You may be surprised to be contacted by Unifin informing you of an outstanding debt. You must have felt that you never owed Unifin anything. However, Unifin has an accurate report of your unpaid and overdue bills. If you encounter this case, you should deal with it calmly. Do not be careless. Do a thorough check first to make sure that the debt allegedly owed to you really belongs to you. Now that you know that the debt is really yours, you must be wondering why Unifin is collecting the debt, even though Unifin is not the lender. Let us find the information from this entire text. Keep reading the text below until the end.
What is Unifin?
Unifin is a third-party debt collection agency headquartered in Skokie, Illinois. The company also has other offices in Guatemala, Jamaica, and the Philippines. Unifin partners with creditors and other companies that have consumer debt reports. They will collect debts from consumers who have unpaid or overdue debts. Unifin specializes in collecting debts related to medical bills, student loans, and other types of debts. If you have unpaid debts such as medical bills, you will likely be contacted by this third-party collection agency. Usually, Unifin will contact you through a debt collection letter, phone call, or written notification via email.
If you want to know more about Unifin, you can visit their official website. There you can see that Unifin has several affiliations and certificates. Currently, Unifin is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has a B rating.
Here is Unifin’s contact information:
- Website: https://unifininc.com/
- Phone number: (888) 572-3987
- Email: info@unifininc.com
- Address: PO Box 1608, Skokie, Illinois 60076
Who Does Unifin Collect For?
Unifin buys consumer debt reports from different creditors or companies. When you have a debt, for instance, an unpaid medical bill, the healthcare provider will give you the time to solve your medical bill. You will be contacted by the healthcare provider to settle the bill immediately, either by phone or by mail. Now, if you continue to ignore the debt collection efforts made by the healthcare provider, then the healthcare provider will not hesitate to sell your debt collection report to a third-party debt collection agency like Unifin.
Once Unifin decides to buy your billing statement, from then on, Unifin will be in charge of collecting your debt. That is why Unifin contacts you and collects your debt, not the healthcare provider where you received medical treatment because the healthcare provider has sold your account and debt statement to Unifin, which in turn Unifin takes over their debt collection. In short, Unifin works with the healthcare provider where you received your medical treatment. Unifin will contact you by phone or mail. If you are contacted by Unifin, ask for detailed information about the debt you are charged with. Once you have checked and recognized that the debt is really yours, take the best course of action. Or, it would be better if you pay off the debt immediately. Never ignore debt collection efforts made by Unifin or you will be sued in court.
Is Unifin a Legitimate Debt Collection Agency?
Yes, Unifin is a legitimate debt collection agency that specializes in collecting unpaid or overdue debtors’ debts related to healthcare providers, utility providers, student loans, government, and telecommunication agencies. Apparently, this third-party debt collection agency has been trusted by many clients. It is proven that many companies have sold debtor bills to them. Or vice versa, Unifin buys debtor debt bills. That way, Unifin has data on consumer loan bills and they will then collect the bills.
However, even though Unifin is a legitimate debt collection agency, there are several complaints from consumers. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), over the past three years, Unifin has received numerous complaints from consumers/debtors. Even worse, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) also reported the same thing, in the past ten years, Unifin has received many complaints. There are various types of complaints alleged against Unifin. Some consumers claim that:
- Unifin contacted them about debts that did not belong to them.
- Unifin did not give information about the details of the debt.
- Unifin did not provide the information needed by consumers to validate their debt.
In addition to the above complaints, we also found a real complaint against Unifin spread across the internet. The complaint stated that a consumer had just received a bill from this debt collection agency. The consumer realized that his debt had been paid off several years ago. His credit report also said that his credit cards were paid off and the amount due was $0, meaning there were no charges. The consumer had also taken out a home purchase loan last year, and the process had gone smoothly. The creditor never mentioned that there was any outstanding debt. The consumer then called Unifin to dispute the case. However, he said that he did not receive good service from Unifin.
The above case is just one example of complaints from consumers to Unifin. Not all consumers make complaints to Unifin. If you are one of the consumers who was charged by Unifin, how was your experience? Remember that there are federal laws that protect consumers from mistreatment by debt collection agencies. Therefore, you as a consumer should know the rights that can protect yourself from harassment or fraud.
What Should You Do When Unifin Contacts You?
We all know that Unifin is a legitimate debt collection agency. However, you must be careful when you are contacted by the debt collection agency like Unifin or other debt collection agencies. Sometimes, there are unscrupulous people who use the company’s name for personal gain. When you are contacted by Unifin, ask for detailed information on the debt. Once you receive the debt information, validate it immediately. Ask Unifin to provide you with a debt validation letter that includes the name of the original creditor, the amount owed and the date of the debt. Never give them any information before they give you the debt validation letter. If they have verified your debt, then you can decide what to do. You can either pay off your debt immediately or negotiate a payment plan. If you have negotiated with Unifin, and have been given a payment period, then you have the right to refuse phone calls from Unifin. Be wary of anyone calling you again after negotiations have been made. Remember that there are many unscrupulous people who work on behalf of Unifin to get money from you. Never give out your account number or Social Security number as it is a sure sign of fraud.
Send a Debt Validation Letter to Unifin
To ensure that the charges against you are really yours, you should request debt validation by sending a Debt Validation Letter to Unifin. You can send the Debt Validation Letter to Unifin at their mailing address, PO Box 1608, Skokie, Illinois 60076. This letter forces Unifin to provide information such as the name of the original creditor and the amount owed. If you send a Debt Validation Letter to the debt collection agency, then they must send a Debt Validation Letter to you. And, they must also give you important information such as the name and address of the original creditor.
Yes, this is basic information, but in some cases, debt collection agencies do not actually have the documentation to verify your debt, or the documentation is simply missing. In other cases, debt collection agencies simply buy a large number of old accounts but they don’t actually get all the necessary documents to prove the amount owed. For your information, debt collection agencies often buy debt statements at a low price. They expect consumers to pay their debts so that debt collection agencies can make a profit.
