Is Cedar Financial legit -- and how do you deal with them?

Yes -- Cedar Financial is a legitimate, licensed debt-collection agency, not a scam. It works consumer accounts across several industries, commonly medical bills along with other unsecured balances, and it also handles cross-border and international collections; it usually collects for the original creditor. Because the right strategy depends on the kind of debt, the first question is what TYPE of account it is. If it's a medical bill, you have extra leverage: demand written debt validation, ask for an itemized bill, and compare it line by line against your insurance Explanation of Benefits (EOB). Medical bills are notoriously error-prone -- duplicate charges, services you didn't receive, or coverage that was never applied -- and each of those is disputable. Nonprofit hospitals are required to offer financial-assistance (charity-care) programs that can reduce or even wipe out part of the balance for eligible patients, often retroactively, so ask whether the original provider has one. If the charges came from out-of-network care you didn't choose, federal surprise-billing protections may limit what you owe. Because Cedar also does international work, be extra careful with how you're asked to pay: a real collector will validate the account in writing, so never pay by wire transfer, gift card, or a link pushed on a call -- those are classic scam signals. Whatever the type, it's a debt collector under the FDCPA if it's collecting a consumer debt from you: don't admit the debt on a call, dispute anything that isn't yours, and ask whether it's collecting FOR a creditor or on a purchased account. Check the statute of limitations, because a payment or written promise can restart the clock. Never ignore a court summons -- file a written answer by the deadline. A genuinely-owed, correctly-itemized unsecured balance can often be settled in writing; a forgiven balance over $600 can trigger a 1099-C.