If Phoenix Financial Services (PFS) is harassing you, whether it be through annoying phone calls; threats of negative credit reporting, threats of a lawsuit, etc., the law entitles you to sue them for free and win compensation. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and other powerful federal regulations enforce your right to do so. If you want to put an end to PFS’s harassment, delete them from your credit report, and win compensation, call Lemberg Law for a free consultation and begin taking advantage of our completely free legal services.
Phoenix Financial Services LLC (PFS), also known as the Indiana Resolution Group, is a third-party debt collection agency. This means businesses hire them to collect long overdue debts. According to the Better Business Bureau, which has revoked PFS’s accreditation due to high complaints and negative government action taken against them, PFS was founded in 2014. Despite being a relatively young collection agency, PFS generates over $10 million in annual revenue according to Buzzfile.
PFS is based out of Fishers, Indiana. Unlike larger collection agencies, PFS has only one location where they employ 136 people. Despite their smaller size, however, PFS is notorious for violations of consumer-protection laws such as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This has led the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to file a consent order against them and has caused thousands of customers to allege complaints and take legal action due to harassment and illegal credit reporting.
Phoenix Financial Services, LLC
PO Box 361450
Indianapolis, IN 46236
Corporate Office: 1-855-342-6567
Website: https://www.phoenixfinancialsvcs.com/
PFS is a third-party collection agency, which means they assist creditors in collecting customers’ debts. These creditors include student loan services, medical organizations, and government/tax agencies. However, PFS’s focus is on the student loan industry. They, along with other collection agencies, have taken advantage of the recent upsurge in debt among college graduates, which is due in part to predatory lending schemes.
If PFS contacts you about a debt that is many years old, it is because the original creditor has hired them to collect that alleged debt. PFS will attempt different methods to set up payments, including phone calls, letters, and negative credit reporting. Their collection practice is particularly unsavory due to their focus on student debt. This particular kind of debt is the result of predatory financial operations that are underwritten with government-backed subsidies and accompanied by wage garnishment legislation.
If PFS has contacted you regarding any kind of debt, especially student loans or medical debt, you know that this debt is not the result of simple mistakes or frivolous spending. As you know, this alleged debt has accumulated at no fault of your own, and in many cases, it is a debt you no longer owe or never owed in the first place. The good news is that Lemberg Law knows how to handle shady collectors like PFS, and we can help get them off your back.
The harassing company pays our fees.
Despite their track record of harassment, as well as government action taken against them, PFS is a legitimate business. While their business accreditation is currently revoked by the Better Business Bureau, they still maintain a business license and are listed as a domestic limited liability company.
However, this does not mean that PFS is above the law. As is the case with every other debt collection agency, consumer-protection laws such as the FDCPA, the FCRA, and the TCPA strictly regulate PFS. Therefore, if you believe PFS has harassed you in any way, call Lemberg Law today for a free consultation. You may be able to sue them for free and win monetary compensation.
Consumers have reported PFS harassing them from the following numbers:
You don’t have to look far to find hundreds of negative complaints filed by customers against PFS. Websites provided by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) paint a picture of harassment, unfair credit reporting, and other violations of laws like the FDCPA. In addition to such complaints, PFS has been the defendant in many civil litigation cases. Furthermore, PFS was recently the recipient of an enforcement action from the CFPB due to illegal medical debt collection and credit reporting.
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.
Many different federal and state regulations protect you when it comes to debt collection. Your primary federal regulations include the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA).
It is the FDCPA and FCRA, however, that may be most relevant to consumers dealing with PFS. This collection agency is known to harass customers under the FDCPA and illegally report debt to credit agencies in violation of the FCRA (which you can read more about in the next section).
The FDCPA pertains to debt collection and consumers’ rights throughout the entire collection process, including disputes and lawsuits. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), PFS is prohibited from oppressing, harassing, or abusing you under the FDCPA. PFS also cannot use “unfair or unconscionable” tactics or “false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means” when attempting to collect a debt. This includes, of course, PFS’s recent refusal to properly investigate unverified and disputed debt, which is illegal under the FDCPA.
You are also protected by the FDCPA if you want to sue PFS for harassment. If PFS has been found to have violated your rights, you are entitled to financial compensation of up to $1,000. Additionally, PFS must pay your attorney fees and court costs. If this legal solution is appealing to you, you can call Lemberg Law today for a free consultation from an experienced debt collection attorney. We can help you take full advantage of your rights under the FDCPA!
PFS is known to repeatedly harass consumers for payments, including for debts that are unowned, unverified, or disputed. Fortunately, the FDCPA and other federal regulations protect you from such behavior and more. As a consumer, the law empowers you with the following rights and protections, which you can use to your advantage when PFS contacts you about an alleged debt:
If any of these rights are unclear to you, or if you want to learn more about many others the laws entitle you to, call Lemberg Law today for a free consultation. If PFS has infringed on any of your above protections, or if you suspect they have taken other illegal action, you may be able to sue them for free and win compensation.
As a consumer, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) protects your credit. This law regulates how collection agencies report debts to reporting agencies. According to the CFPB, PFS “is prohibited from making any representation that a consumer owes a debt unless [PFS] can substantiate the debt claim at the time of the representation.” Furthermore, if you dispute a debt with PFS, they must properly investigate that dispute instead of ignoring it and reporting the disputed debt to a credit agency anyway.
If you dispute a debt, PFS cannot continue to contact you for payment until that debt is verified, and they certainly cannot put that unsubstantiated debt on your credit report. When they do so, PFS knows they are illegally leveraging a negative impact on your credit to extract payments from you.
While PFS can report a verified debt to reporting agencies, once you dispute a debt PFS must prove it is legitimate before taking further action. Therefore, you are well protected from negative credit reporting. If you want to defend your credit or remove PFS from your report, Lemberg Law can help you do so. Call today for a free consultation and find out how we can delete PFS from your credit report.
PFS cannot make empty threats to sue you or garnish your wages. If PFS threatens you with such negative action, and they don’t intend to follow through with a lawsuit, they are violating your rights. Threats of negative or legal action are common complaints customers file against PFS. If this has happened to you, you may have cause to sue PFS.
However, while it is unlikely that PFS will sue you for a debt you may not owe or they cannot validate, PFS can summon you to court and garnish your wages after a default judgment. To prevent this from happening, call Lemberg Law today for a free consultation. If you want to learn more about the procedures PFS must follow when threatening negative legal action and to find out how the law protects you from such threats and wage garnishment, you can read more here.
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Unlawful Debt Harassment? Learn the Law & Sue the Collector.
PFS is known to harass customers and illegally report unverified debt to credit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has already taken action against PFS for violations of the FDCPA and the FCRA after PFS failed to properly consider disputed debts. If you are a victim of this violation or any of the following, you may have a case against PFS:
The above list includes some, but certainly not all, common violations that may entitle you to sue PFS for free and win compensation. If you suspect that your rights have been violated by PFS in any way, or if you are still unsure, you can call Lemberg Law today for a free consultation. We can win you justice and financial compensation, all while PFS pays your legal bill!
Debt collection agencies like Phoenix Financial Services are, at best, a hassle to deal with. At their worst, these agencies commit harassment, negative credit reporting, and otherwise abusive financial practices. If PFS contacts you then you unfortunately may already know these things well.
The good news is that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act entitles you to sue a collection agency for free if they have violated your rights in any way. You may also be able to win financial compensation and delete PFS from your credit report. If PFS harasses you, filing a lawsuit against them is your opportunity for justice and monetary damages. To start this no-fee legal process, or simply to assess your case and learn more, call Lemberg Law now for a free consultation.
In 2018, a proposed class action filed in New York federal court claimed Phoenix Financial Services LLC failed to clearly specify a consumer’s debt amount in a collection letter. The letter, dated January 3, 2018, indicated that the plaintiff’s account was accruing interest and fees but didn’t provide enough information for the man to calculate the true balance on a given day, the case claims.
The lawsuit alleged the defendant failed to specify the interest rate, amount of interest, date of interest and late fees would be applied, amount of late fees, and amounts of the added charges accrued over “any measurable period.”
In 2017, a complainant indicated that Phoenix Financial Services had initiated collection activity—including placing negative reports with Experian Credit Reporting Agency—for an unverified debt that the complainant had never assumed. This activity caused inconvenience, adversely affected the complainant’s credit, and violated the FCRA. Although the negative information was ultimately removed, and the debt was returned to the original creditor, Phoenix Financial Services accepted responsibility for the violation. Also in 2017, a complainant reported that unverified debts had been reported on his or her credit report in violation of the FCRA. After a standard complaint procedure, the negative information was removed. However, three months later, the same complainant was again notified by the credit reporting agencies that Phoenix Financial Services had again placed unverified negative financial information on his or her credit report. Although the error was again corrected, these repeated lapses indicate a pattern of behavior on the part of Phoenix Financial Services that indicates an inability or an unwillingness to respect financial regulatory laws or consumer protection laws.
October 6, 2015. On behalf of our client, Lemberg Law recently filed a complaint in U.S. District Court, Western District of North Carolina. The case, against Phoenix Financial Services, charges the debt collection agency with violating state and federal law and asks for $1,000 in statutory damages, plus other relief.
Receiving calls at work can be distracting. They can be against the rules. And they can get you into trouble. Our client says that this debt collection agency called him during work hours on his cell phone. He told a PFS debt collector that he wasn’t able to take calls before 5:00 p.m., but they still called during the day.
In addition, in an attempt to be cooperative, our client agreed to let the agency make automatic withdrawals from his bank account. But they did so without the written consent required by law.
The lawsuit charges that Phoenix Financial Services violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by engaging in harassing behavior; by contacting our client at a place and time known to be inconvenient; and by using unfair and unconscionable means to collect a debt. It also charges PFS with violating the North Carolina Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by engaging in harassing behavior, and with violating the North Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act. It also charges Phoenix Financial Services with violations of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act by debiting our client’s bank account without his legal authorization.
“We were so impressed with how the attorney listened to us and understood the position we were in. Thank you for stopping the calls. The check was a nice bonus, but mostly we’re glad we’re not being hounded anymore.”
“Lemberg Law contacted me within a couple of hours of me submitting my info on their site. That same day Daniel emailed me instructions on what to do the next time the collection agency called. Within a week, the calls had stopped. Today marks week 2 and we’ve not had a call in three days. I can’t say thank you enough.”
“I can’t praise your service enough. I was lost and just really wanted my credit report cleaned up. You have gone beyond my expectations. Thanks again!”
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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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Typical dishonest agency. They just dinged my wife’s credit and mine with no written notice , nor giving us 30 days to dispute the validity of the debt. From the balances it appears to be medical bills we disputed with the hospital for services not rendered. It was placed with a collection agency previously, we disputed the debts and the previous agency found our disputes valid and removed them from our credit reports. Here we are no notice, no calls…total violation of Federal laws….time for suit…
I have been receiving both mail and phone calls from this company asking for a debt payment from 2017. The thing is that this was payed on that same year. The original creditor was called some time ago and confirmed that nothing was owed. However, the one phone call I did answer from Phoenix Financial Services resulted in a pretty rude conversation which I ultimately had to hang up on.
It doesn’t seem like I can get this company off my back.
My boyfriend recently got in the mail that he owed 471 from this so called company and said he owed since 2018. He went ahead and paid it w/o consulting me. But it seems too sketchy to me because why send it now 2 years later?
I have Phoenix Financial trying to extort money from me for a medical bill that was already paid from an accident lawsuit. They have now reported this bogus collection on my credit bureaus ( both Experian & Equifax ) which has shredded my credit profile and decreased my score by up to a total of 45 points over a $517 falsified collection. I have no unpaid bills nor any other collections on my file and take pride in paying my bills and following the law however, they keep trying to get me to pay and they will not email me a copy of this collection. This is the third time that St Josephs hospital has sold my paid medical bills from said accident lawsuit to different collection agencies. Now if these bills were all satisfied, on time and taken care of the first time then how is it that this hospital can keep selling my already paid bills to various collection agents which in effect ruins my credit, takes time out of my life, repeated phone calls & most importantly ruins my good name and credit file as they are profiting from falsified collections. I am stressed the hell out & all they ( the collection low-life’s ) do is keep trying to get me to pay something that was paid 2 years ago. I am tired of shaking & being sick to my stomach & losing sleep and having my credit shredded for absolutely no reason at all. Is there any justice for a little guy like myself?
I received a notice on credit karma that a Phoenix Financial had placed a collection debt of $50 dollars from Pendrick Capital Partners on Equifax. The bill was legit since it was from a visit to the local ER hospital.
I called Phoenix to discussed their letter which stated the debt could be paid off with $19.79. I was extremely reluctant to pay since their representative stated that he could only “recommend” the removal of this debt to his supervisor.
But I decided to gamble and in my case it paid off….
On Wednesday, 12/28/2019, I paid $19.79 to Phoenix via a debit card. Yesterday, Sunday, 12/29/2019, (about two weeks later) I received a notice on credit karma the Phoenix collections had been removed raising my score 17 points on vantage.
This company placed a collection on my credit report for an account that was paid in full and closed almost a year prior. They not only reported a collection to all credit bureaus, but they even reported each month as a missed payment. This resulted in one of my credit cards being closed which resulted in a loss of $7,000 worth of credit. I had to fight for something which wasn’t my fault. These people are scam artists. I cannot wait for them to go bankrupt.
They handled my case illegally by not willing to release a claim that shouldn’t be paid by me in full. The total cost was super expensive and I had to pay everything by myself. Horrible attitude and illegal approach. I’m going to find out people who also suffered in similar experience and and get back the money that belongs to me through legal approach. I won’t give up and I’m here advocating people like me should align together and sue this company. Companies like Phoenix Financial Service should be punished and shut down. Otherwise more innocent people would be robbed by these criminals. In terms of attitude, the debt collector yield at me and gave me multiple call during my work time. They also used all uppercase letters in email when I was only begging them to send a receipt to me.
Phoenix Financial has been harassing me for The last three years, with questionable debts from 10 to 15 years in the past, they dont have the rights to these debts, they inflate the debts and continue to call after Ive informed them that they are NOT entitled to or authorized to collect, Ive informed them that I will NEVER PAY THEM ONE CENT!!! Ever, and they just continue to call….not looking for money just want to push back!!!
I always pay my bills in full and was surprized to get a notice requesting $136 and $85 from this debt collection company which was very minimal in details, the only connecting information I could find was a hospital that we had an ER visit to probably a year earlier. I called the hospital to confirm that my bills had been paid in full and that they do not use this debt collection company. Phoenix continues to send letters by the mail which go in the trash and calls from random phone numbers which I mostly am able to ignore but when picking up the call recently, they failed to mention who they were and just went straight into a script of trying to verify personal details and requesting the earlier amount. When I asked if I might record the call they refused and then I hung up. I checked my credit report and they filed 2 false credit report claims, one for each of the earlier listed amounts. I have sent registered a dispute with equifax on these false negative reports and listed this same complaint with the BBB where similar complaints can be found. I find it disturbing that Phoenix was able to collect these bits of personal contact information and frustrating the time wasted on their attempts to collect this fraudulent claim and disputing false credit reports. Hoping enough people report on this bad behavior that Phoenix is unable to continue this fraud and intrusion.
I have had my run in with Phoenix too. It has been a horrible experience and I have been very compliant and trying to help resolve it. They put the disputed amount and they KNOW it is disputed onto my credit report with Experian. Even with me providing proof I paid the thing with the original creditor. It was a small amount less than 50 bucks and they have gone from nice to hateful. I have done all I can. I dont know what more I can do. I am at my wits end.
I asked my hospital about an ER bill. They gave me a different number to call, then another number, which was phoenix. But I checked credit karma & a debt for an ambulance ride was on there – not the one phoenix was talking about. I set up payment for the one on my credit, but phoenix is calling saying he’s trying to help me by NOT letting my debt with him go on my credit.
My question : why wasn’t it already affecting my credit? What if I had never called Phoenix? I trusted to follow up on this because my hospital led me on a trail of phone #s. Can phoenix be holding debt that CAN be turned to credit bureaus?
I do not talk to anyone who does know how to pronounce my properly. This being on my home phone or my cell . I will admit that I do have a bad debt on credit report, caused by a considerable loss of income in my household. The problem is the debt keeps bouncing from debt collector to debt collector. Each time it is sold to another one, they keep updating my report as though the debt just went bad. This last one keeps renewing the date on all of credit reports each month. At this rate it will never fall of after seven years. I have read the FCRA and I know for a fact this is against the law as described in FCRA. These people are very crooked and will do anything to anybody, without a care in the world.
I found a credit report filed on my credit through Lifelock. Lifelock protects you by alerting of fraudulent charges and credit report filing. I have no idea who Phoenix Financial is nor do I know what the charges are for. I had no warning, just that they filed it on my credit several months ago and I didn’t have any warning until now because I pay for fraudulent activity through Lifelock.
These people are a joke, I explained to them that we do not owe this money.It is a workman’s comp case.
These stupid b*** keep calling my cell number, trying to reach someone I do not know. They don’t seem to grasp the concept that I have had this phone number for more than a year and, if the person they seek ever had this number, he or she no longer does.
I have told them to stop calling my number, but they talk over anything I try to say that they do not want to hear.
I want them to cease calling my number.
Phoenix wants a copy of my Federal Tax return to verify my income. Is this legal for a student loan debt??
I just received a bill from Pheonix Financial Services LLC stating I owe a balance of $3,394.76 in debt. I would like to know how this is possible when I do not have debt in that amount and never even received a first request. The other day I received an email stating my credit went down and I am wondering if this is why. If so, this is not ok as I am trying to build my credit up and these people are possibly the cause for it going down. I am 100% aware of the debt I do have and this is not one of them.I did contact them explaining the situation, so hopefully this gets taken care of. Is there anything else I can do to get this taken care of? Thank you so much.
These bafoons keep calling my cell. I do not have any collections or unpaid bills. They won’t tell me why they are calling and I am not giving out any information.
How do I stop them from calling me?
I’m receiving the same thing. I told them I will not pay it until I see what Dr etc the bill is for. I’m not just paying a bill to Phoenix as it was sent. I went through all my bills and none match up with the amount they are saying I owe.
How do I keep this from going to a credit report?
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Hello, Phoenix has been calling me for my husband saying he owed a physician’s bill from last year. However, we never even gotten a physician’s bill from the hospital. They keep calling from different numbers, what should I do? Can we even be liable for a bill we didn’t even know we had?
I have been getting calls from Pheonix Financial Services about a doctors billl for my daughter that was incurred in 2014 or 2015 that if I don’t pay That they will report it to the credit bureau is this true? Can they do this? I am afraid that if I try to pay it they will still put it on my credit report. Let please let me know.
I am being harassed by Pheonix financial services about a doctors bill for my daughter that read is 2014 or 2015, they are threatening me that if I don’t pay that they will send it to the credit bureau is this true? Can they do this?
Hello. I have a collection from Phoenix Financial Services just appear on my credit account for $1400 originally dated 7/14 for a TN hospital. Can you help me get this off my credit report?
They’ve been withdrawing money from my account monthly for about 8 months.. paying off some hospital bills from about 5 years ago. What do i do
Phoenix financial has been calling me multiple times leaving no messages and then threatening my credit even though it was an ER trip last year and I was told from the hospital and my insurance that that would not affect my credit.
If I owe for students can Phoenix Financial Services garnish my wages? Can I ask for a copy of the signed promissory note for this debt. PLEASE HELP
They just called my number harrassed me called me names and hung up on me! All because they think I’m some John Krandle! I’m a woman !!!! These people are ridiculously rude!
> For real? I had no idea.
> You are incorrect. this is an old wives tale and not the law at all. check your info before you get someone sued.
A little known fact is that when a company buys your medical debt you no longer owe that money. They cannot ding your credit anymore. It means now you have a write off on your credit. In 7 years it will go away. These collection agencies never report when you do pay because they don’t have to. Don’t pay these people they literally bought your debt per pennies on the dollar.
> They just took over my ER bill from August 2013. I have cancer and no money. I had been told by the hospital I did not owe this bill but this must be the fifth company to take it over. They have called me three times in the last two hours. No messages, just calling.
Phoenix just bought my radiology bill from someone else after 7 years is this legal
This literally happened to me, but it’s 4 years. Supposedly they are the 6th agency to take over my debt. Is this real?
I live in California. Can you help? Naviant has no accounting, No promissory note(they are relying on an unsigned application to consolidate) which is unsigned by the original alleged lender. I filed bankruptcy in 2015 and they had no accounting, no signed promissory note signed by me and the bank. Every month they violate the CRA and FDCPA by reporting me to the 3 credit bureaus. I just got a call from another collection agency. I have an account with the original lender Citibank and they told me they have no account and nothing in the computer and said I would not have been able to open an account if I wed them money. I asked Naviant for these documents in my continued dispute for years and they admitted they don’t have them. They have the unsigned Application.