Eastern Account System Collection Account? Here's How to Dispute It

Who Is Eastern Account System?

Eastern Account System, Inc. is a third-party debt collection agency based in Danbury, Connecticut, in business since 1986. It collects on behalf of original creditors — primarily telecommunications carriers, utility companies, and healthcare providers — rather than purchasing debt itself. Being contacted by, or seeing an account reported by, a third-party collector like this does not by itself mean the debt is accurate or that they have the legal right to collect it.

Also known as: Eastern Account System of Connecticut, Inc.

What Eastern Account System usually collects

• Phone and cable bills
• Utility bills
• Healthcare bills

What to ask Eastern Account System

Eastern Account System collects for someone else, so ask:

• who it's collecting for (the company that owns the debt now)
• how the amount was figured, with an itemized balance
• whether it has the surety bond on file with the Texas Secretary of State that third-party collectors need before collecting in Texas (Texas Finance Code § 392.101)

A certified letter creates a record of exactly what you asked, and when.

If this is a phone, internet, utility or insurance bill

These are often a final bill: an early-termination fee, a charge for equipment that wasn't returned, or a premium for the days before a policy was cancelled. Ask for the final bill, the dates service started and ended, and any equipment-return record, and compare them with what you remember.

Your rights, in short

• Ask them to validate it. Under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, if you dispute a debt in writing within 30 days of the collector's first notice to you, it has to stop collecting until it mails you verification of the debt. You can still dispute in writing after that; it just doesn't require the pause.
• A disputed debt has to be reported as disputed. A collector can't report information it knows is false, and if it reports a debt you've disputed, it has to say it's disputed.
• Texas adds its own rules. The Texas Debt Collection Act (Texas Finance Code ch. 392) bans misrepresenting the amount or character of a debt, and third-party collectors have to be bonded with the Texas Secretary of State.
• Don't ignore a lawsuit. A collection account on your report is different from being sued. If you've been served, there's a court deadline; talk to a consumer protection attorney right away.

Whether an account gets corrected or removed depends on the account and how Eastern Account System responds. No one can remove accurate, current, verifiable information.