What LVNV Funding is

LVNV Funding LLC is a debt buyer. In a 2019 opinion, the Maryland Court of Appeals described LVNV as a limited liability company organized in Delaware in 2005 and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, and as a wholly owned subsidiary within Sherman Financial Group. The court said LVNV "claims to have no employees of its own" and that its only business is to buy consumer debts in default, "mostly from affiliated entities," and to collect them.

The court relied on findings by the Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation. They describe Resurgent Capital Services as "the master servicer for charged-off consumer debt owned by LVNV." The court also cited an FTC report that named Sherman Financial the largest buyer of charged-off credit card debt directly from card issuers from 2005 to 2011, except in 2010, when it ranked second.

Why LVNV Funding may appear on your credit report

LVNV's website says that after the original creditor sells a debt, "the new owner is LVNV Funding." It also says LVNV "outsources the management of its portfolio of accounts" to Resurgent Capital Services, and it directs all account questions to Resurgent. So the company on your report may be LVNV, while the letters and calls come from Resurgent or from an agency that Resurgent hires. See our guide to Resurgent Capital Services.

Public enforcement record

The records below come from a Maryland court opinion that recounts a state enforcement action. Each item lists what the record says, not a finding about your account.

Maryland enforcement action, 2011 to 2012

The Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation brought an enforcement action against LVNV and its affiliates in July 2011 (Case No. DFR-FY2012-012). The Commissioner found that LVNV had acted as an unlicensed collection agency since 2005. The court notes that LVNV did not get a Maryland collection agency license until February 18, 2010. The Commissioner also found that "tens of thousands" of LVNV's Maryland collection suits "knowingly contained false, deceptive, or deficient complaints and supporting affidavits," and that some judgments included compound interest, which Maryland law prohibits.

A summary order on October 25, 2011, required LVNV to stop collecting and suspended its license. The action ended on June 28, 2012, with a settlement. Without admitting wrongdoing, LVNV agreed to pay a $1 million penalty, to dismiss with prejudice all collection cases it had filed in Maryland courts before that date, and, with exceptions, to credit consumers' accounts for prejudgment interest and attorney's fees.

LVNV Funding v. Finch (Maryland, 2019)

In a class action by people LVNV had sued in Maryland before it was licensed, the Court of Appeals of Maryland held on April 22, 2019, that the judgments LVNV obtained were not void. It also held that Maryland's licensing law lets consumers sue for damages for collecting without a license, and it sent the case back for a new trial on damages.

How to check an LVNV Funding entry against your own records

  1. Find the validation notice. Under 15 U.S.C. 1692g(a), a debt collector must send a notice within five days after it first contacts you to collect the debt. The notice gives the amount, the creditor, and your right to dispute the debt within 30 days. It does not have to send one if its first message already gave this information or if you have paid the debt. A court complaint in a lawsuit does not count as that first contact. Neither does a tax, privacy, or data-breach notice that the law requires.
  2. Identify the original creditor. Write down the original creditor and account number the notice names, and match them to an account you actually had.
  3. Check for the same debt twice. If the original creditor still reports the account with a balance, and LVNV also reports a balance for it, note both entries.
  4. Compare the details. Check the balance, the dates, and any payments against your own statements, receipts, and letters.
  5. Compare all three reports. Check whether the same account appears in the same way at each credit bureau, and note every difference.

How to dispute an inaccurate LVNV Funding entry

  1. Dispute in writing within 30 days of the validation notice. Send it to the address on the notice. A timely dispute stops collection of the disputed amount until the collector obtains verification and mails you a copy. You can also ask in writing for the original creditor's name and address. A timely request stops collection of the debt until the collector answers it (15 U.S.C. 1692g(b)).
  2. Dispute with each credit bureau that shows the error. The bureau must reinvestigate within 30 days (45 at most if you send relevant information during that time or dispute after a free annual report) and tell the furnisher within 5 business days. It must delete or modify an item it finds inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable (15 U.S.C. 1681i(a), 1681j(a)(3)).
  3. Expect a furnisher investigation. After the bureau notifies the furnisher, it must investigate and correct, delete, or block an item it finds inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable (15 U.S.C. 1681s-2(b)).
  4. Check the disputed status. If you tell the furnisher directly that the information it reports is inaccurate or incomplete, it may not report that information again without a note that you dispute it (15 U.S.C. 1681s-2(a)(3)).
  5. Keep copies. Keep every letter you send and every response you receive, with the dates.

These rules require an investigation. They do not promise a particular result. For the same rights applied to other companies, see the collection account guides.