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The telephone number 800-900-1361 is used by the Penn Credit Corporation. They are calling you because they believe you owe a debt.
Penn Credit is a third-party debt collector, meaning that they are not the original creditors on the debt they are attempting to collect. Instead, they have been hired by a different company or government entity to collect on their behalf.
If you're receiving calls from this number, you're not alone.
Over 421 consumers have reported this number on RoboKiller alone, and the platform has tracked over 94,000 calls from this number. The line has been flagged as a robocaller by Nomorobo since July of 2016, and you can find it on nearly every major phone complaint website.
Before taking action, you need to understand who is calling you, your rights, and what actually works.
In this article, we will help you figure out what questions you should be asking.
What is Penn Credit Corporation?
Company Type: Debt collection agency
Established: 1987
Headquarters: 2800 Commerce Drive, Harrisburg, PA 17110
Other locations: Mount Laurel, NJ; State College, PA; Phoenix, AZ
CEO: Tom Foley
Industries: Government fines, toll violations, healthcare, utilities, higher education, telecommunications
Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating: A+ (accredited since 2017)
BBB customer review rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars
Google review rating: 1.3 out of 5 stars
Estimated revenue: $25 million to $51 million
Estimated employees: 100 to 200
Does This Company Have a History of Unwanted Calls?
Yes, Penn Credit Corporation has a history of unwanted calls.
In the class-action case Guidry v. Penn Credit Corporation, the company agreed to a $4,675,000 settlement for leaving pre-recorded voicemail messages on consumers' cell phones without consent using automated technology called DirectDROP Voicemail. The class period for the case was between April 2015 and May 2021.
The company has also been the subject of several individual Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) lawsuits for its collection practices, including for attempting to collect time-barred debts and for sending collection letters that failed to adequately inform consumers of their rights.
Why is Penn Credit Corporation Calling Me?
Is the Debt Mine?
This is the most important question to ask if you're being called by Penn Credit Corporation. The company collects debts for government agencies, toll authorities, hospitals, utility companies, and universities, but they don't make the list of their creditors public. Their client list is also constantly changing, so you may not know which creditor the debt is for.
Many of the consumers who have been called by Penn Credit have stated that the debt isn't theirs, that it has already been paid, or that it is associated with an address they haven't lived at for years. "They called and claimed I live at an address I haven't been at in 9 years. Sounds like a scam, so I'm not giving them my current address," said one consumer.
Just because a debt collector is calling you, it doesn't mean that you owe the debt. This means that someone has your name and phone number in their computer.
Are They Calling the Wrong Number?
Wrong numbers are a frequent topic of complaints about this number.
Here's one example: "Collection agency began calling me 2 weeks ago 3-4 times a day for someone with the same initials and last name as me. They won't stop calling even though I've told them wrong number, so I've started calling them 3-4 times a day to ask them how their day is going and how's the weather."
This collection agency uses dialers which draw names, phone numbers and addresses from databases. It's entirely possible for these databases to contain wrong information, including mismatched names, addresses and phone numbers. These wrong matches do not stop the dialer from producing calls.
What Should You Expect from Penn Credit?
Are They Threatening You Unless You Give Them Information?
One of the top complaints about calls from 800-900-1361 is an agent demanding information from you before they will tell you why they are calling.
Here's one example: "They call and want you to give them personal information because supposedly you owe them a debt and they have to verify your personal information such as full address. When you don't give them your personal information, they rudely say they can't give you any information about your collection."
This is a pressure tactic designed to make you feel like you have no choice but to comply. You don't have to give a caller who you didn't initiate contact with your address, date of birth, or any other piece of personal information. The purpose of a phone number on a collection notice is to request written validation of the debt. It's not for negotiating or sharing sensitive information.
How Often Are They Calling You?
The frequency of calls from this number is a universal complaint on every platform. Consumers describe receiving calls multiple times a day, every day, for months or years on end.
Here's one example from 800notes: "This 800 number calls every day starting at 8am. And continue two to three times a day. It is really beginning to annoy me greatly."
Another consumer reported being awakened by calls for someone who doesn't even live in their house: "Call to wake me up everyday at 8am. The person mentioned do not live here. It was a wrong number. It is annoying." This is an example of how aggressively collection agencies call.
Penn Credit is not a scam, but just because it's a legitimate company doesn't mean it's a nice one. Debt collection agencies are real companies with real authority to collect debts, and they are very aggressive in pursuit of that goal.
Now What Should I Do?
Should I Answer or Call Back? Can I Just Ignore the Calls?
You can ignore or block calls from a debt collector. It's not rude. It's your legal right.
To Stop Calls from Penn Credit
If you want to stop calls from Penn Credit, you can write to them (send it certified mail) and tell them to stop. Under the FDCPA, once a collector receives this request, they are no longer allowed to contact you, except to tell you that they won't contact you again or to notify you of specific legal actions they're taking against you.
Won't Ignoring Calls from a Collection Agency Cause a Lawsuit?
You may be worried that ignoring calls from a debt collector will cause them to sue you. Fortunately, in most cases, this isn't true. Before a debt collector pursues legal action, they typically evaluate whether it's worth their while. In the vast majority of cases, debts are too small to justify the cost of a lawsuit.
To this end, Penn Credit is not known for suing consumers. Instead, they're likely to call and report to the credit bureaus.
If You Answer
If you call them back, they will record the call and use it as proof that you've acknowledged that you owe the debt.
So, even if you don't admit that you owe the debt, if you acknowledge your identity, they may use that information to assign the debt to you.
If you need to communicate with them, it's best to send them a written debt validation letter via certified mail. This will force them to prove that the debt belongs to you, that the amount is correct and that they have the authority to collect it. They should suspend collection activities until they've sent you this proof.
Is Penn Credit on Your Credit Report?
How to Check
You might see different names on your credit report for the same collection account. For example, Penn Credit Corporation might appear as:
- Penn Credit Corp.
- Penn Collection Agency
- Penn Credit
- PCC Trust
- CBE Collections
If you see any of these names in the collections portion of your credit report, that means Penn Credit Corporation has reported the debt to at least one of the three major credit reporting agencies. First, order copies of all three of your credit reports. Then look to see if there's a collection account from Penn Credit and check: the amount, the date of first delinquency, and whether you recognize the information associated with the account.
Can You Dispute a Collection Account?
Yes, you can dispute any credit reporting information that you believe is inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable. This is not some sort of trick. It's a consumer protection provided by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
When you dispute credit information, the credit reporting agency has to investigate. Part of the investigation requires the collection agency to verify that information they're reporting is accurate. If they can't verify it, they have to remove it from your credit report.
This is why your credit report is such an essential tool when dealing with a debt collection agency. Your credit report isn't simply a record of the information that a debt collector says is true. It's the platform on which you can challenge and correct information that's not accurate.
What Are Your Legal Protections?
Do You Know What the FDCPA Actually Gives You?
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is not a defensive shield you hide behind. It is an offensive tool you can use to hold collectors accountable.
Under the FDCPA, a collector must send you a written validation notice within five days of first contacting you. They cannot use deceptive or misleading practices. They cannot call you at unreasonable hours. They cannot threaten legal action they do not intend to take.
Penn Credit has been on the wrong side of these rules before. Multiple FDCPA lawsuits have been filed against the company, including cases alleging that their collection letters failed to properly inform consumers of their dispute rights and cases involving the collection of debts that had exceeded the statute of limitations.
What About the FCRA?
The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to challenge anything on your credit report. If Penn Credit is reporting a balance you do not owe, a balance that is incorrect, or a debt they cannot verify with documentation, you have every right to dispute it. The FCRA requires that reported information be accurate and verifiable. When it is not, the consumer has legal standing to demand its removal.
This is important because your credit report is the single most powerful piece of leverage in any collection dispute. Collectors rely on the threat of damaged credit to pressure payment. When you challenge that reporting through a formal dispute process, you shift the burden of proof back onto them.
What Should You Do Next?
The Questions That Matter Most
If you are receiving unwanted calls from 800-900-1361, the path forward starts with asking the right questions.
Is this debt actually mine?
Is the amount correct?
Has it already been paid?
Is it even within the statute of limitations?
Is the information on my credit report accurate and verifiable?
You do not need to answer these questions on a recorded phone call with a collection agent. You need to answer them by reviewing your credit report, understanding your rights under the FDCPA and FCRA, and taking action through the proper channels. Every consumer has the legal right to dispute inaccurate information and to demand that collectors prove what they claim.
How FightCollections.com Can Help
At FightCollections.com, we specialize in helping consumers fight back against debt collectors by disputing erroneous items on credit reports. Our team understands the tactics companies like Penn Credit Corporation use, and we know how to challenge inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable collection entries through the formal dispute process.
If Penn Credit is calling you, showing up on your credit report, or both, you do not have to navigate this alone.
Contact FightCollections.com today for a free consultation and find out what options are available to you. The calls may feel relentless, but your rights under federal law are stronger than any collector's phone system.
