Who Exactly is Sunrise Debt Collector and How Should You Handle Them?

When it comes to collections, there are many companies out there that will handle overdue accounts for other businesses. Sunrise debt collectors are one of them and they aren't new to this business either.

Who are they and why should you turn to DNP if you feel their debt collection practices aren't following proper protocol?

Who is Sunrise Debt Collector?

Sunrise Credit Services is a debt collector that works on behalf of many companies to settle overdue accounts. They're based in New York and handle the accounts management services of some of the big businesses in the area. They've worked for banks, dealt with retail store credit cards, and college tuitions.

It's a family-owned business that has offered its debt collecting services for about 35 years. Sunrise is also an accredited business and has been since 2012.

Is Sunrise Debt Collectors a Legitimate Business or Is It a Scam?

According to the Better Business Bureau, Sunrise Credit Services is a legitimate business with an A rating. The reason why people wonder if it's a scam or not is that they have over 200 complaints filed against them on the BBB website. Customer reviews show a rating of 1.09 stars out of a possible five.

Some of the reports filed, claim that the company places a ding on your credit report with no verification of the debt, which the users of the site say they don't have. Some of the accounts debtors had with a company were paid off months before, but the ding on the credit report remains, despite the debtor requesting them to take care of it, and confirm it.

Others said they were:

• Unprofessional
• Rude and angry
• Inconsistent in their answers regarding the debt resolution

The BBB website shows that some of the cases have been sufficiently resolved, but there remain many that haven't.

Do Consumers Have any Rights When it Comes to Sunrise Debt Collectors?

The answer is yes. Consumers are protected under what's called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The law went into place to keep debt collectors from using abusive actions, threats, and other unscrupulous practices to collect a debt for a company. While it doesn't cover any debts from businesses or organizations, it does protect individuals with car loans, mortgages, credit cards, and medical bills that they fell behind on.

This law states that collectors can't:

1. Contact any family members or workplace (depending on the state)
2. Contact you after receiving a demand letter for communications to stop
3. Threaten you to get you to pay
4. Contact you outside of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

As far as the number of times they can call, send letters, email, or send texts, there is no restriction. Unless you've requested, in writing, to no longer receive communications. Other rights you have would include:

• The right to put a pause on the debt until verification can be made
• Keeping your debt account private to others who may answer your phone
• Right to negotiate the debt, if appropriate

How to Respond When You've been Contacted by Sunrise Debt Collectors

The first contact from Sunrise debt collectors should be in writing with all the information you need. If they call you first, ask for written communication before you'll talk to them on the phone. If you've been contacted by Sunrise credit services, the first thing you should do is to verify that they are who they say they are.

The last thing you want to do is to give away sensitive, personal information to someone who isn't the company they claimed they were. Ask for the name, the address, and the main phone number so you can reference it with their website if possible.

When you've done that, you'll want to request a verification letter to verify that the debt is yours and the amount it's for. You'll also want to request that the debt be put on hold until the verification comes through. You'll want to know who the creditor is and when the debt was placed in collections.

Once you've verified the debt, you can discuss the account with them. Call them first using the number on their site, just to be safe. Try to negotiate the price, if possible, to bring the amount down to a more manageable level. If you agree on a certain amount, ask immediately to get it in writing, before you do anything else.

When you get that, you can pay the debt off, or pay it in installments, depending on the agreement. You can also just refuse to make the payment if you don't feel the debt is really yours.

What Can Happen Should You Chose to Ignore them?

It's never a good idea to ignore any debt collector. The debt, if it's yours, won't go away just because you ignore the phone calls and letters. If you do choose not to respond to them, they can put that debt on your credit reports, causing your score to go down, which will make getting a loan or mortgage difficult in the future.

Also, it could lead to a lawsuit to collect the debt. If you don't show up when the day of the hearing comes, you will likely lose, giving the debt collector the chance to put a garnish on your wages or to seize money from your bank accounts. This would eliminate any chances of getting the debt amount or interest reduced.

Use DoNotPay When dealing With Sunrise Debt Collectors

Dealing with Sunrise Credit Services yourself is difficult when you're not sure what all your rights are when it comes to debt collections. DoNotPay is skilled at identifying any illegal practices a debt collector may be doing, and we can report the best way to handle it.

Here are three easy steps:

1. Search “debt collection” on DoNotPay.

2. Answer a series of questions about the debt collectors, including when you were contacted and how you were contacted, so we can determine if they have violated any debt collection laws.

3. Decide which course of action you want to take based on our guidance, such as filing a debt verification request, demanding for the collectors to stop contacting you, or reporting them to the CFPB.

And that’s it! You can simply decide what plan of action you want to take, and then let us do the rest. We can send the demand letter or we can help you file a complaint to the right agencies for illegal practices on the part of Sunrise Credit Services if any are found.

You can also check out our other credit products, including Credit Limit Increase and Clean Credit Report!

Want to See What Else DoNotPay Can Help You With?

DoNotPay can help you with any need you have in regards to handling debt collectors. Some areas we can help with are:

• Teaching you how to negotiate with debt collectors
• How to write a dispute letter to a debt collector
• Learn how often a debt collector could take you to court
• Learn how to deal with debt collectors
• What statute of limitations on debt by state
• Find out if a debt collector can take your stimulus check
• Find out how long debt collectors can try to collect on a debt
• Learn about medical debt collection
• Learn what ERC debt collection is

DoNotPay can help with it all. We know the best methods to handle debt collectors that are not respecting your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. You give us the information needed and we'll take care of the rest.