States › California › Debt collection
Who in California is complaining aboutDebt collection?
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.
California consumers filed 27,438 complaints under “Debt collection” in the 12 months to 1 Oct 2026, up 42% on the 19,307 of the 12 months before. That is 69.7 per 100,000 residents, below the national 92.8.
The category makes up 4.3% of the state's complaints, against 4.6% nationally. 22.8% of closed complaints ended with monetary or non-monetary relief (22.7% nationally) and 97% of responses were timely.
Companies with the most Debt collection complaints from California, with their size
Ordered by complaints from California consumers in the last 12 months. Size is the company's national figure.
| Company (as named by the CFPB) | Complaints from CA, 12 months | Share | Company size |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC. | 1,968 | 7.2% | no public measure |
| Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC | 1,936 | 7.1% | no public measure |
| CL Holdings LLC | 1,675 | 6.1% | no public measure |
| Resurgent Capital Services L.P. | 1,601 | 5.8% | no public measure |
| Experian Information Solutions Inc. | 1,217 | 4.4% | no public measure |
| TRANSUNION INTERMEDIATE HOLDINGS, INC. | 1,109 | 4% | no public measure |
| EQUIFAX, INC. | 990 | 3.6% | no public measure |
| Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. | 635 | 2.3% | $21bn assets |
| CITIBANK, N.A. | 559 | 2% | $1.98tn assets |
| SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL | 514 | 1.9% | $115bn assets |
| Kriya Capital, LLC | 498 | 1.8% | no public measure |
| CCS Financial Services, Inc. | 427 | 1.6% | no public measure |
| JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. | 421 | 1.5% | $4.09tn assets |
| WELLS FARGO & COMPANY | 412 | 1.5% | $1.92tn assets |
| I.C. System, Inc. | 412 | 1.5% | no public measure |
| National Credit Adjusters, LLC | 391 | 1.4% | no public measure |
| CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION | 381 | 1.4% | $662bn assets |
| BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION | 371 | 1.4% | $2.65tn assets |
| Affirm Holdings, Inc | 348 | 1.3% | no public measure |
| AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY | 272 | 1% | $214bn assets |
| All other companies, including those not listed by name | 11,301 | 41.2% | — |
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 20 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.
Issues
| Issue (CFPB label) | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Attempts to collect debt not owed | 11,054 | 40.3% |
| Took or threatened to take negative or legal action | 8,779 | 32% |
| Written notification about debt | 3,659 | 13.3% |
| False statements or representation | 2,707 | 9.9% |
| Communication tactics | 655 | 2.4% |
| Electronic communications | 347 | 1.3% |
| Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly | 237 | 0.9% |
How companies responded
- Closed with explanation20,156 · 73.5%
- Closed with non-monetary relief6,083 · 22.2%
- Untimely response581 · 2.1%
- In progress569 · 2.1%
- All other categories49 · 0.2%
| Measure | California, this product | United States, this product |
|---|---|---|
| Complaints per 100,000 residents, 12 months | 69.7 | 92.8 |
| Closed with monetary or non-monetary relief | 22.8% | 22.7% |
| Responses marked timely | 97% | 96.5% |
Trend
Other products in California
Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports · 568,797Credit card · 14,491Checking or savings account · 11,828Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service · 4,656Mortgage · 3,872Vehicle loan or lease · 2,757Payday loan, title loan, personal loan, or advance loan · 2,119Student loan · 1,915
Questions and answers
How many Debt collection complaints come from California?
27,438 in the 12 months to 1 Oct 2026, 19,307 in the 12 months before and 116,766 since 2011.
Is that high for the population?
69.7 per 100,000 residents in California against 92.8 nationally.
Which issues come up most?
“Attempts to collect debt not owed” (40.3%), “Took or threatened to take negative or legal action” (32%), “Written notification about debt” (13.3%), “False statements or representation” (9.9%).
Does the CFPB verify complaints?
The CFPB does not verify every allegation in a complaint before publishing it.
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.