How to deal with Avante USA

 Avante USA is an established debt collection agency in the United States. They have been in business since 2003 and operate across the United States. They act as agents for original creditors and debt buyers. Apparently, they do not purchase or sell debt.

Just like dealing with any debt collector, be prepared. Verify that you owe the debt, that the company does not harass you, and that you have the right tools to settle your debt. 

What is Avante USA? Are they real or a scam?

Avante USA is not a scam. It is a real debt collection agency. They act as agents for creditors and aggressively pursue collections for original lenders and also for debt buyers.  They represent credit card and retail card companies, auto lenders, health care providers, utility and telecommunication providers. They pursue collection accounts for original creditors (1st-party accounts), which are generally recently delinquent, and debt buyers (3rd-party accounts), which charged-off.

Do you owe AvanteUSA money?

Avante USA represents many original and third-party creditors.  Your credit may show the name of the original creditor or debt buyer. Because Avante USA does not own the debt, their name does not usually show up on the credit report.

However, there are various reasons that you may not owe the original creditor or the current owner of the debt money. For example, the debt may not belong to you, the statute of limitations expired, or you already paid off the debt.

Step 1 - Validate your debt.

If Avante USA contacts you to collect a debt - validate it. Once contacted, you have 30 days to validate the debt, so act quickly. The best method is to send a registered letter. Before you proceed with the collection agency, always validate the debt.

The law obligates AvanteUSA Ltd. to validate the debt. If you don’t receive proper validation, then send a notice of insufficient validations. If the collection agency cannot validate the debt, it has no legal basis to collect it.

>>Learn more: Follow the steps described in the Bills.com debt validation article to preserve your rights under the FDCPA.

 Step 2 - Check to see if the Statute of Limitations (SOL) is valid.

State laws set the time that a creditor can sue you and collect on the debt. The rules are complex and not easy to understand. In the case that Avante USA is an agent for an original creditor, generally, once the SOL expires, it can still pursue a lawsuit. However, if the debt belongs to a third party, then once the SOL expires, it cannot pursue a lawsuit. 

Even if you think that the SOL expired, the creditor may have a different opinion on the expiration date and pursue a lawsuit against you. It is always wise to respond to a lawsuit. In the case of an expired SOL, you must answer any summons and claim an affirmative defense.

Even if they don't pursue a lawsuit, the debt collection agency has the right to contact and get you to pay or negotiate a settlement. 

>> Learn more: Learn more about states' laws regarding statute of limitations.

Stop Avante USA from debt collection harassment.

Debt collectors often are highly aggressive in their collection tactics. Although The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act strictly regulates debt collection agencies, like AvanteUSA, it has many harassment complaints.

Here are some of the actions that they are forbidden to do:

• Contact a Consumer at Work
• Call at an unreasonable time such as before 8:00 AM or after 9:00 PM
• Seek Unjustifiable Amounts
• Use the Telephone to Annoy or Harass
• Use Abusive or Threatening Language
• Threaten Arrest
• Contact a relative, friend, or colleague who doesn’t own the debt

If you believe Avante USA violated your rights under the FDCPA, consult with a consumer rights attorney in your area. Discuss possibly filing a lawsuit against the collection agency; not only could a lawsuit result in the cancellation of your debt, but you could be awarded damages.

Learn how to negotiate your debt with Avante USA

AvanteUSA will contact you, hoping to receive a payment on your debt.  As agents for the debt, they are interested in closing the file as quickly as possible. If you are suffering a financial hardship, then it might be possible to negotiate a large settlement. This is especially true if it is an older debt owned by a third-party debt buyer and not the original creditor.

It is possible to do negotiations on your own. However, dealing with an aggressive debt collector,  especially with aggressive lawyers, is stressful. It takes a significant amount of time and effort. It is helpful if you convince them that you are in a hardship. Here are three tips: Be calm, clear, and convincing. Be persistent. Send a debt negotiation letter.

If you have a large debt and financial hardship, consider using a professional debt negotiation company. Reputable debt settlement companies have large teams of negotiators, vast databases, and sophisticated tools. They know what range original creditors and collection agencies have accepted for payments in the past. A professional can reach a negotiated settlement with your debt collection agency quickly.

Complaints and lawsuits about Avante USA

Avante USA has complaints registered in the BBB and the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) like most collection agencies.

While Avante USA is not a scam, the BBB does have this warning on their website:

"Pattern of Complaint: Since March of 2016, the BBB of Houston & South Texas has received numerous complaints that exhibit the pattern below: It is alleged by consumers of AvanteUSA, the company is reaching out to consumers and/or their family members in regards to old debts. The consumers allege the company is attempting to collect on debts previously paid to other companies. Additionally, many consumers have stated AvanteUSA is reporting inaccurate and/or outdated information on their credit reports without initially notifying the consumer of the debt. It is also being alleged AvanteUSA has not provided verification of debt before placing it on one's credit report. In addition to the above allegations, many consumers are also reporting they have never been contacted by AvanteUSA in regards to an outstanding debt; it is only until they pull their credit report they find the company listed as a collection. This same pattern is still occurring in complaints received in 2021.

The CFPB has complaints about collecting a debt that the consumer didn’t owe, harassment, and impersonating an attorney, law enforcement, or government official. The complaints themselves are not proof of illegal or improper activities, although an excellent source to learn about how consumers perceive the interactions and problems they have with the debt collection agencies.

Here is a couple of example of complaints from the CFPB website:

False statements or representation "I have numerous amounts on my credit report some for over {$700.00} and one for over {$1000.00} as well as some under {$100.00} I have called the hospital where they claim I owe and I have a {$0.00} balance and they dont know why Im getting charged when I have Medicaid and they were supposed to cover it! I havent received any bills either the only why I know about them is when they show up on my credit report".

Communication tactics "Receive multiple calls a day, not every day, but on the days they do call there are two or three calls. They won't say who they are until I verify specific personal information ( DOB, SSN, address, etc. ) which I will not do. They will not stop calling, I have asked them to not call, send mail. I have told them they do not have the right number, they still call. I block the number, they call from a different one. It really has to stop- I work and these calls are disruptive". 

Deal with an Avante USA lawsuit

Although AvanteUSA Ltd has the right to pursue a lawsuit in some circumstances, they cannot make empty threats to sue you when making a collection call. Depending on the events, they, or the debt owner, might start a lawsuit and pursue obtaining a public judgment leading to liens on personal property, wage garnishments, or bank levies. 

If a lawsuit is filed against you, consult with a lawyer in your state with consumer law experience. You must file an answer to their summons and complaint or risk losing the lawsuit by default. Ignoring a summons will not make it go away, so take action to respond to the lawsuit.

 Can you remove Avante USA from your credit report?

AvanteUSA may appear as an inquiry on your credit report.  Because they do not purchase debt, their name should not appear as the owner of any account identified on your credit report.

Most accurate negative tradelines remain on your credit report for seven years from the delinquency date. Bankruptcies remain for ten years, and judgments can remain for even longer if the creditor renews them.

It is possible to remove inaccurate data relating to the original creditor or a third-party owner of the debt. In that case, it is possible to file a dispute with the Credit Reporting Agencies and have the negative items removed from your credit report.

>> Learn more: Learn how to dispute a credit report.