Who is Meade & Associates?
Meade & Associates, Inc. is a third-party collection agency located in Lewis Center, Ohio.
You may see Meade & Associates listed on your credit report as a collections account. This can happen if you didn’t pay a bill.
Who does Meade and Associates collect for?
Meade and Associates specializes in collecting debts for companies in the following industries:
- colleges & universities
- commercial debt
- banking institutions
- service providers
- utilities
- veterinarians
Is Meade and Associates legit or a scam?
Meade and Associates is a legitimate debt collection company. They were most likely assigned your debt (or bought your debt) from one of the companies they work with. However, just because they are legit, doesn’t mean you actually owe them anything. Keep reading to learn more.
How can I remove Meade & Associates from my credit report?
Meade & Associates collections can hurt your credit score and remain on your credit report for up to seven years regardless of whether you pay it or not. Unfortunately, paying the collection could even lower your credit score.
However, it is possible to remove a collection account from your credit history before seven years.
(Debt collectors prefer that we didn’t tell you this, but it’s something you should know.)
Lexington Law Firm is a credit repair company that helps people fix their credit.
In addition to collections, Lexington Law can also help you remove other inaccurate information such as inquiries, late payments, charge-offs, foreclosures, repossessions, judgments, liens, and bankruptcies from your credit report.
Call Lexington Law now to learn more: (800) 220-0084
Meade & Associates, Inc. Contact Information
Address:
Meade & Associates, Inc.
737 Enterprise Drive
Lewis Center, OH 43035
Phone number: (800) 686-3233 or (614) 436-6160
Should I contact or pay Meade & Associates, Inc.?
Nothing good can come from speaking to a collection agency on the phone. And making payments on the debt will reset the clock. So instead of helping your credit, it could make it worse. Of course, there are times when it’s best to just pay the collection account, especially if it’s new, and you’re certain that it’s legit.
The best way to handle this is to work with a credit repair professional. They delete millions of negative items every year from companies like Meade and Associates for millions of clients nationwide.
And they may be able to help you too.
Will Meade & Associates, Inc. sue me or garnish my wages?
In their attempt to collect a debt, a collection agency may resort to litigation. However, if you work with a law firm like Lexington Law, you have nothing to worry about. They will help you dispute the collection account with the credit bureaus and possibly remove it from your credit report. It’s also quite possible that you will never hear from or have to deal with Meade and Associates again.
Call Lexington Law to learn how they can help you avoid lawsuits and remove negative items from your credit report that will significantly improve your credit scores.
Wage Garnishment
Some states allow wage garnishment, while others do not. It is important to note that if you are in a state that does not allow wage garnishment, it is illegal for a debt collector to threaten to garnish your wages.
It is also illegal for Meade and Associates to make any claims they cannot or will not follow through on—this includes threatening to sue you or foreclose on your home.
Is Meade and Associates hurting my credit score?
The missed payments that led to the collection harm your credit score. A collection account on your credit report further reduces your ability to qualify for new credit.
Debt collectors often buy and sell debt from one another, which can lead to multiple collections on your credit reports for the same account.
When this happens, if you don’t dispute the accounts with the credit bureaus and get them all removed, they will harm your credit score.
Meade & Associates, Inc. Complaints
Most collection agencies have numerous complaints filed against them with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Most consumer complaints are about inaccurate reporting, harassment, or failure to verify a debt. If a debt collector is harassing you, you may want to consider filing a complaint.
You have many consumer rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Lexington Law knows that you have rights, and Meade and Associates does too.
Your Rights When Dealing with Meade & Associates, Inc.
Debt collectors must abide by state and federal laws in the United States. For example, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits a debt collector from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices. In addition, the FDCPA provides you with many rights to ensure that collection agencies don’t take advantage of you. In particular:
- It is a violation of federal law for Meade & Associates to report inaccurate or incomplete information on your credit report.
- You have a legal right to request debt validation on an alleged debt. Send the collection agency a debt validation letter. By law, they have 30 days to prove to you that the debt is really yours and the total amount is accurate.
- Meade & Associates may not threaten or harass you, call you repeatedly, swear at you, or publicly publish a list of debtors.
- Meade & Associates must be honest about who they are and what they are attempting to do. They must notify you that they are a collection agency both orally and in writing.
- Meade & Associates cannot threaten to have you arrested, and they are not allowed to threaten to take legal action if they have no intention of doing so.
Remove Meade & Associates From Your Credit Report Today!
Lexington Law specializes in disputing Meade & Associates collection accounts. They have over 18 years of experience and have removed over 7 million negative items for their clients in 2020 alone.
If you’re looking for a reputable company to help you with collection accounts and repair your credit, consider working with Lexington Law.
You can give them a call at (800) 220-0084 for a free credit consultation. They have helped many people in your situation and have paralegals standing by waiting to take your call.
