Pioneer Credit Recovery may start harassing you with mail stating that you owe a lot of money. Some individuals have tens of thousands of dollars of “debt” that the company claims that they owe.
But who is this company and how do you deal with them?
Who is Pioneer Credit Recovery?
Pioneer is a Navient Company, so you should have red flags already. Navient is known for their student loan processing, and they’re a nightmare to contact and deal with. The company handles billions of dollars in portfolios and has been in business for over 40 years.
Pioneer claims to be a debt collector that is:
- Compliant
- Compassionate
But any leader in debt collection is going to try and get every cent a debtor has to his or her name. The company works to collect debt for others, and the way that they do business has led to a lot of people filing complaints.
Dealing with Pioneer Credit Recovery
Pioneer has an A+ rating on the BBB, but the company has 129 complaints over the last three years.
The complaints are vast, with a lot of consumers scratching their heads wondering if they actually owe these debts or not.
A few of the many debts that they claim consumers or their businesses have are:
- IRS collections. A lot of consumers receive notifications that they owe debt to the IRS.
- Student loans. One person used the Department of Education to get their student loans out of default, and now Pioneer Credit Recovery is attempting to take the consumer’s entire income tax refund despite always making their payments on time.
- LLC collections. A lot of people with former LLCs receive bogus debt collection claims. One former owner claims that the business has been long closed and the debt, which Is $9,000 relates to a Department of Defense contract that the business never actually had.
Pioneer is a vicious company that will not only contact you, but they will contact anyone that you’re associated with about your debt. Some consumers had their parents or father-in-law and mother-in-law called.
When people call the company to have their debt cleared or to discuss errors with what the company demands, they will become verbally abusive. The stance by the company is harsh, and they do not care if they have contacted you or not.
Most debtors are never contacted by the company directly. There is no effort to collect on some debts, and people only find out about the debt when a friend or family member is notified.
Credit scores become damaged because of Pioneer, even though the majority of the claims that they seem to make are false.
Dealing with them can be difficult because they’re aggressive, rude and will not take “no” for an answer. If you owe the debt, you may have to pay the debt to have it cleared.
If you don’t owe the debt, it’s time to fight back.
You have a right to have proof of the debt. You can demand proof on the phone, but sending a certified mail for proof is the best option. Certified mail leaves a paper trail that you can use to your advantage to prove that you demanded proof of the debt and it was never provided.
Remedies may also include:
- Credit repair companies that will work to have the negative charge taken off of your account. These companies will challenge the debt, ask for proof of the debt and timelines to try and eliminate the debt.
- Attorney generals can help, too. If the collection is fraudulent, report it and the attorney general will investigate the issue. Debt collectors that are knowingly engaging in fraud can be held liable and will be in a lot of trouble.
If you do your research, you’ll also find that the IRS hired the company in 2017, although the Department of Education cut their contract with Pioneer after an audit. What the Department found was that the calls were misleading consumers.
The company was also found to be harassing some consumers and trying to collect debt from the wrong person.
A few of the options that you have to put an end to Pioneer Credit Recovery’s harassment are:
- Request that the debt be validated. If the debt cannot be validated, the debt is invalid.
- Read the fine print, specifically the date of the debt. The statute of limitations for consumer debt may have passed.
- If you do owe debt, negotiate a settlement to have the debt lowered.
- Dispute the debt with the credit bureau. You may have to contact the bureau even if the debt is found to be invalid because it will continue to plague your credit.
Consumers do have rights, and Pioneer Credit Recovery cannot bully you into paying a debt that isn’t your own debt or a debt that is no longer valid.
