to impact you in significant ways. For example, if this company reports negative information about you to one of the three credit bureaus—Experian, Equifax and Transunion—it can cause a drop in your score.

The lower your credit score, the less likely you are to be approved for things like:

• Credit cards
• Home loans
• Utility accounts
• Car loans

You might even have a hard time renting a home when a landlord pulls your credit.

Clearing the issue up is a top priority, and a Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) attorney can help. The Fair Credit Reporting Act is an important consumer protection law in the U.S. This law outlines your rights to accuracy, fairness, and transparency in how your financial and credit information is used, maintained, and accessed.

Your rights under the FCRA include:

• You have to be told if any information from your credit report is used against you.
• Everyone has the right to know the information contained in their file with consumer reporting agencies.
• You’re legally able to request a credit score from consumer reporting agencies.
• Under this law, you have the right to dispute any inaccurate or incomplete information.
• A consumer reporting agency has to correct or delete any information that’s not verifiable, inaccurate, or incomplete, usually within 30 days.
• Outdated information can’t be reported. If there’s negative information that’s older than seven years or, in the case of bankruptcies, more than 10 years, it should be removed from your credit report.
• Access to your credit file is limited to individuals with a valid need.
• You have to consent for an employer or prospective employer to check your credit.

There are frequent situations where a debt collector like Hillcrest Davidson & Associates calls you about inaccurate information, or information is reported to a credit bureau that isn’t correct.

In these cases, a dispute should be filed to correct, remove or update the information. An FCRA attorney can review your case and get details on why a debt collector is calling you. Then, they can begin the process of disputing the wrong or inaccurate information.

Some of the reasons information could be wrong include your name and personal information being mixed up with someone else’s or details of debt like payment dates or balance information being wrong. Mistakes are very common in the files of debt collectors and also on credit reports.

The frequency that mistakes occur is why every consumer should check their credit reports with the three bureaus at least yearly.

Contact Fair Credit Today

If you want to move forward without Hillcrest Davidson & Associates on your credit report and stop their calls, the Fair Credit team can help. Based on your circumstances, we’ll review your case and determine the best steps to take next. Case reviews are free.