Tate & Kirlin Associates on Your Credit Report? Fight Back and Win

Unfamiliar names on your credit report, such as Tate & Kirlin Associates, can greatly impact your credit score and your financial present and future. You might also be getting letters, emails, phone calls, or even texts from someone representing a company named Tate & Kirlin, wondering why they're trying to contact you.

If you've found yourself in a situation where you're dealing with Tate & Kirlin Associates, and maybe you aren't even sure why the following is a guide to how to fix the issue.

What Is Tate & Kirlin Associates?

Tate & Kirlin Associates is a third-party debt collection agency. Other businesses will work with Tate & Kirlin when their customers or borrowers have past-due and delinquent payments. Sometimes, Tate & Kirlin is called TKA.

Who Companies Does Tate & Kirlin Collect For?

As a third-party debt collection agency, TKA usually collects for:

• Banks and credit unions
• Credit card companies
• Auto loan companies
• Public works and utilities
• Telecommunications
• Higher education

Is Tate & Kirlin Legitimate?

Consumers often worry that it's a scam if they get texts or calls from an unfamiliar name. Tate & Kirlin is an actual debt-collection company, though. Tate & Kirlin has been in the debt collection industry for over 27 years. The company is based in Pennsylvania.

When dealing with a potential debt collector or a financial services company, it is a good idea to make sure they aren't a scam before proceeding. 

How Do I Contact Tate & Kirlin Associates?

If you want to contact Tate & Kirlin associates, you can reach them in the following ways:

• Address: 4800 E. Street Rd., Suite 170, Trevose, PA 19053
• Phone: 312-402-8348
• Email: business@tate-kirlin.com

Why Is This Company Calling Me?

If you're getting calls from Tate & Kirlin, they think you owe a debt. The debt could have been something you had with an original creditor, like a credit card company. If you legitimately owe the debt, you might have become past due on payments. After a period of trying to collect from you on their own, the original creditor might have hired Tate & Kirlin to take over.

Check your credit report if you think you might owe the debt in question. You may see that the original creditor is already listed there.

You could also see a listing on your credit report from Tate & Kirlin listed as a collections account. Having negative information on your report can cause a big drop in your credit score. If you owe the debt and Tate & Kirlin is trying to contact you, that information can stay on your report for as long as seven years after the account becomes delinquent.

While it is possible that this company is calling you because of a debt you owe, other scenarios can also happen.

For example, there could be an error, or you could be an identity theft victim.

Errors and issues that can lead to a debt collection agency calling you incorrectly or reporting negative information to a credit bureau include:

• Information that's reported is inaccurate 

This incorrect information can come from the original creditor you were working with. For example, maybe you did have an actual account with a company that Tate & Kirlin is collecting on behalf of, but it was never past due. The balance might be wrongly stated, or late payments could be reported when you were always on time.

• Mixed files happen when credit reporting agencies don't have accurate information.

A credit bureau could mix up your file with someone else with similar personal information. For example, maybe negative credit information from a stranger with a similar social security number to yours is reported.

• Provided or reported information might be old

Your credit information has to be kept current because of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Issues could include reporting the old debt as new or reporting an account as active even if you voluntarily closed it. If information that's more than seven years old is reported or a debt was discharged in bankruptcy, but this isn't reflected on your credit report, these are FCRA violations.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act is critical for protecting consumers. It protects you against misreporting and misuse of your financial and credit information. If a company violates the FCRA in any way, it can mean you have a lower credit score, higher interest rates if you can get new credit, or you might be denied new credit altogether.

The FCRA also outlines something called withholding notices. You're entitled to receive certain notices about how your credit information is reported and used, including by debt collectors like Tate & Kirlin.

Withholding notice violations can include:

• A creditor doesn't inform you that they report negative information to a credit bureau.
• You aren't notified of your right to dispute inaccurate information.
• Creditors don't let you know if a negative decision has been made based on the findings in your credit report.

Disputing a Debt

If you believe there's an error or you've been an identity theft victim, you have the right to dispute the wrong information and have it corrected. Contacting a Fair Credit Reporting Act before taking any other steps is the best way to protect yourself. An FCRA attorney can contact Tate & Kirlin on your behalf and go through the dispute process. 

Once a dispute is submitted, the organization that receives it has 30 days to investigate and then report its findings. The wrong information should then be corrected or removed. 

Removing Tate & Kirlin Associates From My Credit Report

Unfortunately, even though the FCRA protects you and gives you the right to dispute negative credit information, there are times when debt collectors aren't responsive or are non-compliant. You might need help to get Tate & Kirlin to stop calling you and to remove their negative account information from your credit report. In these cases, an FCRA attorney can help. An FCRA attorney may even be able to recover compensation when you’ve been dealing with a debt collector. 

We offer free case reviews at Fair Credit. Our team of FCRA attorneys can help you as you're dealing with Tate & Kirlin, so it's something you don't have to worry about anymore.