States › Massachusetts › Debt collection
Who in Massachusetts 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.
Massachusetts consumers filed 2,904 complaints under “Debt collection” in the 12 months to 30 Sep 2026, up 32% on the 2,205 of the 12 months before. That is 40.6 per 100,000 residents, below the national 92.8.
The category makes up 3.5% of the state's complaints, against 4.6% nationally. 25.7% of closed complaints ended with monetary or non-monetary relief (22.7% nationally) and 97.5% of responses were timely.
Companies with the most Debt collection complaints from Massachusetts, with their size
Ordered by complaints from Massachusetts consumers in the last 12 months. Size is the company's national figure.
| Company (as named by the CFPB) | Complaints from MA, 12 months | Share | Company size |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC. | 224 | 7.7% | no public measure |
| Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC | 223 | 7.7% | no public measure |
| CL Holdings LLC | 214 | 7.4% | no public measure |
| Resurgent Capital Services L.P. | 185 | 6.4% | no public measure |
| CCS Financial Services, Inc. | 137 | 4.7% | no public measure |
| Experian Information Solutions Inc. | 97 | 3.3% | no public measure |
| TRANSUNION INTERMEDIATE HOLDINGS, INC. | 86 | 3% | no public measure |
| EQUIFAX, INC. | 68 | 2.3% | no public measure |
| CITIBANK, N.A. | 52 | 1.8% | $1.98tn assets |
| NRA Group, LLC | 51 | 1.8% | no public measure |
| CAINE & WEINER COMPANY, INC. | 49 | 1.7% | no public measure |
| Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. | 47 | 1.6% | $21bn assets |
| BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION | 46 | 1.6% | $2.65tn assets |
| I.C. System, Inc. | 44 | 1.5% | no public measure |
| TRANSWORLD SYSTEMS INC | 43 | 1.5% | no public measure |
| FAIR COLLECTIONS & OUTSOURCING, INC. | 42 | 1.4% | no public measure |
| CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION | 42 | 1.4% | $662bn assets |
| SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL | 36 | 1.2% | $115bn assets |
| SUNRISE CREDIT SERVICES, INC | 35 | 1.2% | no public measure |
| National Credit Systems,Inc. | 33 | 1.1% | no public measure |
| All other companies, including those not listed by name | 1,150 | 39.6% | — |
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. 5 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 | 1,570 | 54.1% |
| Written notification about debt | 487 | 16.8% |
| Took or threatened to take negative or legal action | 353 | 12.2% |
| False statements or representation | 317 | 10.9% |
| Communication tactics | 104 | 3.6% |
| Electronic communications | 51 | 1.8% |
| Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly | 22 | 0.8% |
How companies responded
- Closed with explanation2,047 · 70.5%
- Closed with non-monetary relief719 · 24.8%
- In progress82 · 2.8%
- Untimely response50 · 1.7%
- All other categories6 · 0.2%
| Measure | Massachusetts, this product | United States, this product |
|---|---|---|
| Complaints per 100,000 residents, 12 months | 40.6 | 92.8 |
| Closed with monetary or non-monetary relief | 25.7% | 22.7% |
| Responses marked timely | 97.5% | 96.5% |
Trend
Other products in Massachusetts
Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports · 74,859Credit card · 1,894Checking or savings account · 1,387Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service · 657Mortgage · 490Student loan · 386Vehicle loan or lease · 349Payday loan, title loan, personal loan, or advance loan · 202
Questions and answers
How many Debt collection complaints come from Massachusetts?
2,904 in the 12 months to 30 Sep 2026, 2,205 in the 12 months before and 14,350 since 2011.
Is that high for the population?
40.6 per 100,000 residents in Massachusetts against 92.8 nationally.
Which issues come up most?
“Attempts to collect debt not owed” (54.1%), “Written notification about debt” (16.8%), “Took or threatened to take negative or legal action” (12.2%), “False statements or representation” (10.9%).
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 30 Sep 2026, complaints received through 30 Sep 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.