Aspen National Collections (ANC) is a third-party collection agency based in Florida. ANC has received consumer complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), including illegal communication tactics and attempting to collect debts not owed. If you have been contacted by ANC, make sure you understand your rights before taking action.
The harassing company pays our fees.
They’re legit. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Aspen National Collections is a legitimate collection agency, originally incorporated in Colorado in 2000 and started in Brooksville, FL in 2003. The BBB established its profile page in 2005. ANC is listed as a collection agency that uses the alternate business name, Aspen National Financial, Inc. Buzzfile estimates Aspen National Collections’ annual revenue at $1.7 million and the size of its headquarters staff at 22 employees.
According to its website, Aspen National Collections “is a national debt collection agency with specialized expertise in consumer debt collections for companies involved in timeshare or vacation ownership resorts, educational loans, utility cooperatives, and other niches.”
ANC’s timeshare division “first became involved in the timeshare, or vacation ownership, resort industry in 2000, assisting resorts located throughout the United States and in Mexico in the recovery of consumer debt related to monthly installment loans and annual maintenance fees.” Their education division assists small schools to larger universities “with all types of educational debt such as student loans, federal and Perkins student loans, K-12 educational fees, nursing loans, and student fines.”
The collection staff of ANC’s utilities division is “trained to understand the client’s specific service, as well as the socio-economic environment of the consumer.” ANC also provides collection services for other types of consumer debt by “partnering with clients to understand their service or product, the nature of their debtors, and creating effective, customized programs to improve the performance of their portfolios.”
ANC is licensed, bonded, and insured; certified in the handling of trust accounts; and a professional member of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) and the American Collectors Association (ACA). They have also posted a statement that they “abide by all requirements of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), ensuring that the collection of your bad debt is done within the parameters allowed by law.” However, there are no links or references on their site to consumer protection resources, laws, or enforcement agencies.
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.
The BBB has closed 20 complaints against Aspen National Collections in the past three years, with 4 closed in the past 12 months. Most of the complaints allege problems with billing and collections. Since August 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has received 6 complaints about ANC, and Justia lists at least 1 case of civil litigation naming ANC as a defendant.
Aspen National Collections
PO Box 10689
Brooksville FL 34603
Telephone: (800) 981-9420
Website: http://aspennational.com/collections/
It is illegal for a debt collector to make empty threats to sue you or garnish your wages. It is also unlikely ANC 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.
Absolutely. You can sue a debt collector. Here is a Sample Complaint:
In 2018, two Michigan consumers filed a proposed class action against Aspen National Collections in which they alleged the company attempted to add unlawful fees to their debt amount. The plaintiffs incurred an obligation to non-party Maverick Condominium Association for unpaid maintenance fees on a Florida timeshare property, according to the case. In a September 2018 letter mailed to the plaintiffs, the defendant allegedly attempted to recover as a collection fee 33 percent of the account balance—an amount that was not authorized by law or the timeshare agreement, the complaint claims.
Complaints against Aspen National Collections generally result from disputes about fees relating to homeowner associations and timeshare rentals. In June 2017, a complainant indicated he had been receiving calls from an ANC representative who claimed to be a manager. The complainant alleged harassment and indicated he was having difficulty paying due to being disabled. Allegedly, after several demands, the complainant said, “What do you want me to do? Sell an arm or a leg?” The ANC representative allegedly replied, “Do you think they are worth what you owe?” after which he began laughing at the complainant. The complainant indicated he did not find the manager’s conduct funny or professional. In response, ANC indicated they had reassigned the complainant’s account to a different representative. However, to honor the complainant’s request that they no longer contact him by phone, ANC indicated that they “will not be able to directly contact” him. ANC also indicated that the newly assigned representative “is very familiar with his account and the nature of the complaint…and would like to speak with the complainant and review the complaint and his specific issues.” ANC invited the complainant to contact him directly, and apologized “for the complaint that was generated during earlier contact.”
In his rebuttal, the complainant rejected the response, indicating the representative who had posted the reply was “the one who brought it up about selling an arm or a leg.” The complainant indicated he wanted clarification about why he was being charged $908.00 for fees, but the ANC representative allegedly said that “he doesn’t have to tell me.” The complainant also alleged that the fees had increased from $900.00 before the complaint to $3,383.35 after the complaint. In response to this rebuttal, ANC indicated that they had spoken with the complainant “numerous times over the last 4 years,” and that “each time he refused to address the situation…and refused to make payment arrangements or to discuss account resolution.” As for fee increases, ANC indicated that the complainant “knows he has fees due every other year… and that those fees continue to accrue every other year even when the account is in an outside collection agency.” As a resolution, ANC indicated that they “would be willing to reverse the amount that was updated by the client if the complainant is willing to pay the original amount placed with ANC in full. The complainant would still owe the remaining years fees that have accrued but he would not owe the additional fees and penalties that were assessed once sent to collections.” The complainant replied that he accepted the offer of resolution but still wanted to know why they continued to call after he asked them not to; why he was being blamed for the comments about his arm and his leg; and why he was told ANC is not responsible for enumerating the fees.
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.
You may have a case, if…
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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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Yes they are harassing me as well. Over a time share I have never used. Silver Seas Beach Club. Supposedly the annual feel was $250. Then it moved to $387 then it moved to $12225.
I could never afford nor use the time share. I tried multiple times to get out of the agreement or what ever they are to no avail. The Aspen Representative is just ungentlemanly 75% of the time. Casey Daniels is his name
aspen collection agency is calling us 608-692-5510 & demanding we pay a bill over the phone that we dispute & have asked that they not call us, & they told us that they will continue to bother us until this is paid, we asked for another bill, they refuse to send, this is over a timeshare that we were coerced in to buying that we have never used