Monterey Financial on Your Credit Report? Fight Back and Win

Monterey Financial is a debt collector. You might be getting calls, letters, or emails from Monterey Financial. You could even have family members getting calls or feeling like they're experiencing harassment from the company looking for you. 

If you're in this situation, your biggest questions are likely whether or not the company and the debt are legitimate, and if so, how you can get rid of it and have it taken off your credit report while also stopping the phone calls.

There are options available to you, including working with a consumer protection attorney, also known as an FCRA attorney, which we explain more about below. 

What Is Monterey Financial?

Monterey Financial is sometimes also called Monterey Financial Services. The company focuses on debt recovery solutions. Monterey is a third-party debt collector. As a third-party debt collector, Monterey works under a contingency fee structure. 

When someone owes a business a debt, that business might contract with Monterey Financial to get them to collect it for them. Then, if the company can recover some or all of whatever is owed, they’re paid a percentage of that amount.

If a debt collector is paid on a contingency fee basis, they are sometimes more aggressive in dealing with people, because it’s how they get paid. You may get harassing phone calls, and at times, these could even violate the law.

Some third-party collectors will buy debt for part of its worth and then try to get some of it back from consumers. Monterey Financial is a little different because they try to get payments from people who owe a debt, then give that to the company the original debt was with, after taking out their fee. They don’t buy the debt outright. 

Why Is Monterey Financial Calling Me?

If you've started to get phone calls from Monterey Financial, you might not know why. They are calling you to try and collect a debt, but that doesn't automatically mean you owe what they say you do. People are shocked at how often there are errors on their credit reports and how common it is for debt collectors to have the wrong information. 

According to a Consumer Reports investigation recently, more than one-third of Americans have at least one error listed on their credit reports. According to this investigation, 29% said they found errors in their personal information when asked to review their credit report, and 11% said there were errors and mistakes related to their account information.

When there are mistakes about your personal and account information listed on your credit report, you have to deal with phone calls from collectors that can ruin your peace of mind when it's something you don't even owe. Additionally, if your credit report is affected by errors, it can impact your ability to get loans, such as a home loan. A lower credit score can also mean you pay higher interest rates.

Who Does Monterey Financial Collect For?

Monterey Financial collects for companies that are in a lot of different industries, like:

• Gyms and health clubs
• Vacation club memberships
• Medical devices and equipment
• Elective medical procedures
• Memberships for dating services
• Vocational school tuition
• Other membership contracts
• Retail sales, including pet stores, furniture stores, jewelry stores, health and fitness equipment

Is Monterey Financial a Legitimate Company?

Monterey Financial is a legitimate company, and they’re not a scam. They have been in business for around 30 years. Based in California, Monterey Financial Services is reachable by phone at 760-639-3500. Their website is montereyfinancial.com.

The address for the company is:

4095 Avenida De La Plata

Oceanside, CA 92056

Monterey Financial has an accreditation with the Better Business Bureau and an A- rating. While their official rating is good, numerous consumer complaints about the company and government action against Monterey Financial Services exist.

According to the BBB, the Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks filed a government action against Monterey Financial Services, which is ongoing now. 

As far as consumer complaints, there are reportedly issues where people get copies of their credit reports, and it's only once they do this that they even realize there is something listed from Monterey Financial. There are consumers who, in reviews, said they received no communication from the company beforehand and wouldn't have ever known there was an issue without checking their report. 

Some consumers said they asked for validation of their debt to make sure it was something they owed, yet never received it from Monterey Financial. Other consumers say Monterey Financial is trying to collect debts over seven years old and shouldn’t even be listed on their credit reports anymore. 

Legal Protections Against Monterey Financial Services

In some situations, someone might legitimately owe a debt that Monterey Financial is attempting to collect. In these scenarios, there are options available and legal protections. For example, under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), there are limitations on how debt collectors can contact people. They are prevented from harassing, abusing, or threatening them.

Another federal consumer protection is the Fair Credit Reporting Act or the FCRA. Under the FCRA, if there is inaccurate or incomplete information on a credit report, it's your right to dispute it. If information is wrong, a credit bureau is supposed to remove or correct it within a certain period. Even negative but accurate information, like late payments, must be removed within a certain window of time. 

Despite this being a federal law, debt collectors may not always follow it, or they could receive information that isn't correct.

Some errors relate to names being mixed up in credit files, identity theft, and wrong account information, such as incorrect payment amounts or dates. Even though these aren't the consumer's fault, they still lead to constant phone calls and drops in their credit score. It’s best to talk to a Fair Credit Reporting Act in any situation where a debt collector is contacting you or reporting negative information to a credit bureau. 

Contact Us for a Case Review

If you'd like to stop the phone calls and get your credit score back to where it needs to be, Fair Credit can help. Please contact us today for a free case review so that you can regain control of your credit score and your finances.