AmeriCollect, Inc. (American Collection Agency) is a third-party collection agency based in Wisconsin that specializes in collecting delinquent healthcare bills. ACI has received consumer complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA), including improper contact or sharing of information and threatening to take actions that cannot legally be taken. If ACI has contacted you about past due collection items, make sure you know your rights before you respond.
The harassing company pays our fees.
They’re legit. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), AmeriCollect, Inc. was founded and incorporated in 1964. The BBB established a profile page for ACI in 1997. ACI is listed a collection agency. Buzzfile estimates AmeriCollect’s annual revenue at $21.7 million and the size of its headquarters staff at 50 employees.
According to its website, AmeriCollect “helps patients understand the complexity of healthcare accounts by educating them with trained healthcare collectors on items such as preventative vs. diagnostic treatments or facility vs. physician charges.” ACI states that it “consistently out-collects…competition by doing the unthinkable—treating… patients Ridiculously Nice.”
“Unlike other agencies, AmeriCollect does not collect for credit cards, utilities, or any other businesses outside of healthcare. This enables ACI’s staff to be 100% trained as healthcare collectors from day one.” AmeriCollect’s collection services are comprised of two main divisions: collection services and early out services. ACI’s collection services consist of hospital collections, medical collections, and radiology collections.
ACI’s hospital collection services “started with one hospital in 1964,” and today include over 70 hospitals, “ranging from 10-bed community hospitals to 15-hospital health systems.” Their medical collections division “works with thousands of doctors ranging in size from 1 to 1,500,” including “dental, ophthalmology, radiology, emergency, anesthesia, cardiology, chiropractic, orthopedic, dermatology, neurology, ENT, mental, primary, and multi-specialty.” ACI’s radiology collection division is certified by the Radiology Business Management Association (RBMA) and provides services to “over 70 radiology clients ranging from California to New Jersey.”
ACI’s early out services “maximize…revenue recovery by putting…patients on the phone with highly trained ‘Ridiculously Nice Customer Service Reps’ to reach… patients close to their service date, … discuss…payment options, …and accelerate…cash flow.” These services include phone attempts; email, voice, text, and chat; mailed statement series; certified revenue cycle specialists; and customized reporting.
AmeriCollect’s compliance page states that ACI “meets and maintains all laws and regulations set forth by the governing bodies of debt collection; including, but not limited to”: the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA); the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA); the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB); the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA); the Dodd- Frank Act; Unfair, Deceptive or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP); the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA); Regulation E, United States Code (U.S.C); the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); state specific collection laws; the Service Member’s Civil Relief Act (SCRA); and “U.S Statutes at large.”
Who are we? We are Lemberg Law, a Consumer Law Firm
Lemberg Law is a consumer law firm helping victims of collection harassment and abuse. We are ranked A+ by the BBB. We’ve helped more than 15,000 consumers stop harassment and recover money from debt collectors. Harassed? Abused? Misled by a collector? Call our Helpline today! There is no charge unless we win.
As of December 2020, the Better Business Bureau reported 122 Americollect complaints over the previous 3 years, including 46 closed complaints over the past 12 months. The BBB provides Americollect an A- rating. Additionally, Justia lists five Americollect complaints filed in federal court in the past year alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and two alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Moreover, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) lists 85 closed Americollect complaints for 2016.
Americollect Inc
1851 S. Alverno Road
Manitowoc, WI 54220
Phone Number: 800-838-0100
Website: http://www.americollect.com/
It is illegal for a debt collector to make empty threats to sue you or garnish your wages. It is also unlikely Americollect would sue you for a debt you may not owe or they cannot validate. However, debt collection agencies are known to have summoned debtors to court and garnish wages after a default judgement. Contacting an attorney BEFORE this could possibly happen would be a smart move. We’ve helped thousands of consumers fight back against unscrupulous debt collection harassers. Find out if we can help you too today!
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Unlawful Debt Harassment? Learn the Law & Sue the Collector.
In 2018, a lawsuit filed by a consumer accused Americollect, Inc. of violating federal and state debt collection law by sending two Milwaukee consumers “misleading” collection letters that allegedly indicated multiple debt balances.
The case argued the letter “misstates the actual balance” because it indicated her remaining balance but also warned that the amount listed “is not valid until the check clears the bank.” The plaintiff says she was “misled, deceived, and confused” as to how much she truly owed after making her partial payment.
Federal laws protect you. The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) regulates the behavior of collection agencies by prohibiting actions such as the use of abusive or threatening language; harassment; or the use of false or misleading information to collect a debt. The FCRA regulates how collection agencies and creditors report delinquent debts to credit reporting agencies. Additional consumer protection laws include the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA).
Yes. If you want to enforce your rights, or recover money for violations — you need to sue. Federal laws provide individuals like you with a means to seek monetary damages in court. For example, the FDCPA allows consumers who have been violated to recover damages of up to $1,000, plus attorney fees and court costs.
Consumers have reported this agency harassing them from the following numbers:
You may have a case, if…
“Fantastic!! Thank you so much for all that you have done for me!! Inform Rebecca thank you as well!!”
“I thank you again for keeping me in the loop and just how good your firm has cope with this situation. It might be a little win for them, but this will permit me to meet the aspirations my loved ones and I must chase down some fantasies and offer the best life for our children.”
“I received outstanding professionalism from the own staff. I had a horrible experience when trying to solve a debt. 1 debt collector associate said she would speak to the prosecutor’s office and another representative told me that when I called the office back he would call the police and have me arrested. I had been insulted, mocked, and threatened, and feared that the police would appear at my door any given moment.”
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Sergei Lemberg is an attorney focusing on consumer law, class actions related to automotive issues, and personal injury litigation. With nearly two decades of experience, his areas of practice include Lemon Law (vehicle defects), Debt Collection Harassment, TCPA (illegal robocalls and texts), Fair Credit Reporting Act, Overtime claims, Personal Injury cases, and Class Actions. He has consistently been recognized as the nation's "most active consumer attorney." In 2020, Mr. Lemberg represented Noah Duguid before the United States Supreme Court in the landmark case Duguid v. Facebook. He is also the author of "Defanging Debt Collectors," a guide that empowers consumers to fight back against debt collectors and prevail, as well as "Lemon Law 101: The Laws That Lemon Dealers Don't Want You to Know."
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I am a veteran and as such I work through the Veterans Administration for all healthcare issues. I should never get a call from a collection agency such as Americollect but I just did today. I did not answer but let it go to voicemail. The lady by the name of Casey collector #1919 and phone number left was 877-563-5739. The only billing I would receive is from a copay from the Veterans Administration who I did pay.
First, they do not say who they are trying to contact.
2nd, if I answer, they hang up.
3rd, they do not say who they are collcting for. That sends red flags to me…
Receiving calls from Americollect (904)-406-8038 they are disclosing info about me over the phone. Anyone could have answered the call and said they were me and they gave the info of the amount of bills I supposedly owe.
They claimed I owed $329.00 for something in January of 2015. I paid the extortion amount which was impossible to be correct. They were going to hurt my credit if I would not pay the full amount. They said they wanted to help me. I had paid the hospital well over $3,000.00 My deductible was $200.00 which would have been the absolute maximum it could have been. The procedure took the hospital 16 minutes. This was three years after the fact? I am infuriated that this goes on in in our country. This was extortion. I have excellent credit and they knew I did not want to ruin it .
Trying to clear my debt with AmeriCollect. I called on October 26th the lady that I spoke with said she could give me a 25% discount for full payment. I agreed, she said she would send me some paperwork and I asked for a detail of all of the invoices that they said that had. I updated my address with her and waited. Received nothing, called again on November 6th, gentleman this time said he didn’t understand why I hadn’t received anything my address had been updated he also informed me that they were not authorized to accept a settlement. I again asked him if he could send me a detail of all of the invoices, asked if they could me emailed, because I wanted to get his cleared as soon as possible. He said he would send me an email verification and then after I did that he would be able to email me the details. Received the email verification, did what it asked and I still have nothing. Called November 10th, talked with someone else, very nice not sure why I hadn’t received anything and that she would send it out right away. Still nothing. I have over $15,000 of collections between my husband and I and I am trying to get this cleared. The other collection agency have been for cooperative and have given me what I asked, but I just can’t seem to get anything from Americollect.
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