Business ProfileforConvergent Outsourcing Inc

The following describes a government action that has been resolved by either a settlement or a decision by a court or administrative agency. If the matter is being appealed, it will be noted below.

On August 27, 2021, in the State of Washington King County Superior Court, Convergent Outsourcing, Inc. entered into a Consent Decree with the State of Washington.

According to the Decree, Convergent Outsourcing, Inc. will pay $1,675,000 over misleading letters it sent to Washingtonians.

The letters contained “settlement offers” to settle debts, including student loans, but failed to disclose that Convergent could not enforce the debt in court. The term “settlement offer” deceptively suggested the possibility of litigation to collect the debt. As a result of the Attorney General’s case, the 1,405 Washingtonians who sent money to Convergent will get back the money they sent to the company, plus interest — a total of nearly $710,000.

The payments will range from around $9 to more than $20,000. These payments will reflect how much Washingtonians paid and include interest accrued since 2014. These payments from the Attorney General’s Office will begin to go out to affected individuals over the next two to three months. People do not need to take any action to receive this money.

In Washington, the statute of limitations on debt collection lawsuits is six years after the date of default or last payment on the debt account. Once a debt is past the statute of limitations, debt collectors can still attempt to collect on these debts, but they cannot file a collection lawsuit. None of Convergent Outsourcing's, Inc's 80,285 letters to Washingtonians disclosed that the debts were past the statute of limitations, which Ferguson asserted violated the state’s Consumer Protection Act.

As part of the agreement, Convergent Outsourcing, Inc. has agreed to a nationwide injunction that will prohibit it from using the words “settle” or “settlement” when attempting to collect on time-barred debts. The agreement requires the company to disclose that the statute of limitations to sue on the debt has passed.

According to the lawsuit, from January 2013 to November 2016, Convergent Outsourcing, Inc. sent letters to thousands of people offering to “settle” old debts within a limited amount of time. It titled the letters “Settlement Offer,” and notified the recipient that “the full settlement must be received in our office by an agreed upon date” and to “call our office” within a fixed number of days in response to the letter. The exact due date varied from letter to letter — some gave only 14 days to respond.

This language conveyed an implied threat that Convergent Outsourcing, Inc. could sue them if they did not pay. The letters created the deceptive impression that the recipients could be sued to collect the debts when they could not, and added a false sense of urgency for people to respond. Many Washingtonians made multiple payments to Convergent Outsourcing, Inc., with an average of about 2.5 payments from each person.

For more information on collection agencies, including what to expect when a collection agency contacts you, visit https://www.atg.wa.gov/collection-agencies.

On November 23, 2021, Better Business Bureau recognized a pattern of consumer complaints filed against Convergent Outsourcing Inc.

 Consumers are alleging Convergent Outsourcing Inc is outsourced by Cox Communications to handle debt reconciliation and debt collections. Consumers claim their identity is being stolen and they are being harassed by phone calls stating they have debt that is owed. Consumers are alleging that Convergent Outsourcing Inc works for several businesses, one being T-Mobile USA. Consumers are alleging Convergent Outsourcing Inc is calling them and seeking payments on behalf of T-Mobile USA. Consumers have stated that the Federal Communications Commission and other federal agencies are involved due to discrepancies of T-Mobile USA and what appears to be fraudulent activity on customer accounts. Consumers have alleged they have sent payments to Convergent Outsourcing Inc in exchange to have all information related to a debt removed from their credit files. Consumers have tried to dispute these reports through Credit Karma and other third-party credit reporting agencies. Consumers claim they are receiving reports of credit files opened on behalf of Convergent Outsourcing, Inc.