Weber and Olcese on Your Credit Report? Fight Back and Win

Weber Olcese, also known as WeberOlcese, is a company that might call you, yet you’re unfamiliar with the name. It’s also possible you’ve checked your credit only to find negative information reported by this company.

If you’re experiencing stress in dealing with Weber & Olcese, or you’re wondering why they’re trying to contact you, it’s important to take the right steps to deal with the situation.

What Is Weber Olcese?

Weber Olcese is a law firm founded in 1996 to focus on debt collection. Companies will hire Weber Olcese as a third-party debt collector. The firm doesn’t originate debt or accounts, but companies that do will outsource collections to do them. This is why it’s known as a third-party debt collection agency.

Is Weber Olcese Legitimate?

Weber Olcese is a legitimate debt collection firm. The company is a member of organizations like the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys (NARCA) and the American Collection Association.

Based in Birmingham, Michigan, while this company isn’t a scam, there are numerous consumer complaints against them.

Who Does Weber Olcese Collect For?

Weber Olcese collects mostly for retail businesses and also works with commercial debts. 

Why Is Weber Olcese Calling Me?

This company is calling you because they are trying to collect a debt from you, or they might be contacting you about a debt that a member of your family owes.

What to Know About Debt Collection

There’s a law in the United States, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and this law determines how debt collectors must behave and what they can and can’t do. Key parts of this include:

• The FDCPA covers medical bills, credit card debt, student loans, mortgages, and other types of household debt.
• Debt collectors can’t contact you earlier than 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. unless you agree.
• If you tell a debt collector you can’t get calls at work, they can’t try to reach you there.
• Debt collectors can’t use harassment such as repeatedly calling you to annoy you, using profanity, or threatening you.
• For example, a collector can’t lie by telling you they’re an attorney from the government or that you’ll be arrested or take legal action against you if it’s not true.

A debt collector can file a lawsuit against you, and they can garnish money from your paycheck, but they have to get a court order first. Collectors can also try to get court orders to take money directly from your bank account. Because of the high stakes, working with an FCRA attorney can help you protect your rights and avoid worst-case-scenario outcomes.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is another federal law that focuses primarily on how your credit history and information are used and maintained and how it can be accessed. Because of the FCRA, you have other rights when it comes to debt-related information.

A big one is that you have the right to dispute inaccurate information, whether fully or partially. The company a dispute is submitted to has to legally do an investigation within 30 days, report the findings, and then remove or update wrong information.

While this is the law, companies might not be responsive when consumers try to dispute things on their own, which is why contacting an FCRA attorney is a good first step.

The FCRA also has guidelines on the removal of old, negative debt information.

What if You Don't Owe the Debt Weber Olcese Is Calling About?

One of the main reasons to file a dispute with a debt collector is when you believe there’s an error. Errors are common. Recently in a study, more than one-third of people asked to review their credit reports found errors.

Errors can happen both as far as the information a debt collector is contacting you about and also on your actual credit report.

Examples of errors include:

• Sharing a similar name.

By far, the most common reason for debt collection errors is when two people share a name that’s similar.

• Wrong information passed onto a debt collector.

When they’re hired to collect for an original creditor or buy a debt package, debt collection agencies might get the wrong information. The original creditor might not have known whether the debt was inaccurate, and the collection agency doesn’t have much of a way to know either.

• Identity theft

When someone is an identity theft victim, they often aren’t even aware until they start to get past-due notices in the mail or phone calls from Weber Olcese or another debt collector.

• Being listed as an account holder when you’re an authorized user.

Another reason a debt collector could be calling about a debt that’s wrong is that you might only be an authorized user on an account. For example, authorized users are allowed to make charges on a card and may have their own card, but they’re not responsible for payments therefore, they aren’t responsible for unpaid debt.

• The debt is old

Even if the debt was originally correct, it’s supposed to fall off your credit report after seven years usually. Chapter 7 bankruptcies can stay on for 10 years. You might be getting calls about a debt older than this. The statute of limitations on debt sets a time within which a debt collector can also take action for something that’s not repaid. In most states, it’s three to six years.

Removing Weber Olcese From Your Credit Report

If you’re getting calls from Weber Olcese or see them listed on your credit report, you have to be careful in how you deal with them. You could inadvertently restart the statute of limitations on a debt by making a payment or agreeing to pay. You might not even feel like the debt is yours, yet you still accidentally restart the statute of limitations on an old debt if you try to contact a collector on your own.

Instead, before doing anything and even speaking to a debt collector, if you haven’t yet, call an FCRA attorney. If you are going to dispute a debt, they can do it on your behalf.

Fair Credit is a team of FCRA attorneys, and we offer free case reviews, so reach out today and stop worrying about Weber Olcese.