Merchants Credit Corporation contacts consumers with the telephone number 425-643-2613. They are calling you to collect a debt they claim you owe, and that has been assigned to them for collection.
This is usually a medical debt, a utility bill, or some other type of financial account that the original creditor has sent to them. If you are receiving calls from 425-643-2613, you are not alone. Hundreds of other consumers have reported the same number to complaint websites, complaining of repeated calls from robocallers and harassing collectors who won’t identify themselves.
If this is you, there are some questions you need to ask before you do anything else. What is going on here? Is this debt valid? What is my obligation? What are my rights? Who is calling me? What can I do about it?
Who Is Merchants Credit Corporation?
The company making calls from telephone number 425-643-2613 is called Merchants Credit Corporation.
Type of company: Third-party debt collection agency
Alternative name: Merchants Credit Association (MCA)
Year founded: 1937
Headquarters location: Redmond, Washington
Industry specialization: Healthcare, municipal (utility company) debts, financial institutions, property management
Ownership structure: Privately-held, family-owned (Quigley family)
Company size: Estimated 50–65 employees; estimated $6–11 million in revenue
Geographic area served: Licensed in 11 or more states including Washington, California, Alaska, Texas, New York, and Arizona
Better Business Bureau rating: A+ (accredited since 2009), though consumers’ review average is only about 1/5 stars
Notable clients: Virginia Mason hospital (Seattle); municipal utilities; credit unions
A Track Record That Should Get Your Attention
This is not a fly-by-night company. Telephone number 425-643-2613 has been reported 586 times on RoboKiller, and has been associated with more than 52,600 calls. The consumer reviews on ShouldIAnswer are all negative, with 49 out of 52 reviews labeling the call as a “nuisance” or “debt collector.”
In 2016, an investigative report by the Seattle Times found that the lawyer for the company was the attorney of record in 6,200 lawsuits filed in a single year. Three former employees of the company told the paper that collectors have a quota of about 500 lawsuits or garnishments per year.
In April 2025, California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation issued a Desist and Refrain Order against the company, and later reached a settlement.
Why Is Merchants Credit Corporation Calling Me?
Is This About a Debt You Actually Owe?
The most likely reason that Merchants Credit Corporation is calling you is to collect a medical debt, utility debt, or financial account debt that the original creditor has assigned to the company for collection. Just because the company says you owe the debt, however, does not mean you actually do.
Sometimes original creditors send accounts to a collection agency by mistake. Sometimes the balance the collector says you owe includes unauthorized charges. For example, one complainant on the Better Business Bureau website says the company is trying to collect a utility debt, and is charging a 29 percent collection fee even though her original contract does not include such a fee.
Another BBB complainant was contacted about a medical bill that was nearly four years old, on which the collector had added 9 percent interest. This information is all important if you are trying to determine whether the amount the collector is trying to collect is the amount you actually owe.
Could This Be a Case of Mistaken Identity?
Not everybody who gets a call from 425-643-2613 actually owes the debt. Many consumers have filed complaints saying the company called them by mistake.
“I think debt collector has wrong number but insisted I was who they were looking for....very rude,” says one consumer on the ShouldIAnswer website.
“They have called me several times for someone I do not know,” says another. “When I answered they asked for first name, last name. I said no.... He said let me count to five and hung up on me. His name was Mr. Smith. He would not tell me the company name.”
In addition to the aggravation of repeated calls, if the company is reporting the debt to your credit report, it is harming your credit score. If you did not incur the debt, you should not have to pay it.
What Are the Warning Signs That Something Isn’t Right?
Are They Demanding Immediate Payment Without Providing Details?
There are some red flags that suggest a debt collector may not be behaving in a legitimate way.
If the collector is demanding that you pay a debt immediately without providing any information to verify it;
if the collector is threatening to sue you on the first call;
if the collector will not provide you with written information about the debt;
if the collector is using abusive or threatening language;
or if the collector is ignoring your request that the company stop contacting you, these are all behaviors that may violate the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).
“I know I owe money for a hospital bill from 3 years ago. I called merchants credit to find out the amount I owed them. They started drilling me about I need to pay this now or I will be sued....They don’t do payment plans,” writes one consumer on the website 800notes.
When a debt collector will not work with you, but instead threatens you, this is not somebody you can trust.
Are They Contacting People Who Have Nothing to Do With This Debt?
The FDCPA says debt collectors may only contact certain people in connection with a debt, and may only disclose certain information to those people. Despite this, consumers say that Merchants Credit Corporation contacts family members and employers.
“They called my mom’s phone looking to speak with me, but would not give my mom any information on why or what he was calling about,” says one consumer.
“I received a call at work from this number. The man on the phone asked for me by name, and when I confirmed that I was the right person he told me that he had left several messages for me already. I knew he was lying since I had not received any messages. He told me he was going to have to take ‘further action’ if I didn’t return his call. Only one message was left,” says another consumer on the Better Business Bureau website.
Contacting third parties may be a violation of the FDCPA that can help your case if you decide to dispute the debt.
What Can a Credit Report Dispute Actually Do for You?
Do Collectors Even Have the Paperwork to Back Up Their Claims?
If you are getting calls from 425-643-2613, one question you might not have asked yourself is whether the debt collector has the documentation it needs to prove you owe the debt, that you owe the amount the collector says you owe, and that the collector has the right to collect the debt. The answer may surprise you.
Many times, collectors are not able to validate a debt when consumers challenge them through the proper channels.
In response to a request for a Debt Validation Letter, “I received a ‘Verification of Balance’ letter. This is not what I requested,” says one consumer.
Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), if a collector cannot verify a debt being disputed at a credit reporting agency, the agency must delete it.
Is Removal Really Permanent?
One thing to understand about a successful credit report dispute is that once the item has been removed because the collector could not verify it, in most cases, the collector does not have the ability or the incentive to re-report it.
This is one reason why disputing a debt at the credit reporting agencies can be more effective than trying to negotiate with a debt collector directly. A dispute shifts the burden of proof to the collector. If the collector cannot meet its burden, the negative item is gone from your report. If you have a professional investigate the item for you, it will not hurt your credit any further, since multiple requests for information about the same disputed debt do not generate additional adverse marks.
Should You Just Settle and Move On?
What Are the Real Risks of Settling a Collection Account?
You may be wondering whether the easiest thing to do would just be to settle your collection account. But be aware that settling a collection could go either way. Depending on how the settlement is reported, the status of your account, and how old the debt is, a settlement could help your credit or could leave a notation on your report that still harms your score.
For example, it matters whether your original creditor or a debt collector reports the outcome of a settlement. It also matters whether the debt collector sells the remaining balance to another debt collector. If you settle a debt without taking these factors into account, you could be locking in damage to your credit that a successful dispute might have avoided altogether.
Is There a Better Path Than Paying an Amount You May Not Owe?
Before you pay any money at all, you should ask whether this debt can withstand the scrutiny of a formal dispute. If Merchants Credit Corporation cannot produce the original contract you signed for the debt; if it cannot provide an accurate accounting of the amount you owe; if it cannot show its authority to collect the debt; paying any amount at all may just be giving the company money for a debt that could have been removed from your credit report altogether.
Three former employees of the company told the Seattle Times that phone calls to consumers are always structured with the threat of a lawsuit in mind.
“You are not calling them in any way shape or form to help them out,” said one former collector. “You are calling them to collect a debt.”
This should inform every decision you make about how to proceed.
What Should You Do Right Now?
How Do You Protect Yourself Going Forward?
If you are receiving unwanted calls from 425-643-2613, the first thing you should do is keep a record of the calls. Save any voicemails. Write down the dates and times of the calls. Write down as much information as you can about what the caller is telling you.
Do not make any commitments over the phone. A verbal promise by a debt collector is unenforceable.
Get copies of your credit reports from the three credit reporting agencies and review them for any accounts from Merchants Credit Corporation. Your credit report can be a valuable reconnaissance tool that can tell you what the debt collector has reported to the credit reporting agency, when it made the report, and whether there are any discrepancies you can dispute.
Under the FDCPA, you have the right to ask a debt collector to verify a debt in writing within 30 days of the initial contact. You have the right to send a cease-and-desist letter telling the debt collector to stop calling you. These are rights that can help you make the debt collector prove its case, or get the debt collector to leave you alone.
Take the First Step
You do not have to live with calls from 425-643-2613. FightCollections.com specializes in disputing consumers’ erroneous and unverifiable collection accounts at the three credit reporting agencies.
If Merchants Credit Corporation is reporting an account you do not recognize, or an amount you do not believe you owe, or a debt you believe you have already paid, contact our office for a free consultation. We can help you determine whether the debt will stand up to a formal dispute.
