Equable Ascent Financial and Hilco Receivables Are One in the Same
Hi my name is lori and i was sued by Equable Ascent Financial LLC 7-20-12 through cir law offices,on a account i never had and was proven to be not mine and not real.
i contacted the cfpb and within 1 week chase recalled the account and accepted it as a fraudulent application.the letter from chase said the account was returned to chase from hilco.I noticed another company pop up out of nowhere named midland funding.what caught my eye is their address is .2miles away from cir law offices the letters from cir and midland look similar and once equable ascent was removed from my CR midland started showing on my CR.is it possible they are related midland funding ,cir law offices,hilco,and equable ascent financial?
Are midland funding And equable ascent financial and or hilco related?
—lori
From a quick search I found reference to Equable Ascent Financial being formerly known as Hilco Receivables. I am not aware of any direct ties from Equable, or Hilco, to Midland Funding.
Here are a couple of things that spring to mind that may have occurred:
1. Equable Ascent Financial, or Hilco, having purchased the debt from Chase, never returned the debt to Chase and instead sold it off to another debt buyer – Midland Funding.
2. Chase indeed recalled the debt, but failed to label it as a fraudulent debt and add it to their fraud loss provisions. Instead the account was packaged up and sold to Midland Funding.
Equable Ascent Financial, Hilco Receivables, Midland Funding, credit reports and the CFPB.
How were the credit reporting entries showing from Equable Ascent Financial and Hilco? Are the amounts similar to the amount being reported by Midland?
Have you contacted Chase to inquire whether this account was somehow mistakenly sold off to Midland Funding?
If the ordeal with Equable Ascent and Hilco are related to Midland now appearing on your credit report, I would find #2 above the more likely cause. But there is another concern, and it would relate to being sued for an account not yours, and Chase supposedly talking a fraud loss on it. Are you a victim of identity theft? If so, it would not be a stretch to have accounts not legitimately owed by you, but associated with you nonetheless, show up with collections and debt buyers. Midlands entry may not be related to the Equable Ascent, Hilco, Chase scenario at all.
Some questions:
How was the Chase debt sued on by Equable ultimately resolved in the court not to be yours?
How would you rate your experience, response, and the assistance you received after filing your complaint with the CFPB? I am really curious about your response to this question, and other readers will be too. The CFPB is a new and serious consumer protection regulator. There are not many references direct from a persons own experience once a complaint is filed with the CFPB, and how the situation was resolved with their involvement. You only shared a rapid reaction from Chase (a week is PDQ), once you contacted the CFPB.
If you answer my above questions with a comment reply I will have more feedback.
Anyone with questions or concerns about dealing with Equable Ascent Financial or Hilco can post in the comments below for feedback.
About Michael BoveeMichael started CRN in 2004 with a mission to provide people in need with detailed debt and credit help and education. Michael has participated as an expert panelist in federal consumer protection rule making, collaborated on state law changes governing debt consolidation, has worked as an expert witness in court matters related to the debt relief industry, and is a regular contributor to several personal finance websites.
Mr Bovee:
I was doing a random search of records today and found out that Equable Ascent Financial LLC , 5 Revere Dr #510, Northbrook, IL 60062, took me to court in January 2011 and I have a judgement against me for $ 12,624.35!
1. I’ve never had any credit card with that much owed, not even 1/4 of that!
2. I never received any paperwork whatsoever and no calls about any debt in that amount or about a court date!
I see mentioned contacting the CFPB on your site…what is that?
Thank you!
Tina Anderson
Before you contact the CFPB I would dig deeper into the details. I would pull a copy of the court record and see who the underlying debt was owed to and match that up to anyone I once owed, and also try to recreate how the amount owed may have been inflated. Also look to see the address they listed for you as having been served. Did you ever live at that address?
When you have a copy of the lawsuit post an update with what you learn and lets go from there.
Mr. Bovee:
Below is the response I received from the CFPB. (I’m in the process of trying to obtain copies of the court papers, but its a small county and not everything is electronic. Since I no longer live in the state, we’re working on how to obtain.)
Their response just leads me to more questions.
As far as I know I did not have any credit card or loan of any type with Chase Bank from 09/2005 – 11/2009.
I suppose its possible something was underwritten by Chase Bank, but I certainly never had any credit card debt or auto loan for anywhere near that amount that was not paid back in full.
So, I’m hoping I can obtain the court papers and that will shed some light on this. Maybe that will help me determine if someone fraudulently opened a credit card in my name or if this was all just a big mistake. Hopefully then I can figure out how to fix this!
STATUS
Response disputed
Equable Ascent Financial LLC said:
Explanation of closure
The debt originated from Chase Bank USA N.A (WAMU). The account was opened on September 19, 2005 and charged off on November 30, 2009. Equable Ascent Financial, LLC sold the account to Cavalry, LLC. The judgment that was issued against Ms. Anderson was also sold to Cavalry. Please contact Cavalry directly at 914-347-3440 EXT 53350 and ask to speak with either Cheryl or Mateo. Thank You.
Describe what happened so we can understand the issue…
I was googling myself today (6/24/2015) and saw that I have a judgement against me for $ 12,624.35! Supposedly I had a court date on 1/21/2011. I never received any notification of legal action being taken and that was taken. The case information is from Whitehall, Wisconsin, Trempealeau County Case Number 2011CV000023.
Apparently the party that took me to court was Equable Ascent Financial LLC,5 Revere Dr #510, Northbrook, IL 60062. I have no idea who this is, what its for and why I never received any type of notification at any time!
Washington Mutual appears to be the original creditor based on what you posted. Do you recall an account, credit card, loan through them? Did you access the court records to dig deeper into the issues I mentioned in my prior post? Did you live at the address the court record shows you may have been served at, and was that your address at the time of service?
Used to have a WAMU credit card, then Chase Bank bought WAMU. As far as I’m aware, the credit card was Pain In Full. Have never had anyone from Chase or ANY collection agency ever contact me until today. I received a REFUND check from Equable Ascent Financial, LLC – Account Receivables Division. Honestly do not know what to make of this refund check, is this a phishing scheme or is this a legitimate refund check? The accompanying letter was not signed, which adds to my suspicions.
Laurie – What was the amount of the refund? What did the letter from Equable Ascent Financial LLC say?
There are refund checks that have been sent out over the last year to former Chase account holders. This may be related to that, but I will have more feedback after you respond.
Hi Michael, the letter states the following –
“As part of our audit of our accounts receivables, we have identified that there was an overpayment posted the account listed above.
The enclosed refund check refunds the ver payment amount to you.”
Sincerely,
Account Receivables Divixion
Equable Ascent Financial, LLC
Sorry, forgot to include the refund amount $321.89
Thanks Laurie. My assumption is that your account was considered part of the refund checks that went out regarding past Chase branded accounts. Equable Ascent LLC may have been a purchaser of your credit card account. But you were under the impression that your old WAMU account was paid in full.
I do not think this is a phishing scam. But I would encourage you to call both Chase and Equable to confirm what this is about.
Also, have you pulled your credit report lately? Was there any key derogatory accounts listed?
The reader that submitted the above question about Equable, Hilco et al responded to me via email. Here is her comment and answers:
How were the credit reporting entries showing from Equable Ascent Financial and Hilco?
I have never seen hilco’s name on my credit report only EAF.
Are the amounts similar to the amount being reported by Midland?
No.
Have you contacted Chase to inquire whether this account was somehow mistakenly sold off to Midland Funding?
No.
Are you a victim of identity theft?
Yes.
The cfpb is something to brag about. Those guys are good. Really good. I didn’t even answer the complaint, and if what people say online is true, most debt collection lawsuits end in a judgement because people do not answer or show up to court. Thanks to the cfpb i was able to do the one thing everyone said not to do. I didnt respond to the suit and instead i waited for the cfpb to send me a response from creditor. The only thing i didn’t make sense of in the response was this,
”The account was opened in november 2006 with providan and later serviced by wamu in october 2005?”
Let me know what you think i attached the letter with the banks response and my complaint with the cfpb.
lori – Thanks for responding and providing the attachment of the CFPB complaint and the response. My thoughts based on your comments and the document you sent:
WAMU picked up Providian, Chase absorbs WAMU. Information systems and account transfers from Providian to WAMU were not without flaws. Nor were account transfers from WAMU to Chase. Chase credit card records reflect errors, are out of chronology, and reflect a history of account number changes. Whether that is the result of their systems, or the records they received had the errors, I cannot tell. From the letter you shared I would guess the WAMU account record provided was like that when Chase got it.
What is your goal with trying to piece together the dates? It would make sense from a “who stole my identity” sleuthing point of view. Otherwise, I am not sure it is important.
I have a sense you know your way around credit reporting and information furnisher disputes. Given your answers to my initial questions, disputing the Midland Funding entry on your credit report with the CRA’s and Midland would be a good next step. So far, it looks to me like another account resulting from your identity being stolen is the reason for the Midland credit entry.
I am really glad you responded and shared your experience submitting a complaint to, and the assistance you received from, the CFPB. You got the assistance you needed in an impressive and rapid time frame. I am sure some of the resolution came from the fact the records were a bit wacky and this was identity theft related. But a quick and positive outcome all the same.
I too see the CFPB as something to brag about. They have a whole lot of coverage in the financial space. When it comes to the types of consumer issues I have been exposed to in my work, the CFPB is going to have a huge impact. The situation you shared can help others see the positive impact the CFPB is bringing to consumer protection.