How To Remove EOS CCA From Your Credit Report

If you owe a debt that’s gone unpaid for some time, you may have received phone calls from a debt collector.

If your debt has been turned over to a debt collection agency, your original creditor will stop trying to collect from you. Instead, a collection company like EOS CCA will contact you to collect the debt.

What is EOS CCA?

EOS CCA is a collections agency located in Norwell, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. It was founded in 1991 by Paul E. Leary Sr. as Collecto, Inc., dba Collection Company of America — the source of the initials CCA.

EOS CCA is part of the EOS group of companies.^[1] Most EOS companies are located in Europe, with many of those in Germany. EOS CCA is the only one based in the United States.^[2]

The company website says calls about notifications should be made to 1-877-395-5997 and those previously in contact with EOS CCA who have concerns about the experience may submit inquiries using this form. It says inquiries will receive a response within 10 business days and notes that, in order to ensure compliance with federal and state laws regarding debt collection, it is unable to respond to or discuss issues and disputes via email.^[3]

Contact information:

• Website: https://www.eos-cca.com
• Phone numbers:
  • 1-877-395-5997
  • 1-800-886-9177
• Fax: 1-781-681-4358
• Headquarters address: 700 Longwater Dr., Norwell, Massachusetts 02061
• Mailing address: PO Box 329, Norwell, MA 02061

Is EOS CCA a legitimate company?

EOS CCA is a legitimate debt collection company with an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (although it is not BBB accredited).^[4]

EOS CCA specializes in collection services. It describes itself as a “premier agency for all stages of receivables management.” Originally known as CCA, the company name was changed to EOS CCA in 2009. Since 2001, it has been the U.S.-based arm of the EOS Group, “a worldwide accounts receivable collection and financial services provider.”^[5]

The company’s mission includes recovering debts such as personal loans, debts owed to student loan providers, credit card debt, or any other unpaid debt. Its goal is to resolve these outstanding debt issues.

Credit bureaus are required to investigate disputes and forward information to the debt collector.

EOS CCA may appear on your credit report under a number of different names, including:

• EOS-CCA
• EOS CCA Collection
• EOS CCA Rochester New York
• EOS CCA Verizon

How to remove EOS CCA from your credit report

There are multiple ways you can seek to remove EOS CCA from your credit report, some of which you can pursue if you believe the negative mark has appeared as the result of an error, and some of which involve appealing to and negotiating with the company.

See a more general article about removing collections from your credit report.

Request debt validation from EOS

If you believe EOS CCA has made a mistake and is trying to collect a debt you don’t owe, you can ask for a written debt validation letter. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the company is required to send you one within five days of first contacting you.

Under federal law (15 U.S. Code § 1692g), a validation letter from a debt collector must include how much you owe as well as the name of the original creditor. The collection agency — in this case, EOS CCA — must also inform you that in the case of a dispute, it will obtain verification of the debt, and that if you don’t dispute the information in writing within 30 days. The debt collector shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the debt collector obtains verification of the debt.^[6]

If you paid off a collections account and it is still showing an unpaid debt, gather documentation and verify that you’ve paid it off.

Send them a dispute letter

If a debt is still on your credit report after it has been resolved, if you never owed it in the first place, or if you think you might be a victim of identity theft, you can file a dispute with the credit bureaus.

Collect evidence that you’ve paid off the debt, such as receipts or letters from the creditor confirming this. If you’ve been the victim of fraud, include a copy of the police report or Federal Trade Commission identity theft report.

Keep in mind that if the account was paid off recently, it can take from 30 to 45 days to see the updated status.

See more about fixing errors on a credit report.

Request goodwill deletion

A goodwill deletion is an action taken by a creditor to remove an old debt from your credit report. You can request a goodwill deletion after paying the debt by contacting EOS CCA and explaining:

1. Any extenuating circumstances that led to a delay in paying the debt, such as a job furlough or healthcare emergency.
2. That you have resolved the debt and, in the time since, have remained current on your bill payments.

If you’re successful, EOS CCA will respond to your request by deleting the collection account from the three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion).

There’s no guarantee the company will honor a goodwill request. It’s entirely up to them, so be sure you’re cordial in making your request to maximize your likelihood of success.

Write a pay-for-delete letter

If EOS CCA has verified that you have not paid the debt, you can offer a pay-for-delete agreement letter. This is a letter in which you offer to pay the debt in exchange for EOS CCA removing the collection information from your credit report.

Since EOS CCA wants to get paid, the company may be open to deleting the collection account on your credit report if you pay your debt.

Reach out to a credit repair company

If you don’t feel like you’re equipped to handle these issues on your own, you can reach out to a credit repair company for help. Keep in mind that a credit repair company can’t delete accurate information from your credit history.

In fact, you can do anything for free that a credit repair company does in exchange for a fee — and sometimes you can do it better. A goodwill deletion letter that comes directly from you may feel more personal than anything produced by a credit repair company.

While EOS CCA isn’t a scam, some credit repair companies are considered scams. Be wary if they ask you to pay up front, guarantee results, or promise you a fresh start by asking you to buy a CPN or “credit profile number.”

Anyone trying to sell you one of these is likely selling you someone else’s Social Security number (often belonging to a child or someone who’s been incarcerated), and engaging in identity theft. If you use one, you’ll be guilty of criminal activity, too.

See our full articles about avoiding credit repair scams and the difference between credit repair and building credit.

Will EOS CCA sue me and garnish my wages?

The short answer is EOS CCA can sue you, but the longer answer is, it depends.

If EOS CCA takes you to court, they may be able to use a judgment against you to garnish your wages.

There are limits to how much they can take. Under Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA), weekly garnishment can’t exceed the lesser of two figures: 25% of your disposable earnings or the amount by which those earnings are greater than 30 times the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.^[7]

For example, if your disposable earnings are $7.25 x 30, or $217.50, no wage garnishment would be permitted. If your income is more than that but less than $290 — or $7.25 x 40 (the point at which the full 25% figure kicks in), the amount above $217.50 could be garnished. Above the $290 figure, 25% could be garnished.^[7]

Which state you live in also matters. Four states don’t allow wage garnishment of consumer debt at all: Pennsylvania, Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina. Others simply follow the federal standard, but the majority have their own standards, often based on their own, higher minimum wages.^[8]

Complaints Against EOS CCA

You may have seen poor reviews or numerous complaints filed against EOS CCA with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Most complaints concern allegations of inaccurate reporting, harassment of an individual to get them to repay a debt or failure to verify a debt.

In 2015, the CFPB filed a federal complaint against the company for reporting and collecting old cellphone debt that had been disputed by consumers and which the company failed to verify. According to the CFPB, the company also “provided inaccurate information to credit reporting companies about the debt and failed to correct reported information that it had determined was inaccurate.”^[9]

The CFPB consent order levied more than $2.5 million against EOS CCA, including $743,000 in refunds and a $1.85 million civil money penalty.^[9]

The Better Business Bureau reported receiving 215 complaints in the past three years and 74 in the past 12 months regarding EOS CCA.^[4] Four reviews appear on the BBB website, each of which gives the company one star on a scale of 1 to 5.^[10]

The FDCPA states that debt collection agencies can’t engage in harassing behavior by calling you repeatedly, using obscene language, or threatening you with physical violence or loss of property or reputation. They also can’t falsely claim to be an attorney or law officer or threaten any legal action they don’t intend to pursue. ^[11]

If you believe any of these things has occurred, consider filing a complaint.

Know your options

If you notice an EOS CCA item on your credit report, it’s not a scam. The company is a legitimate collection agency. But that doesn’t mean you’re without options.

If the item on your credit report is an error, you can dispute it, and even if it’s not, you can attempt to have it removed by writing a goodwill letter or pay-for-delete letter.

Remember that you have rights under federal law. The company must provide you with a credit validation letter, and it can’t harass or threaten you while attempting to collect a debt. Even if it’s successful in garnishing your wages, there’s a limit to what it can take from you.

If you know your options and your rights, you don’t have to feel helpless in the face of debt collectors like EOS CCA.

Sources

1. EOS. “EOS is my stroke of luck,” https://web.archive.org/web/20110105073102/http://www.eos-solutions.com/en/eos-group/about-us/eos-a-success-story/wie-eos-entstand/. Accessed September 15, 2021.
2. EOS. “Facts and figures about the companies,” https://web.archive.org/web/20110103144756/http://www.eos-solutions.com/en/eos-group/the-companies/?no_cache=1. Accessed September 15, 2021.
3. EOS CCA. “Contact Us,” https://www.eos-cca.com/Contact-Us.aspx. Accessed September 15, 2021.
4. Better Business Bureau. “Business Profile EOS CCA,” https://www.bbb.org/us/ma/norwell/profile/collections-agencies/eos-cca-1126-1000031134. Accessed September 15, 2021.
5. EOS CCA. “About EOS CCA,” https://www.eos-cca.com/Resources/About-EOS-CCA.aspx. Accessed September 15, 2021.
6. Cornell Law School. “15 U.S. Code § 1692g - Validation of debts,” https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1692g. Accessed September 15, 2021.
7. U.S. Department of Labor. “Fact Sheet #30: The Federal Wage Garnishment Law, Consumer Credit Protection Act's Title III (CCPA),” https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/30-cppa. Accessed September 15, 2021.
8. The Ascent. “Which States Are Protecting Citizens From Wage Garnishment?” https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/research/states-wage-garnishment. Accessed September 15, 2021.
9. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “CFPB Takes Action Against Debt Collector for Pursuing Disputed and Unverified Cellphone Debts,” https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-takes-action-against-debt-collector-for-pursuing-disputed-and-unverified-cellphone-debts/. Accessed September 15, 2021.
10. Better Business Bureau. “Customer Reviews Collection Co of America,” https://www.bbb.org/us/ma/norwell/profile/collections-agencies/collection-co-of-america-0021-42183/customer-reviews. Accessed September 15, 2021.
11. Federal Trade Commission. “Fair Debt Collection Practices Act,” https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings/fair-debt-collection-practices-act-text. Accessed September 15, 2021.

About the author

Jeff Smith is the VP of Marketing at Self Financial. See his profile on LinkedIn.

About the reviewer

Ana Gonzalez Ribeiro, MBA, AFC® is an Accredited Financial Counselor® and a Bilingual Personal Finance Writer and Educator dedicated to helping populations that need financial literacy and counseling. Her informative articles have been published in various news outlets and websites including Huffington Post, Fidelity, Fox Business News, MSN and Yahoo Finance. She also founded the personal financial and motivational site www.AcetheJourney.com and translated into Spanish the book, Financial Advice for Blue Collar America by Kathryn B. Hauer, CFP. Ana teaches Spanish or English personal finance courses on behalf of the W!SE (Working In Support of Education) program has taught workshops for nonprofits in NYC.