Have an issue with Commonwealth Financial Systems? Need help?
Are you being harassed by a debt collector? Is someone from Commonwealth Financial Systems contacting you by phone, mail, email, or Facebook? Are they threatening to sue? We explain all about Commonwealth Financial Systems and whether they are legitimate and what to do if they contact you.
Commonwealth Financial Systems is a debt collector. The company was founded by Joseph S. Deitch in 1979 when it was called Commonwealth Equity Services. It was renamed in 1999.
If you owe a legitimate set and they are trying to collect from you, yes, you should pay them. However, even legitimate companies trying to collect on debt you actually owe have been known to sometimes act unfairly and violate things like the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). So if you have been harassed or treated unfairly, consider filing a complaint or working with an attorney.
Yes, Commonwealth Financial Systems is a legitimate company.
Commonwealth Financial Systems purchases many types of debt, including credit card companies, retail balances, student loans, and medical debt.
Don’t assume you can ignore Commonwealth Financial Systems. If the company thinks they are collecting on legitimate, unpaid debt, they can eventually file a judgment against you to recover that money in any way possible. However, if they violate the law in trying to contact you, you can share your complaints with outside attorneys or file complaints with the government. You can get legal help to sue the collection agency if that is insufficient.
Commonwealth Financial Systems collects for themselves. They purchase debt from credit card companies, retailers, medical facilities, student lenders, and more and then they try to recover that debt for a profit.
Sometimes debt collectors call you when you don’t have debt. But why? This can happen for a number of reasons. First, it can happen because of mistaken identity. You might have a hyphenated last name that’s too long to show up on most line items, so the company just sees the first half and assumes they have the right person. More commonly however is when you get a new phone and that number is associated with a delinquent account.Of course there are many other reasons why a company might be calling you when you don’t have any debt but no matter the reason, if you think it’s a mistake it’s important that you ask the company to validate your debt immediately. You have 30 days from the first point of contact to initiate this validation. If they don’t validate in accordance with the law or they can’t validate the debt, you can send them a notice of insufficient validation and they cannot continue to harass you.
If they are calling you but you’ve paid the debt they are calling about, send them a request for validation. Do this within 30 days from the first point of contact. At the same time, check your records against your credit report. If your credit report is showing inaccurate information, the company might not realize its mistake. You can contact credit reporting agencies to get a mistake fixed.
As a debt collector, some of the laws that Commonwealth Financial Systems must follow include the FCRA, the FDCPA, and the TCPA.
That alphabet soup stands for the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which gives you rights to help ensure your credit report remains accurate; the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which protects you from being abused and deceived by debt collectors; and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which limits robocalls and other telephone spam.
If you think any of these consumer protection laws may apply to your situation, tell us about it.
If Commonwealth Financial Systems contacts you about expired debt, you want to do almost the same thing. If you believe your debt is expired, you want to check your records and your credit score. Then check the statute of limitations in your state, for that particular type of debt. If you need help with this, there are free resources online or you can work with an attorney. If you can prove the debt is expired, then debt collectors like Commonwealth Financial Systems are prohibited from suing or threatening to sue consumers for payment on a debt that is past the statute of limitations. Now, they can still ask you to pay it, but nothing happens if you don’t, like it would with non-expired debt. Once you know the debt is expired, you can inform Commonwealth Financial Systems with a cease communications notice. An attorney can help you with this.
Employees for debt collection companies like Commonwealth Financial Systems don’t make a lot of money. They make at least minimum wage, hourly, plus a bonus if they get you to settle. What’s more, debt collection companies usually pay between 1 and 10 cents on the dollar. The older your account is, the less they pay for it because they don’t have as much time to collect. Using these two pieces of information, you can try to negotiate for a much lower settlement, only a fraction of your original debt, especially if you can prove financial hardship; Commonwealth Financial Systems is much more willing to accept a lower settlement in exchange for no settlement.
If Commonwealth Financial Systems asks you to pay debt you don’t think you owe, you can get rid of them by validating your debt. Make them prove that you owe the debt they are trying to collect. If they can’t, then they have to stop contacting you. An attorney can help you navigate this process. If you owe the money, the best way to get rid of Commonwealth Financial Systems may be to consider settling. You can work with an attorney who can negotiate on your behalf.
Yes, they can sue you for non-expired debt. They might even make a mistake and sue you over debt that isn’t yours.
Commonwealth Equity Services owns Commonwealth Financial Systems.
The current CEO is Wayne Bloom.
Commonwealth Financial Systems is headquartered in Dickson City, PA.
Commonwealth Financial Systems buys debt from credit card companies, retail balances, student loans, and medical providers. The sky’s the limit with them.
Employees get paid an hourly wage plus commission on any settlement they make. So if you settle, they get a percentage of that settlement. This means they are fiscally motivated to help you reach a good settlement. Now, that said, some individuals might look at that the wrong way and use unfair or illegal tactics to try and “force” a settlement. That is why it is important to know your rights, know the law, and get legal help when necessary.
Have you seen an item on your credit report that says “Commonwealth Financial Systems”? That means you had an account that was sent to collections and purchased by Commonwealth Financial Systems. When you settle with them, the delinquent account remains on your credit report for seven years. However, it appears as “Settled” with a zero balance. This does not hurt your score as much as a regular account that is delinquent. However, you can avoid having this mark remain for seven years by negotiating what is called a “tradeline deletion”–deleting the entire account or tradeline from your report.
You do not require a lawyer to deal with Commonwealth Financial Systems, but having one might be in your best interest. Not all employees get a lot of training, so they might make mistakes and not always follow the rules when it comes to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. They might harass you or try to bully you into paying just so they can get a commission. An attorney can put a stop to this. An attorney can also reroute communication so that you don’t have to deal with phone calls, text messages, or emails. Attorneys can handle verification on your behalf, send cease communications letters, and even help you sue Commonwealth Financial Systems for damages if they break the law.
The FDCPA uses the word “verify,” but some other organizations use the word “validate.” No matter which word is used, it can mean two things. First, you “validate” a debt by sending a letter to Commonwealth Financial Systems. This letter officially asks them for information that would confirm the validity of the debt. You have 30 days from the first time Commonwealth Financial Systems contacts you to send this. If they are collecting for more than one account, send a letter for each. Use certified mail with a signature upon delivery and keep copies of everything so that you have an accurate timeline. Second, Commonwealth Financial Systems then “validates” the debt on their end by providing you with this information. Once the letter is received, Commonwealth Financial Systems must legally stop all collection activities until they have mailed you a copy of the verification. This should not take more than 30 business days from the time they get your letter. If they cannot validate it, you can send them a letter of insufficient validation.
How long it takes for you to settle with Commonwealth Financial Systems is based on many factors. However, the employees who work for them are paid on commission and are incentivized to try and settle as soon as possible in a way that benefits both parties.
What you offer is based on your financial situation. If you are under financial hardships, you can try to negotiate for a lower percentage but typically companies aim for settlements between 40-60% of your total debt. If it helps them make their commission before the end of a pay period, employees might be willing to accept less if you can settle immediately.Can a creditor sue you? Can they take all the money in your bank account?If you ignore attempts to contact a legitimate debt, yes, they can sue you, but no, they cannot just take all the money in your bank account without warning. They will send you warnings and copies that they have placed a default judgment against you. This judgment comes with a legal court order that can allow them to liquidate your assets to collect what you owe.
You can ignore Commonwealth Financial Systems, but you shouldn’t. Even if they have you mistaken for someone else or the debt is beyond the SOL, it is better to consider legal action and fix the mistake or let them know they are in the wrong.According to changes to Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) in 2021, collection agencies like Commonwealth Financial Systems can contact you over debt via email, text message, and social media messages without prior consent so long as they disclose who they are and do it privately. If you ignore all of these attempts, they can eventually file a lawsuit or sue you.
When companies like Commonwealth Financial Systems buy debt, they get whatever contact information came with the account. This includes a phone number, address, and often an email address. Using the email and phone they can usually track you down on social media too.
Yes, you can probably pay your debt to Commonwealth Financial Systems with a credit card. However, there might be a fee.
When an account is sent to collections it can bring down your credit score. The longer it remains unpaid, the longer it affects your credit score. Once you enter into a settlement with a debt collection agency and you pay off what you owe, the account is reported as paid with a zero balance but it stays on your credit score for 7 years.The longer you ignore the debt and avoid a settlement, the longer it takes for that 7 year period to begin which means your credit score gets impacted for even longer.The only way to avoid that 7 year period is to negotiate for a tradeline deletion as part of your settlement. This takes the account off your record entirely.
A statute of limitations or SOL refers to when your debt expires. Seven years is an average figure but each state has different expiration times for different debt. That said, qualifying debt does expire at the end of the SOL, whatever that is.
When you file for bankruptcy your debt doesn’t go away on its own. Assuming you do everything correctly, at the end of your bankruptcy filing whatever debt remains is usually erased but this is part of a longer negotiation process with all of your creditors, often facilitated by a bankruptcy mediator.There are different types of bankruptcy for which you can file based on your financial situation. Some take just a few months to complete While others take many years. Most people do not qualify for chapter 7 which is liquidation and can be completed in the span of a few months. Instead, most people have to use chapter 13 which could take up to five years before your debt goes away during which time you still have to make payments on a monthly basis.
For a debt that has already been paid, you can contact the credit reporting agencies to get the debt removed from your credit report. The same is true of debt that is inaccurate or expired. If you have settled with Commonwealth Financial Systems, you can try to negotiate for a tradeline deletion, where Commonwealth Financial Systems has the credit reporting agencies remove the account entirely.
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