How to Remove TransWorld Systems from Your Credit Report
A good credit score allows you to get better interest rates on car loans or mortgages. If you fall on hard times, the inability to pay off your bills, such as credit cards or student loans, can result in the transfer of your debts to a collection agency.
Transworld Systems, Inc (TSI) is a well-known debt collection agency in the U.S. that works with individuals, large companies and organizations to help recover debts and overdue accounts. They acquired Alltran Financial Services in 2020. In fact, TSI is a multifaceted company that can assist in the early stage (pre-charge-off recovery) or post-collection stage of the debt collection process.
With more than 50 years of experience and a recovery record of about $6 billion in accounts receivable for more than 60,000 clients over the last decade, discovering TSI on your credit report is never a welcome situation. Credit reporting agencies can reduce your score by up to 50 points. TSI is an aggressive company and having them stalking you for a collection is never nice. Therefore, it’s important to remove any negative TSI entries, such as collection accounts or charge-offs.
In light of the recent unprofessional, harassing phone calls and ruthless practices of many collection agencies, reading this article can help you deal with TSI collectors and remove their entries from your credit report and also teach you some valuable strategies for dealing with debt collection agencies in general.
Table of contents:
- Know your rights
- Ways to remove TSI from your credit report
- Need help? Have a professional remove the collection
Know your rights
First of all, if you receive a collection notice from TSI by mail or phone, don't write it off as a scam, and don't panic. In addition to making threats, this debt collection agency might tell you that if you pay off the debt in full, they will remove it from your credit report completely. Not only is this untrue, but the debt they are attempting to collect might not even be yours.
Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), you have the legal right to contact the debt collection agency and demand proof of your debts. If they are unable to provide this, you don’t have to pay the collection. They might also charge you the full amount to make a profit since credit collection agencies typically buy collection accounts at a discount from the original lender.
According to the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) and the BBB (Better Business Bureau), TSI — or http://www.tsico.com/ — has more than 4,900 CFPB complaints and over 600 BBB complaints in the last three years on file with the Federal Trade Commission claiming inaccurate reporting and unlawful threats of legal action.
One customer complained that the company left more than 25 voicemails in an attempt to collect a debt. Others say TSI threatened wage garnishment or property seizure, which they have no right to do. Despite these complaints, TSI is still in business after originating in 1970, and the BBB gives them an NR rating.
How to remove TSI systems from my credit report
Many times collection agencies have inaccurate information about who really owns the debt they are attempting to collect. They often have the wrong person, and this person unknowingly pays a debt that isn’t theirs. Unfortunately, collection agencies don’t care as long as you pay them.
Considering this, one of the first steps to take after you see a collection or charge-off entry you don’t recognize is to open a dispute with the three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and Transunion. The credit bureaus have 30 days to investigate the dispute, during which you can continue with the removal process. Make sure you act because credit agencies can turn a simple collection into a judgment, legally garnish wages or your bank account and make you pay the debt in full with additional legal fees.
Debt validation
One way to start the removal process is to request TSI to validate the debt. This is your right under the FDCPA. Debt validation requires them to provide appropriate documentation that proves the debt is yours. You can check out a sample debt validation letter to get an idea of how to write a request.
Once you send your debt validation request, the collection agency has 30 days to provide the documentation that proves the debt is yours. If they can’t provide such documentation, they must remove the negative entry from your credit report.
Make payment to remove an entry
You can take this step if there is proof the debt is yours. The aim here is to offer TSI payment in exchange for the removal of the collection from your credit report. Most of the time this will work, but you need to have the money to pay the debt for them to do so.
If you take this route, make sure you get everything in writing and don’t make any arrangements over the phone. If they don’t remove the entry within 30 days of you making the payment, give TSI a call and remind them of the agreement.
Have a professional remove the TSI entry
Asking a professional to handle TSI is usually the quickest way to remove negative entries, and many customers report success using this method. Credit repair companies are agencies whose sole focus is to help people dispute negative or inaccurate items on their credit reports, improve their scores and remove any damage from their credit history.
Avoid any manipulation
The first thing to know when working with a debt collector is to never make arrangements over the phone; make sure they provide everything in writing. If you can, try to settle with the original creditor. If that's not possible, look for another option.
It's a good idea to communicate with a collection agency via priority mail, which requires a signature as proof of delivery. Originating in Santa Rosa, California, their current contact address is:
- Transworld Systems
- P.O. Box 15630
- Wilmington, DE 19850
Collection agencies such as TSI will often assume that you don’t know your rights under the FDCPA and employ questionable tactics in the debt collection process. Don’t let them fool you. Know your rights.
Debt collectors can’t harass you. There are restrictions that stop them from:
- Contacting you persistently after you ask them not to
- Calling you before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m.
- Pushing hard for debt collection after you request validation of the debt
- Making an arrest or legal threats, such as wage garnishment or property seizure
- Employing foul language
- Threatening to blackmail you with false credit scores or information
- Contacting you at work
Update: This article has been updated to reflect the current number of CFPB and BBB complaints against Transworld Systems and their current BBB rating.
Disclaimer: This story was originally published on September 24, 2017, on BetterCreditBlog.org. To find the most relevant information concerning collections or credit card inquiries, please visit: https://money.com/how-to-remove-collections-from-credit-report/ or https://money.com/get-items-removed-from-credit-report/