Who is complaining aboutSouthern Management Systems Inc.?
When looking at complaint volume about a company or product, consider company size and/or market share. For example, companies with more customers may have more complaints than companies with fewer customers.
The CFPB does not verify every allegation in a complaint before publishing it.Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Complaint Database. A complaint is a consumer's account of a problem; it is not a finding against the company.
Complaints, last 12 months
194
147 in the 12 months before · 880 since 2013 · under 0.1% of all complaints the CFPB received
For its size
No public size denominator
This company could not be matched by name to a single institution in the FDIC, NCUA or HMDA files, so its count cannot be scaled here. Read the count with the company's customer base in mind.
The CFPB complaint database records 194 complaints about Southern Management Systems Inc. in the 12 months to 1 Oct 2026, up 32% on the 147 of the 12 months before, and 880 in all since 2013.
Southern Management Systems Inc. could not be matched by name to a single institution in the FDIC, NCUA or HMDA files, so its complaint count cannot be set against its size here. A company with more customers can be expected to receive more complaints than one with fewer.
87.1% of the complaints in that period fall under the CFPB product category “Debt collection”, followed by “Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports” at 12.4%. The issue selected most often was “Attempts to collect debt not owed” (33.5%).
How the company's responses were recorded over the 12 months: 100% closed with an explanation, 0% closed with non-monetary relief, 0% closed with monetary relief. 100% of responses were marked timely; the median among the 458 companies whose complaints mainly concern “Debt collection” is 100%.
Among those 458 peer companies the median received 83.5 complaints in the same 12 months. A complaint is a consumer's account and is not a finding against the company; the CFPB does not verify every allegation in a complaint before publishing it.
Windows end on 1 Oct 2026, the last date in the CFPB file. The latest two to three weeks are incomplete because a complaint is published only after the company responds or 15 days pass.
Compared with peer companies
| Measure | This company | Peer median (458 companies) | All complaints nationally |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complaints, last 12 months | 194 | 83.5 | 6,945,592 |
| Change on the 12 months before | 32% | 26% | 44% |
| Responses marked timely | 100% | 100% | 99.6% |
| Closed with monetary or non-monetary relief | 0% | 0% | 31.5% |
Peers are the 458 companies on this site whose largest complaint category is Debt collection and that received at least 20 complaints in the last 12 months. Peer companies differ widely in size; a per-size row appears only when at least five peers share this company's size measure, and its median is taken over those peers alone.
Complaints by month
What the complaints are about
Products and issues are the categories the consumer selects on the CFPB form, shown with the CFPB's wording, in the last 12 months.
- Debt collection169 · 87.1%
- Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports24 · 12.4%
- Debt or credit management1 · 0.5%
| Issue (CFPB label) | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Attempts to collect debt not owed | 65 | 33.5% |
| False statements or representation | 41 | 21.1% |
| Took or threatened to take negative or legal action | 36 | 18.6% |
| Written notification about debt | 22 | 11.3% |
| Incorrect information on your report | 14 | 7.2% |
| Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem | 5 | 2.6% |
| Improper use of your report | 4 | 2.1% |
| Communication tactics | 4 | 2.1% |
| Electronic communications | 1 | 0.5% |
| Identity theft protection or other monitoring services | 1 | 0.5% |
| Other CFPB issue categories | 1 | 0.5% |
Debt collection
169 complaints in the last 12 months (87.1% of this company's total); 111 in the 12 months before. That is 0.1% of all complaints in the category nationally. 0% of closed complaints ended with relief; 100% of responses were timely.
Issues
| Issue | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Attempts to collect debt not owed | 65 | 38.5% |
| False statements or representation | 41 | 24.3% |
| Took or threatened to take negative or legal action | 36 | 21.3% |
| Written notification about debt | 22 | 13% |
| Communication tactics | 4 | 2.4% |
| Other CFPB issue categories | 1 | 0.6% |
Sub-products
| Sub-product | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| I do not know | 96 | 56.8% |
| Rental debt | 67 | 39.6% |
| Other debt | 5 | 3% |
| Credit card debt | 1 | 0.6% |
Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports
24 complaints in the last 12 months (12.4% of this company's total); 35 in the 12 months before. That is under 0.1% of all complaints in the category nationally. 0% of closed complaints ended with relief; 100% of responses were timely.
Issues
Sub-products
| Sub-product | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Credit reporting | 23 | 95.8% |
| Other personal consumer report | 1 | 4.2% |
How the company responded
The CFPB records one closing category for each complaint, chosen by the company. Shares are of all complaints in the last 12 months.
- Closed with explanation194 · 100%
The current CFPB export carries no consumer-disputed field, so no disputed rate is shown. The CFPB stopped collecting that field in April 2017.
Where the complaints come from
| State (as reported by the consumer) | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 69 | 35.6% |
| Florida | 53 | 27.3% |
| Georgia | 11 | 5.7% |
| Alabama | 9 | 4.6% |
| North Carolina | 6 | 3.1% |
| South Carolina | 6 | 3.1% |
| California | 5 | 2.6% |
| Tennessee | 4 | 2.1% |
| Ohio | 4 | 2.1% |
| Virginia | 3 | 1.5% |
| Washington | 3 | 1.5% |
| Arkansas | 3 | 1.5% |
Top 12 of 24 states with at least one complaint in the last 12 months. State counts follow population and where the company does business.
Other companies in the same category
Companies whose complaints mainly concern Debt collection, nearest in complaint volume. Listed for navigation, in no order of merit.
Questions and answers
How many complaints has the CFPB received about Southern Management Systems Inc.?
194 in the 12 months to 1 Oct 2026 (147 in the 12 months before that) and 880 since 2013. 8 arrived in the last 30 days and 36 in the last 90 days; the most recent weeks are incomplete because a complaint is published only once the company responds or after 15 days.
How does that compare for its size?
Southern Management Systems Inc. could not be matched by name to a single institution in the FDIC, NCUA or HMDA files, so its complaint count cannot be set against its size here. A company with more customers can be expected to receive more complaints than one with fewer. The CFPB's own caution: “When looking at complaint volume about a company or product, consider company size and/or market share. For example, companies with more customers may have more complaints than companies with fewer customers.”
What are people complaining about?
87.1% of complaints in the last 12 months are filed under “Debt collection”. The issues selected most often were “Attempts to collect debt not owed” (33.5%), “False statements or representation” (21.1%), “Took or threatened to take negative or legal action” (18.6%). These are the categories the consumer picks on the CFPB form; the text of complaints is not used on this site.
How does Southern Management Systems Inc. respond to complaints?
100% were closed with an explanation, 0% with non-monetary relief and 0% with monetary relief; 100% of responses were timely (peer median 100%).
Does the CFPB verify complaints?
The CFPB does not verify every allegation in a complaint before publishing it. The Bureau publishes a complaint after the company responds, confirming a commercial relationship with the consumer, or after 15 days, whichever comes first. A complaint on file is not a finding that the company did anything wrong.
Where do these figures come from?
From the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database bulk file, counted through 1 Oct 2026, using only the coded fields (company, product, issue, state, dates, company response). Company size comes from FDIC, NCUA or HMDA public files where the company appears in one. Company names are shown as the CFPB publishes them.
Provenance
Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Complaint Database, bulk file downloaded 1 Oct 2026, complaints received through 1 Oct 2026. Only coded fields are used (company, product, sub-product, issue, state, dates, company response, timeliness); complaint narratives are never read, stored or shown. Complaints are published once the company responds or after 15 days, so the most recent two to three weeks are incomplete. The company name is shown as the CFPB publishes it. No size measure: the company could not be matched by name to a single institution in the FDIC, NCUA or HMDA files. Companies can respond to the CFPB about any complaint; errors in this site's processing are fixed at the next daily build. Size measures: FDIC BankFind (report date 30 Jun 2026), NCUA call reports (30 Jun 2026), HMDA transmittal sheet (2025), Census Bureau population estimates (2025). All are US government works. See this company's complaints at the CFPB · Methodology · Report an error.