National Service Bureau or NSB, which also does business as Seattle Service Bureau, Inc. (SSB), is a third-party collection agency. NSB has received consumer complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), including improper sharing of information and attempting to collect debts not owed. If you have been contacted by this debt collector, understand your rights before responding.
The harassing company pays our fees.
They’re legit. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), National Service Bureau is a legitimate collection agency founded and incorporated in 1987 as Seattle Service Bureau. The BBB established its profile page in 1991. SSB is listed as a collection agency and check verification and recovery service that uses the alternate business names, National Service Bureau and NSB. Manta estimates National Service Bureau’s annual revenue at $7.2 million and the size of its headquarters staff at 95 people.
According to its website, which uses the business name National Service Bureau, Seattle Service Bureau “is presently headquartered in Seattle, Washington.” SSB has “roots as a family business, but has grown organically into a nationwide debt collection agency…and brings a breadth of experience and a range of services to the recovery of delinquent accounts receivable.”
NSB’s collection services occupy four divisions: pre-collections; letter services; third-party; and legal services. Their pre-collection, or early intervention, service agents send “a timely message to consumers, and often a slight nudge is all that is necessary to resolve past-due accounts prior to placing them in full collection.” Letter service agents introduce third parties into the client process with “last demand” letters urging consumers “to pay the client directly before the account is placed in full collection.”
NSB’s full-service third-party collection service employs automated messaging and “total call management services depending on the success of pre-collections, letter services, and the specific needs of” client organizations. NSB’s “in-house legal department offers services covering all phases of the recovery process nationwide…when it’s been determined that consumers are not cooperative in the repayment of the balance due.”
National Service Bureau collects consumer debt for education, finance, government, insurance, medical, and telecommunication providers. National Service Bureau also collects delinquent accounts for commercial clients. NSB ’s Compliance page hosts a very comprehensive outline of consumer protection laws and enforcement agencies, with links to resources and legal and regulatory information.
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 28 complaints against National Service Bureau in the past three years, with 6 closed in the past 12 months. Most of the complaints allege problems with billing and collections. Since April 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has received 39 complaints about NSB. Justia lists at least 7 cases of civil litigation naming National Service Bureau as a defendant.
It is illegal for a debt collector to make empty threats to sue you or garnish your wages. It is also unlikely NSB 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 are some Sample Cases Filed in Federal Court
In December 2015, the Supreme Court of the State of Washington issued a decision indicating whether out-of-state residents can sue Washington state corporations for “allegedly deceptive acts.” In this case, the plaintiff was a Texas resident who claims to have received deceptive letters from National Service Bureau in an effort to resolve “unliquidated subrogation claims” on the part of an auto insurance company “with its principal place of business in Illinois.” Specifically, the plaintiff’s son was involved in a car accident with an insured motorist. The insurance company implicated in this case paid the insured motorist for damages and repairs to the vehicle. Subsequently, the insurance company attempted to pursue a subrogated claim from the plaintiff in the amount of $9,126.18. The plaintiff received three letters, which she claimed were deceptive because they suggested “the sum was the ‘balance due’ on a ‘debt’ rather than ‘a potential, unliquidated claim based on a subrogated interest from its insured.’” As result, she cited a violation of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and attempted unjust enrichment. The insurance company and SSB in United States District Court attempted to have the charges dismissed, “claiming the CPA does not apply to claims made by a plaintiff
who is not a Washington citizen.” The U.S. District Court dismissed the claim of unjust enrichment, but sent the case back to the Washington State Supreme Court to answer two questions:
The Court answered yes to both questions, clearing the way for the plaintiff to pursue her claims that the collection activities in this case were a violation of state CPA laws.
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).
Consumers have reported this agency harassing them from the following numbers:
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…
“Thank you and your staff for the exceptional work you did on my behalf in dealing with a debt collector. I’ve not experienced the level of professionalism, care, timeliness in follow-through, and financial compensation obtained through your firm.”
“I won’t be afraid to contact you or recommend your services to others for debt collection difficulties. Please keep up the outstanding work you do, and again, thank you for helping me through this challenging time. I am most grateful.”
“I did not realize I’d be getting any money from this wretched affair. I’m taken aback by what you have achieved in my behalf.”
We can absolutely help. Call us today.
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Have you had a bad experience with this agency’s debt collectors? Sound off and share your experience with other visitors in the comment box below.
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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NSB is trying to collect over $13,250 from me. A lady ran a red light and hit my daughter who was turning, it totaled the car. No damage done to the truck that hit her. A collection agency in Mass. Sent a bill 2,246.00 for damages to the truck, which I performed to full satisfaction and accord. The insurance company at the time of the accident would not acknowledge the insured was at fault, city video footage proves it. This totaled car was signed over to my daughter in 2022, the accident took place in 2023, and they’re saying I’m responsible. My daughter is 23 years old, this was her car, and she was involved in the accident. NSB threatened to have the current plates and registration removed from the totalled car, and have my driver’s license suspended. I am one who doesn’t have, nor need a driver’s license. The supreme court stands behind me. I have no license for them to suspend. The car is totaled and pull and pay bought it after the impact totalled it. Are these threats? How can they come after me charging ten thousand dollars more than the original claim? Which has already been paid. Is this a tort claim? Should I take them to court? I live in Colorado, subrogation collectors must be registered as a debt collector. What must they provide as a subrogation collector? I have requested proof to validate, a break down of the charges, their license and bond, and registration as a debt collector. I asked them if this is a tort claim. Don’t tort claims need to go to court? Thanks.
concerns over NSB from a 2019 accident that my daughter was involved. The car was in my name and I also happen to be (and still am) a State Farm customer. At the time of the accident my local agent said our coverage had lapsed and that they tried contacting my husband unsuccessfully. They NEVER even tried contacting me (we are both on the policy). To my shock when I found out i had no coverage I confronted them about it and they said they were sorry but there was nothing they could do. Our car was totaled the others involved must have had state farm too and that is where NSB comes in, demanding payment with calls and threats. I was scarred to we set up a payment plan. What are the chances of settling? How can they just demand the money I never saw a bill for damages etc.
They called demanding I set up a payment plan over an uninsured accident I was in. I didn’t agree to fault so didn’t pay but they got my driver license suspended and now I have to pay the full balance of 7494.10 to get my license back, I also have to get an SR22. Taking the bus every day sucks but I don’t have another option at this point. Good Luck
The nsb called my sisters phone so I called them back. They claimed they couldn’t find my insurance for an accident that happened 4 years ago and that I owed money for it, and they would suspend my license, at which they told her that and I had to find out through her. Then when I called them, I said I didn’t have a card with money on it right now and I was going to work and I’d have to call later to figure it out, she threatened to revoke my license like I didn’t just say I would pay it. Then asked when I would go on break, I told her I don’t have breaks and she refused to believe me and honestly, it was pretty intimating and I felt threatened.
The NSB has been calling me consistently for nearly two years. In that time period, they have made false claims which upon further investigation turned out to be entirely untrue. For example, the NSB informed me that my license would be suspended unless I engaged into a payment agreement with them – however, when I contacted my state DMV, it was explained to me that I was only required to retain SR-22 insurance. Moreover, they have persistently called me on a nearly daily basis (sometimes up to two or three times a day…despite the fact that I have persistently blocked them many, many times from a wide array of numbers from are you wide range of area codes.
The NSB recently alleged that if I don’t submit to making payment arrangements – I, “Will face the consequences.” Even after making the aforementioned proclamation, the NSB continued to call me from various numbers – the latest of which called me on a recorded line without my consent, and proceeded to call me juvenile names in a childish manner. The woman then continued to taunt me and make further threats upon my refusal to make payment arrangements. When I explained to her that the present call was being recorded, she backtracked and said that she did not consent to her call being recorded, and lie that I consented to her call being recorded when the question, in fact, was never posed.
The NSB has literally called me at least 70 times within the past year and a half, sometimes multiple times a day. They threaten me if I do not concede to make payment arrangements, and have yet to provide me with any sort of judgment or provide me with notarized bill. They claim I owe them $20,000 plus dollars in medical expenses but have failed to provide documentation upon repeated requests – insisting that they are not required to do so.
The NSB has repeatedly harassed and threatened me in a way that can only be described as unethical and undoubtedly unprofessional. Their leveraging techniques are extremely aggressive and do not coincide with the ethical standards outlined by state statutes. I have several recorded phone calls exhibiting such behavior.
They have called me names, belittled the amount of money I make, threatened me with further litigation, provided me with blatant misinformation, and so much more… And I have the recorded phone calls to back these statements.
This “company” has an overt culture of thuggery, and resorts to playing on the ignorance and fear of their prey / targets.
My name is Omar haji NSB send me a bill of 7,000 and said I was involved accident with their client State Farm while I was also State Farm customer too which is also illegal company who only collect money and insure nothing they threatened to take my licence and registration and keep calling daily State Farm should also face legal action for doing nothing for people but just transferring to NSB . I think both State Farm and NSB break law and I have a lot of proofs for that be aware of these 2 agencies people
The NSB failed to tell me they were a collection agency, said the issue I am currently dealing with “won’t go away,” named several past employers to which I asked if they were attempting to garnish my wages – didn’t provide me with a direct answer, and petitioned to have my license suspended, of which they successfully did.
A woman named Monica called from 4253545876 claiming to be from State Farm. She said she needed to collect a balance due from unpaid medical bills not covered by my insurance from an accident that happened almost 2 years ago. I said I’d get back to her because I knew of no such balance due. The next day she called back at 1:42 am in the morning saying she was from National Service Bureau and it was urgent that I return her call to resolve this matter before it escalates. She was deceptive from her initial call because there is no balance due, rather it is a a potential, unliquidated claim based on a subrogated interest from State Farm’s insured. It is outrageous.