Federal Adjustment Bureau or FABCO is a rental property accounts receivable management company specializing in tenant screening and third-party debt collection. FABCO has received complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), including failure to verify debts and attempting to collect debts not owed. If you have been contacted by Federal Adjustment Bureau, make sure you understand your rights before responding.
The harassing company pays our fees.
They’re legit. According to the BBB, Federal Adjustment Bureau, Inc. is a legitimate agency founded and incorporated in 1943. The BBB established FABCO’s profile page in 1970. FABCO is listed as a tenant screening and credit reporting agency. Buzzfile estimates FABCO’s annual revenue at $2.3 million and the size of its headquarters staff at 23 employees.
According to its website, FABCO is a “proven leader in tenant screenings and rental collections.” FABCO’s “specialization in rental debts and dedicated staff of collectors has helped them establish themselves as an industry-leading debt collection agency, with a collection rate above the national average.” Beginning as a “small rental collection agency,” FABCO has “grown to provide landlords everywhere with nationwide information at the click of a button.”
Federal Adjustment Bureau operates two main divisions—a screenings division and a collections division. FABCO’s screening division provides a “combination of rental, credit, and criminal information” to landlords to help them “make the right decision about their applicants.” FABCO’s screening services include InstaRent reports and InstaHire reports. InstaRent reports provide landlords with a rental report, including eviction filings, rental collections, and notices to vacate; a credit report, including FICO score; and a criminal report, including arrests, pleas, and court records. InstaHire reports include a credit report; bureau of motor vehicles report; and criminal background check.
FABCO also provides third-party collection services for managers of rental properties. FABCO goes “above and beyond other agencies by reporting each and every account to one of the three national credit bureaus, as well as listing them on the individual’s FABCO Rental Report.” FABCO’s collections division focuses “exclusively on the multi-housing industry” and “has earned a respected reputation” with a staff of “collectors professionally trained in the specific areas of landlord-tenant law, including but not limited to, leases, security deposits, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.”
FABCO’s compliance policies are different from those of most collection agencies. FABCO’s clients must first register for membership before qualifying to receive credit reports. The 3-step registration process involves meeting certain minimum requirements, completing membership paperwork, and waiting for verification and approval. Their site is client-facing with resources designed for property managers. There are no references to consumer protection resources 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 22 complaints against Federal Adjustment Bureau in the preceding three years, with 7 complaints closed in the past 12 months. Almost all of those complaints allege problems with billing and collection services. As of April 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has closed 20 complaints against FABCO. Justia lists at least 5 cases of civil litigation involving FABCO.
Federal Adjustment Bureau, Inc. – FABCO
P.O. Box 20850
Columbus, OH 43220
Telephone: (800) 669-5010
Website: http://www.fabcogroup.com/
It is illegal for a debt collector to make empty threats to sue you or garnish your wages. It is also unlikely FABCO 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:
Complaints against FABCO commonly cite a tendency to attempt to collect disputed debts. In July 2017, a complainant indicated that he had “received a call from Federal Adjustment Bureau in March of 2016 stating that he owed a debt to an apartment complex for cleaning charges.” The complainant disputed the debt and requested validation. Allegedly, the FABCO representative said he would note the dispute and then ended the call. The complainant did not hear anything further until July 2017, when the item appeared on his credit report. The complainant contacted FABCO, but the representative “hung up… several times and refused to answer …his calls until he called from a different phone.” On making contact, the receptionist allegedly insisted that she had answered the previous calls. The complainant spoke with a Federal Adjustment Bureau representative “who was rude and informed him that they… had sent the validation.” The complainant disputed the response and asked why they had waited for a year to take any action. In response, the representative allegedly stated that it “was due to a change in the collection bureaus.” When the complainant pressed him for details, the representative responded that he didn’t know; indicated that he would end the call if there was nothing further; then hung up.
In response, FABCO provided a chronology of the delinquency which indicated that the complainant had disputed the debt in March 2016. The reply indicated only that the representative had offered to send an itemization, but there was no indication of whether a validation had actually been mailed. The item was then reportedly placed in a disputed status. The next event according to FABCO took place in July 2017, when the account was reported to the credit reporting agencies. Subsequently, the complainant’s contact was documented, and the request for validation was noted. Federal Adjustment Bureau indicated that they are currently researching the disputed item and indicated that they will not send validation until they have completed their investigation. As a result of the complaint, they sent a request to delete the item from the complainant’s credit report until the dispute is resolved. They also indicated that their review of the phone calls with the complainant did not reveal any unprofessional conduct or hang-ups and that there was no indication that the complainant had made a verbal request for validation.
In his rebuttal, the complainant rejected the response, indicating their refusal to acknowledge his dispute over a year previously and subsequent decision to report the item to the credit reporting agencies were direct violations of the FDCPA and the FCRA.
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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I have lived at this apartment for 5 yrs that was built in the 1950s my rental office told me to move out be for the date now they gave me a bill of 2400 and threatened if I didn’t pay it this would be on my rental history they never came to fix anything my cabinets been off for a whole yr that house was very old the paint was very cheap the cabinet fell on my sons head I need this to be disputed please help me thank you
Rented from a apartment complex upon the ending of my lease I provided written notice and keys that I wasn’t renewing my lease..year later upon checking my credit report notice I had a fabco on my report ,called rep informed me to contact apartment complex about $2300 balance..the manager of complex refused all calls or responses instead emailed me a move out form saying I owed concessions charges for not providing proper notification to move so they are charging me market price on unit they rented as prorated special on for a year !! I have NEVER heard of such tactic and placed it on my credit ..affecting my credit (I believe it’s RETALIATION for me calling Corp.office on their maintenance and management office)
My husband and I recently sold a home and loan is paid off. We looked at our credit reports before getting preapproved to start looking for another home. We found that the payment for our home loan had been reported late for 24 consecutive months. It looks like a partial payment was applied to the principal on the loan instead of the payment amount due and through the payment off. I contacted the loan officer, due to our closeness he told me secretly that the quickest way to get it cleared up was to looked for a credit expert I told him I don’t know anyone who could help me out then he introduced me to Tom who’s a former Experian worker. I contact him via email at (tom.lawrence114 at g mail com) I explained everything to him and he assure me he will help me get my credit fixed after we bot got an agreement, to my greatest surprised every debt on our credit was marked as paid, the 24 consecutive late payment had been corrected to on time payment. We applied for a home and we were approved.
I don’t know what is going on,my credit report was not showing this in dec 2019 all of a sudden I check3/14/20 and wahla….I HV some shit on my credit report.im sick of all this bullshit because ppl want to lie cheat and steal and the United States has lost control of these thieves. I don’t like being on line this is the result confusion in this country no control over these phones or thieves that’s why that big data breach now I got all kinds of shit on my credit report, like last check was 2014, score**1,2020 514 what a mess loans opened in my name, I wasn’t even living here in 2015 at that time loan was taken out in Cincinnati Ohio, I was living in AZ. Now with good credit report gone sour what do eqifax,and all others willing to do my credit was destroyed by unknown ppl I know 5/3 bank in Cincinnati Ohio told me I pulled out a loan when?Mar 2015 shit I was living in Az 2218 Tay*** St Phoenix az **006.student loan? Well 2015 I was 51 I completed school, there was no need to continue so whose using my information? I guess 5/3 used an old closed account 1996 of mine to make those Fake accounts. I will find out and I am MORTIFIED I do not want to go through changes because u ppl have lost control.shameful.
I got an apartment with someone back in september of 2018. My cousin would come to visit and sometimes stay a little longer than a visit. my roommate did not like that and went to tell the rental office that my cousin was living there, which wasnt true. The rental office threatened to evict us if we didnt move out by the end of the month. We moved out at the end of the month and that was the end of that situation. I go to check my credit score to see they are trying to say i owe them 1,068$ which is invalid. I had no idea of this fee nor the reason. Im confused and need to dispute this information.
I had an eviction on my name but it was dismissed because i did not live there anymore before the eviction filings date but it is stopping me from getting an apartment with my children.
Today I was made aware of FABCO placing a collection item that was created in October 2014 from an apartment complex I had lived at prior to that time. I am a bit confused on how to handle this since I was not aware of the reason for this payment or that it went to collection. Thank you.
A five year old debt from FABCO appeared on my credit report as of last year. I was able to obtain a copy of a FABCO report that an apartment application pulled, and it is not the correct address nor is my name correct. It was a shady landlord from an old campus house I had with 3 roommates, and the structure literally fell apart. We never received any notification of this debt, were not evicted, nor were we taken to court. Along with the details on the report are not accurate in terms of what we paid for rent.