What a collection account is

A collection account is a past-due debt that a collection company now reports. Some collection companies collect on behalf of a client, such as a hospital, a utility, or a toll authority. Others are debt buyers. A debt buyer purchases defaulted accounts from the original lender and then collects them itself or through a servicer, so the company on your report is often not the company you first owed.

A collection entry can be accurate. It can also carry a wrong balance, a wrong creditor, wrong dates, or an account that is not yours. The steps that follow help you tell the difference.

Find your collector

Collection company guides

Pick the company named on your credit report.

  • Caine & Weiner

    A California collection agency for insurance, medical, retail, and telecom clients. Covers its licenses and its CFPB complaint record.

  • Harris & Harris

    A Chicago collection agency for government, healthcare, and toll clients. Covers the Washington State consent decree on medical debt notices.

  • Jefferson Capital Systems

    A debt buyer that bought Conn's loan portfolios in 2024. Covers the 2008 FTC order on its collection practices.

  • LVNV Funding

    A Sherman Financial debt buyer. Covers the 2011 to 2012 Maryland enforcement action and the 2019 Maryland court ruling.

  • Midland Credit Management

    A debt buyer owned by Encore Capital Group. Covers the 2015 CFPB order, the 2020 federal court judgment, and the 2018 multistate settlement.

  • Portfolio Recovery Associates

    A debt buyer named in CFPB orders from 2015 and 2023, including the 2023 case on dispute handling and time-barred suits.

  • Radius Global Solutions

    A Minnesota collection agency. Covers the 2023 Connecticut consent order and its CFPB complaint record.

  • Resurgent Capital Services

    The servicer that manages LVNV Funding accounts. Covers the 2021 Connecticut consent order and its CFPB complaint record.

  • Transworld Systems

    A collection company tied to National Collegiate Student Loan Trusts debt. Covers the 2017 CFPB consent order.

Your rights with a collection account

Two federal laws apply. Each guide repeats them for that company.

  • Validation notice. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. 1692g, 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. On a written request, the collector must give you the original creditor's name and address.
  • Collection stops while the collector answers you. If you dispute in writing within those 30 days, the collector must stop collecting the disputed amount until it obtains verification and mails you a copy. A written request for the original creditor's name and address in that time stops collection of the debt until the collector answers it (15 U.S.C. 1692g(b)).
  • Credit bureau reinvestigation. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. 1681i(a), a credit bureau that receives your dispute must reinvestigate within 30 days and tell the furnisher within 5 business days. Relevant information you send during that period can extend it by up to 15 days. A dispute made after a free annual report has 45 days in all, with no further extension (15 U.S.C. 1681j(a)(3)). It must delete or modify an item it finds inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable.
  • Furnisher investigation. When a bureau tells the furnisher about your dispute, the furnisher must investigate and correct, delete, or block information it finds inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable (15 U.S.C. 1681s-2(b)).
  • 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)).

These rules require a verification or an investigation. They do not promise that an entry will change or come off your report.

How these guides are sourced

Each guide uses public records only: CFPB enforcement pages, court documents, state attorney general announcements, SEC filings, and each company's own website. Every guide lists its sources at the end. We read each source on October 14, 2026. Where a record could not be confirmed, the guide leaves it out.