Online Information Services (Online in SV) on Your Credit Report? Fight Back and Win

You check your credit report, expecting that it will look as it did when you last took a look, but you’re shocked to see a collections account with Online Information Services or Online In Sv listed there. 

What does this mean, why is it on your credit report, and how can you get it off? If these are questions you’re asking, you aren’t alone.

All-too-often consumers will routinely check their credit report and find unfamiliar negative collections accounts listed. In other situations, you might first hear about Online Information Services when they start calling you or sending you mail.

When your credit report has a collections account on it, it’s going to inevitably affect your credit score, sometimes significantly. These negative marks are going to make it harder to get loans and new sources of credit. If you’re approved, you’ll pay higher interest rates.

So, what can you do? How can you delete Online Information Services from your credit report?

What Is Online Information Services?

Online Information Services is a debt collector. This company is a third-party collector, working for other companies to help them recover money from consumers. Contact information for Online Information Services includes:

• Address: PO Box 1489, Winterville, NC 28590-1489
• Phone number: 252-758-4141
• Website: onlineis.com

Is Online Information Services a Real Company?

Online Information Services is legitimate and does operate as a third-party debt collector. They aren’t a scam, but that doesn’t mean they’re always contacting people about correct information that they actually owe.

There is also a high volume of Better Business Bureau complaints listed against Online Information Services. The business receives such a high volume that BBB publishes only around 20% of the total consumer complaints.

Many of these complaints focus on debts not being legitimately owed by the person being contacted or consumers who request validation to verify their debt and yet never receive it.

Who Does Online Information Services Collect For?

The primary industries this third-party debt collection company collects for are:

• Utility companies
• Healthcare providers
• Property management companies

Why Is Online Information Services Calling Me?

If you’re receiving phone calls from Online Information Services, a couple of different things can be happening. 

In one situation, you do owe a debt. You may not even realize that you owe it, and if so, you should start by checking your credit reports from the three primary bureaus after getting calls from the company. 

Look to see if Online Information Services is listed on your credit report. If so, talk to a consumer protection attorney specializing in the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Check all three bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—because the information reported can vary between the three.

Whether you believe you owe the debt or think there’s a mistake, it’s still a good idea to consult an FCRA attorney before doing anything else. Otherwise, you’re at risk of making the situation worse. 

Even if you do owe Online Information Services money, that doesn’t mean they can use harassment or intimidation. Debt collectors are limited under federal law about how they can collect from people and how they can contact them. 

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law. Under this law, you’re protected from harassment, communication that’s intentionally inconvenient, or deceptive tactics. If you feel that Online Information Services is behaving in a way that’s not compliant with the FDCPA, you can write a letter letting them know you prefer they stop contacting you.

What if you think it’s a mistake leading Online Information Services to contact you?

In this case, still, get copies of your three credit reports. At that point, contact an FCRA attorney who will advise you of the next best step in your situation, which may be having them dispute the wrong information on your behalf. 

More commonly than most consumers realize, there are errors on their credit reports. These errors can stem from different factors, including names or social security numbers getting mixed up, wrongly reported information from original creditors, or old debts being added back onto your report. 

Identity theft can be a reason for wrong information, as can debts not going off your credit report after the expiration of the statute of limitations. For most debt, the statute of limitations is seven years. For Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it’s ten years.

What Can I Do If Online Information Services Is Wrong?

If there’s an error in some or all of a debt reported by Online Information Services, if there’s a dispute submitted, they are then legally required to do an investigation and let you know the outcome, at which point, if it is a mistake, the information should be taken off your report. The investigation should be completed within 30 days typically and, at most, 45 days. 

Unfortunately, while this is the law, that’s not always what happens.

There are countless situations where people will find an error on their credit report, and yet they aren’t able to contact the collections company. In other situations, they might talk to someone who says it will be removed, but it isn’t. The company trying to collect a debt could also disagree that it’s wrong information, or by contacting Online Information Services before talking to an attorney, you could restart the expiration clock on the debt. 

How To Get Online Information Services Off My Credit Report

It often takes legal action to get the attention of financial companies and debt collectors so that they remove wrong negative information. An FCRA attorney can help you with this.

Once you start to work with an FCRA attorney, it can also stop any phone calls that negatively impact your life.

Contact Us for a Free Consultation

If you’re dealing with Online Information Services, you can get them removed from your credit report because of the FCRA, but it may require outside help. We’re a team of attorneys specializing in the FCRA. Contact Fair Credit today for a free consultation and case review, so you move forward without an unfairly low credit score.