Are you seeing Viking Client Services on your credit report? Are you getting collection calls from them? If so, this is your guide.
We will walk you through who Viking Client Services is, why they are on your credit report, and most importantly, how to remove them. You have the right to an accurate credit report and we will show you how to take advantage of that right.
Who is Viking Client Services?
When you see an unknown company on your credit report or calling you on the phone, it is natural to wonder, who is this company? What are they doing on my report? Viking Client Services is a debt collection agency that has been calling consumers and placing accounts on credit reports for over 50 years. Knowing who they are is the first step to getting them off your report.
Company Name: Viking Client Services, LLC (also known as Viking Billing Services)
Address: 10050 Crosstown Circle, Suite 300, Eden Prairie, MN 55344-3344
Phone Numbers: (952) 944-7575, (800) 767-7895, (800) 201-0050
Years in Business: August 1, 1973 (52 years)
Contact: Contact form at vikingservice.com/contact
NMLS Number: 954098
Car Rental Damage Claims Are Their Specialty
Viking Client Services is not a large debt collection agency that buys portfolios of debt. Instead, they are a niche debt collector that focuses on collecting damage claims for rental car companies like Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty, Avis, and Budget.
This specialization defines their business model. They know the rental car business and have a concentrated expertise in that area. This means they have specific weaknesses that consumers can take advantage of.
The company has between 181 and 325 employees and generates approximately $36 million in annual revenue. They are licensed to collect debts in all 50 states and are members of ACA International and Receivables Management Association International.
They have been named as a defendant in over 60 federal lawsuits and in 2023, agreed to pay $1,087,250 to settle the DeNicolo class-action lawsuit that alleged they violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The company denied the allegations and settled the case.
Why is Viking Client Services on My Credit Report?
The Car Rental Damage Claim Process
Have you ever wondered how rental car companies place a damage claim on your credit report? You return a rental car and think everything is fine until you receive a letter a few weeks or months later stating you owe them for damages.
By the time Viking Client Services is involved, the rental car company has already decided you are liable for the damages. They have already made an internal decision and are now using a collection agency to pursue you for payment.
This puts the consumer at a disadvantage. The rental car company has all the documentation. They have the inspection reports, the photos, the repair estimates, and the rental agreement. You have your memory of the rental and maybe a receipt that shows you returned the car.
When Viking Client Services contacts you, they have the documentation and you are trying to piece together what happened.
In one complaint filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the consumer stated, “I received a claim for damages from a rental car company through Viking Client Services six months after returning the vehicle. The photos they sent show damage to the other side of the vehicle than they claimed and the mileage is 600 miles more than when I returned it and the gas gauge shows the car at a quarter of a tank and I returned it with a full tank.”
This is a clear example of the documentation disparity between the rental car company and the consumer.
The Danger of Paying a Collection Account
Collection agencies rely on your fear of urgency. They want you to pay the account as soon as possible and are hoping you do not take the time to verify the debt.
It is a known fact that a large percentage of credit reports contain errors. According to a U.S. PIRGs study, 79% of credit reports contain errors or serious errors. If you have a collection account on your report, the odds are pretty good that something is wrong with it.
If you pay it without verifying it, you are accepting their version of events as fact.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) shows that Viking Client Services has had 78 complaints filed in the last three years and only 12.8% of those were resolved to the satisfaction of the consumer. This means 87% of people that complained about Viking Client Services were not satisfied with the outcome.
What Happens When You Pay Viking Client Services?
Paying a Collection Account Does Not Mean it Will Be Removed
Many consumers incorrectly believe that if they pay a collection account, it will be removed from their credit report. Nothing could be further from the truth.
When you pay a collection account, the account is updated to show it as paid, but it does not remove it from your report. The account will stay on your report for up to seven years from the original delinquency date.
When the account goes on your report and shows as unpaid, that is when the damage is done. Paying it later does not fix the damage that has already been done.
In fact, most scoring models do not even take into account whether the account has been paid or not. They only see that the account went into collection. You are paying money for a name change, but it does not impact your creditworthiness.
Some consumers try to send a goodwill letter to the collection agency asking them to remove the account from their credit report as a goodwill gesture for paying the account. Most collection agencies ignore such requests.
They are in the debt collection business and reporting to the credit bureaus is their leverage to get consumers to pay. If they offered to remove accounts for everyone that paid, they would lose their leverage for the next consumer.
While Viking Client Services is a legitimate debt collection agency and not a scam, they use aggressive tactics to get consumers to pay and do not typically remove accounts upon request.
Settlements May Not be What You Think
Viking Client Services may offer to settle with you for less than you owe. One consumer’s BBB complaint shows that Viking offered to reduce a disputed bill of $250 by $100.
While settlements may be tempting, they may not always be in your best interest. In some cases, a settlement can actually hurt your credit score.
If you settle and pay less than the full amount, the credit bureaus may report that you did not pay the account in full. While FICO 9 ignores such marks, many lenders still use older models that do not.
Settlements of more than $600 may also require the creditor to file a 1099-C with the IRS for forgiveness of debt, which could cost you more on your taxes.
One case against Viking Client Services was filed in federal court regarding their use of IRS language in collection letters. The court found that use of such language may deceive consumers into accepting settlements to avoid tax liability.
Your Rights Against This Debt Collection Agency
Federal Law Protects You
The FDCPA and FCRA provide consumers a wealth of protection they don’t use. You have the right to dispute any debt and request validation within 30 days of the initial communication from a debt collector.
The debt collector must stop all communication until they validate the debt, showing the amount of the debt, the original creditor, and verifying that you owe the debt.
Many collection accounts cannot pass this test. Often debts are sold and resold and the documentation doesn’t follow. When a consumer disputes the account and requests validation, the debt collector must produce the documentation or remove the account.
One consumer filed a complaint with the BBB against Viking Client Services that read, “Viking Client Services started sending me a claim stating I owed a rental car company $250 for a car rental I never made. I wrote them several times invoking the FCRA and demanding they provide proof that I owed them the money. They totally disregarded my letters and then offered to reduce the amount by $100.”
Instead of providing proof of the debt, Viking offered to reduce the amount. This is a clear indication that they knew they could not validate the debt.
What Their History of Litigation Tells Us
Viking Client Services has been sued in federal court over 60 times. The claims against them are repeated.
The most common claims against them are:
False or misleading representations
Failure to disclose they are a debt collector in communications
Debt validation notice violations
Improper third-party communications
Harassment or abuse
In one Maine federal court case in 2016, Viking Client Services left voicemails that stated, “This is Paul calling from Viking Client Services…Please return my call.”
The lawsuit alleged that Viking left messages on purpose that did not disclose they were a debt collector to coerce the consumer to return the call. Many consumers report that Viking harasses them with phone calls.
One BBB complaint reads, “This company has been harassing me for quite a few months now. I receive at least ten calls a day from them. Sometimes when I answer, they say nothing then hang up. They have gone as far as calling friends and family all over a disputed $100 bill from Hertz. This is beyond unprofessional and is harassment.”
Calling third parties about a debt may be a violation of the FDCPA.
How to Remove Viking Client Services from Your Report
The Dispute Process
To remove a collection account from your credit report, you have to use the dispute process. You dispute the accuracy, completeness, or verifiability of the information.
The credit bureaus have 30 days to investigate and verify the information. If they cannot verify it, they have to remove it.
You can dispute information that is incorrect, erroneous, fraudulent, or simply not verifiable within the 30-day time limit.
When debt collectors cannot provide adequate documentation to support their claim, the bureaus have to delete the account. This happens more often than you think.
The original creditor may not have the documentation. It may have been lost in the transfer of the account. The information reported may contain errors that cannot be resolved.
Once the account is successfully disputed and removed, in most cases, the debt collector does not have the ability or the incentive to re-report it. Whatever problem caused the account to be removed still exists so attempting to re-report it would have the same result.
Why You Should Use a Professional
When you try to handle collections on your own, you can easily make mistakes that will hurt your case.
When debt collectors call and ask you questions, know that whatever information you give them can and will be used against you. Every question you answer should be strategically evaluated before you give a response.
Never give them information that can make their case stronger or provide leverage they didn’t have before.
Credit repair professionals know the language, the timing, and the documentation needed to get results. They know which disputes to file, how to word them, and when to escalate.
The difference between what a consumer can achieve on their own and what a professional can achieve is often the difference between getting an account removed or not.
Viking Client Services’s satisfaction rate of 12.8% on BBB complaints shows that when consumers fight them on their own, they rarely come out on top. The company responds to complaints but rarely resolves them in a way that satisfies the consumer.
Professionals change the game. They bring the same level of expertise to the table as the debt collector.
Conclusion
Do Not Let Them Push You Around
Viking Client Services has paid over one million dollars to settle a class action that alleged violations of the FDCPA. They have been sued in federal court over 60 times. Their BBB complaints show that almost nine out of ten consumers are not satisfied with the way the company handles their complaint.
These are the facts and they matter because they show a debt collection agency that you should question, not appease.
If you have a Viking Client Services account on your report, you have more leverage than you think you do. Your right to remain silent and dispute the account is more powerful than paying it.
Their documentation may contain fatal flaws that a professional can identify and use to your advantage.
At Collections Relief, we specialize in removing collection accounts from your credit report using the dispute process. We understand the nuances of collection reporting and how to dispute accounts effectively.
Instead of paying money for a status change that leaves the negative account on your report, we work to remove the account altogether.
Request your free credit consultation now and let us evaluate what Viking Client Services has reported on your credit report. We will help you come up with a plan to remove it.
The longer a collection account stays on your report, the longer it is dragging your credit score down and holding you back. Take the first step to a better credit report now.
