HP Sears or Herbert P Sears Co. Inc is a third-party collection agency based in Southern California. HPS has received consumer complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) such as failure to verify debts and attempting to collect debts not owed. If you have been contacted by HPS, make sure you understand your rights before responding.
According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Herbert P. Sears Co., Inc. was founded in 1928 and incorporated in 1947. The BBB established a profile page for HPS in 1955. HPS is listed as a collection agency. Buzzfile estimates HPS’ annual revenue at $3 million and the size of its headquarters staff at 30 people.
The harassing company pays our fees.
They’re legit. According to its website, HP Sears“prides itself on…experienced, well-trained account recovery professionals…and innovative and cutting-edge technology that allows exceptional communication and the highest possible return for…clients.” HPS services “both consumer and commercial accounts receivable industries from its Bakersfield California location… and now represents clients throughout the United States.”
HPS collects delinquent accounts for four main industries—healthcare, financial services, judgment recovery, and automotive. HPS’ healthcare clients consist of hospitals, medical offices, and dental offices; their financial services clients consist of banks and credit unions; their judgement recovery clients consist of law firms and financial services clients; and their automotive clients consist of banks, credit unions, leasing companies, and dealerships.
As a full-service collection agency, HPS offers nationwide skip tracing; credit reporting; account litigation; medical management; early-out billing; asset and income investigations; payment monitoring; and insurance follow-ups.
HP Sears cites a “superior level of compliance and acute industry awareness that mitigates risk for our clients.” HPS complies with “all federal and state laws and regulations.” In addition, HPS staff are required to complete “training programs through ACA International and California Association of Collectors, Inc.…and are trained to adhere to the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA).”
The HPS site is client-facing. A minimal legal disclosure is posted on the online payment portal, but the site does not contain links or references 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 17 complaints against HP Sears in the past three years, with 5 closed in the past 12 months. Most of those complaints allege problems with advertising and sales, although a large percentage allege problems with billing and collections. Since March 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has received 25 complaints about HPS. Justia lists at least 2 cases of civil litigation involving HPS.
HP Sears
2000 18th Street
Bakersfield, CA 93301
Telephone: (661) 325-5981
Website: http://www.hpsears.com/
It is illegal for a debt collector to make empty threats to sue you or garnish your wages. It is also unlikely HPS 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. Here are some Sample Cases
In June 1976, in the Court of Appeals of California, Fifth Appellate District, a judge issued an Opinion in a case alleging delinquent hospital bills had been assigned for collection illegally. In this case, there were two individual plaintiffs. One plaintiff was a 22-year-old, widowed seasonal farm worker. His wife had been admitted to the county hospital to give birth, after which she died. The county hospital billed the plaintiff $175 for costs in treating the newborn infant. The plaintiff himself had not received any treatment. The bill was subsequently assigned to the county collection service and the plaintiff was sent a “series of notices demanding payment and threatening legal action if payment was not received.” The other plaintiff received medical treatment in the amount of $461.30 and signed an agreement to pay the bill in monthly installments of $15.00. When she became unable to make payments, the debt was assigned to the county collection agency, who sent her a series of notices.
The question before the court was whether private collection agencies, in this case represented by Herbert P Sears Co, could legally accept assignments from county hospitals and county collection agencies. Provisions of the Federal Health and Safety Code and Welfare and Institutions Code, which had been enacted in 1961 and 1953 respectively, require that certain consideration must be given to the collection of delinquent debts originating with county institutions; specifically, agents empowered to collect delinquent debts must ensure that the patient is able to pay; that the statute of limitations does not bar collection activity; and that the costs of collection do not exceed the amount owed. Furthermore, county collection agencies reserve “the right to re-evaluate and to adjust or cancel any bill, account or claim assigned for collection to the Collection Agency, particularly where the collection of the same would result in undue hardship to the debtor or his dependents, or presumably result in indigency for the family or dependents of such debtor.”
The plaintiffs argued that assignment to a private collection agency that is motivated solely by profit removed the protections mandated by federal statutes, and therefore rendered such assignments illegal. The court parsed the legal language regulating public-sector collection agents, but could not agree that there was any implication that county collection agents were prohibited from making such assignments. The caveat was that the mandated protections requiring public collection agencies to ensure debtors have the means to pay and that enable the cancellation of debts when collection would result in undue hardship or indigency are equally applicable to any agency to which public agencies may assign debts, regardless of whether the agency-in-assignment is public or private. However, this case did not review whether the private agencies in question adhered to those legally mandated protocols that are applicable to public agencies and intended to protect underrepresented populations from predatory collection practices.
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).
But here’s the rub: If you want to enforce your rights, or recover money for violations — you need to sue. These 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.
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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 received a bill in the mail from hpsears saying we owe $480 for my husband I dont know of any medical Bill’s i have outstanding that are not being dealt with already through my local hospital who does their own collections. They dont even have my husband name correct on the bill they sent. No dates of service for the bill or any info to tell me who the collection debt is for. I tried to login into their website and it says it doesn’t recognize his info or acct #
I think this is fake or fraud but how do I prove it and get rid of it off his credit