Who is complaining aboutTaking/threatening an illegal action?
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.
“Taking/threatening an illegal action” is an issue label the CFPB no longer offers on its complaint form. 8,793 complaints carry it, received between 10 Jul 2013 and 21 Apr 2017.
Most were filed under the product “Debt collection” (100%).
Which products
| Product (CFPB label) | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Debt collection | 8,793 | 100% |
Sub-issues
| Sub-issue (CFPB label) | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Threatened to sue on too old debt | 2,690 | 30.6% |
| Threatened arrest/jail if do not pay | 2,253 | 25.6% |
| Sued w/o proper notification of suit | 1,387 | 15.8% |
| Seized/Attempted to seize property | 1,159 | 13.2% |
| Attempted to/Collected exempt funds | 903 | 10.3% |
| Sued where didn't live/sign for debt | 401 | 4.6% |
Which companies, with their size
Ordered by the number of complaints carrying this issue since 2011.
| Company (as named by the CFPB) | Complaints, all years | Share | Company size |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC. | 524 | 6% | no public measure |
| Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC | 220 | 2.5% | no public measure |
| CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION | 204 | 2.3% | $662bn assets |
| JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. | 185 | 2.1% | $4.09tn assets |
| CITIBANK, N.A. | 170 | 1.9% | $1.98tn assets |
| BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION | 160 | 1.8% | $2.65tn assets |
| HSBC NORTH AMERICA HOLDINGS INC. | 155 | 1.8% | $173bn assets |
| CNG FINANCIAL CORPORATION | 147 | 1.7% | no public measure |
| WELLS FARGO & COMPANY | 133 | 1.5% | $1.92tn assets |
| Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express) | 131 | 1.5% | no public measure |
| SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL | 129 | 1.5% | $115bn assets |
| ENOVA INTERNATIONAL, INC. | 126 | 1.4% | no public measure |
| Resurgent Capital Services L.P. | 125 | 1.4% | no public measure |
| Financial Credit Service, Inc. | 121 | 1.4% | no public measure |
| Pressler & Pressler, LLP | 109 | 1.2% | no public measure |
| CAVALRY INVESTMENTS, LLC | 93 | 1.1% | no public measure |
| Platinum Holdings Group, LLC | 87 | 1% | no public measure |
| Advance America, Cash Advance Centers, Inc. | 67 | 0.8% | no public measure |
| U.S. BANCORP | 65 | 0.7% | $706bn assets |
| DISCOVER BANK | 59 | 0.7% | no public measure |
| Navient Solutions, LLC. | 57 | 0.6% | no public measure |
| CASHCALL, INC. | 55 | 0.6% | no public measure |
| TRANSWORLD SYSTEMS INC | 47 | 0.5% | no public measure |
| SQUARETWO FINANCIAL CORPORATION | 47 | 0.5% | no public measure |
| National Credit Adjusters, LLC | 45 | 0.5% | no public measure |
| All other companies, including those not listed by name | 5,532 | 62.9% | — |
CFPB: “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. 8 of the 25 companies in this table have a public size measure. “No public measure” means the company could not be matched by name to a single institution in the FDIC, NCUA or HMDA files, not that it is small.
How companies responded
- Closed with explanation7,194 · 81.8%
- Closed with non-monetary relief780 · 8.9%
- Closed473 · 5.4%
- Untimely response221 · 2.5%
- All other categories125 · 1.4%
| Measure | This issue | All issues |
|---|---|---|
| Closed with monetary or non-monetary relief | 10.3% | 31.5% |
| Closed with monetary relief | 1.4% | 0.5% |
| Responses marked timely | 89.7% | 99.6% |
Trend
Questions and answers
What does the CFPB issue “Taking/threatening an illegal action” mean?
It is one of the options a consumer selects on the CFPB complaint form to describe the problem. The label is the consumer's choice and is not checked by the Bureau. Sub-issues recorded under it include “Threatened to sue on too old debt”, “Threatened arrest/jail if do not pay”, “Sued w/o proper notification of suit”.
How many complaints carry this issue?
8,793, all received before 21 Apr 2017; the label is no longer offered.
Which products does it apply to?
“Debt collection” (100%).
Does the CFPB verify complaints?
The CFPB does not verify every allegation in a complaint before publishing it. Counts on this page show what consumers reported, not what was found.
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. 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. Search the CFPB database · Methodology · Report an error.