Westlake Financial Services is the largest privately-held finance company in the United States. They specialize in the acquisition and servicing of auto loan contracts. You may see them listed on your credit report as a collections account.
Which Are The WestLake Services?
Avoid phone calls. Avoid speaking with collection agencies over the phone. Let them know as little about you as possible.
Inform them that you require all documents to be written. Request a letter containing the original debt details, then hang up. Report their illegal activities to the local police department.
- Record your phone conversations. If you need to work with a collection agency over the phone, save it. Across all 35 states and the District of Columbia, you can secretly record your phone conversations.
- In the other 15 states, you can register with the permission of the other party. If you tell the collection agency you’re going to record it and they keep talking, that’s considered consent. They usually turn off.
- Don’t believe what they say. Debt collectors are notorious for making false threats, lying, and telling everything they need to do to pay off debt.
- Don’t try to hide money. It is illegal to hide money or property from a legitimate collection agency that you owe. However, it is also best to avoid accessing your bank account or credit card information.
- Do not apply for new lines of credit. It is also considered fraudulent to apply for new lines of credit when you cannot pay your current creditors.
- Don’t ignore them. Despite your best efforts, ignoring the situation will not solve the problem. If you don’t, be prepared for a possible lawsuit.
- Know your state’s statute of limitations. There is a deadline for debt collection in every state. When your debt reaches a certain age, it is considered “zombie debt” and you are no longer legally obligated to pay it. Depending on the state, an individual must be between 4-6 years old.
The collection agency can still contact you about these debts, but they can no longer process you and you don’t have to pay them.