Preferred Collection and Management Services, Inc. (PCMS) is a third-party collection agency based in Florida. PCMS has received consumer complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA), such as threatening to take actions that cannot legally be taken and failing to verify debts. If PCMS has contacted you about past due collection items,make sure you understand your rights before you respond.
The harassing company pays our fees.
They’re legit. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Preferred Collection and Management Services, Inc. is a legitimate collection agency, founded in 1985.The BBB established a profile page for PCMS in 1992. The BBB lists PCMS as a collection agency that uses the alternate business names, The Preferred Group of Tampa and Preferred CMS, Inc.Buzzfile estimates PCMS’s annual revenue at $10 million and the size of its headquarters staff at 30 employees.
According to its website, PCMS “tends to go above and beyond to assist…clients, their patients, and consumers looking for solutions to make what is typically considered a bad experience (like being in collections) a win-win for consumers and for…the original creditor.” PCMS also states that it “can most likely help with” questions regarding delinquent items that have been reported to the credit reporting agencies.The PCMS website has “useful information to help site visitors along their journey to getting…outstanding obligations taken care of.” Although this information is mostly factually accurate, it is presented in a way that may be considered misleading.
The PCMS website does not provide any detailed information about its business practices, its regulatory compliance polices, or the businesses or industries for whom it collects debts. Instead, most of the information on the four pages of the PCMS website include statements about the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA); the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCPRA); and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). For example, the opening paragraphs of the home page are followed by a statement about a consumer’s right to dispute debts, which begins, “If you just received a letter from us for a recently placed account(s), please know that you have 30 days in which you can dispute the debt(s) and we will verify the debt and send you proof that the debt is valid.” However, this information is not identified as part of FDCPA regulations, and it is immediately followed by information about how to make payments online, via text message, or by visiting retailers such as 7-Eleven and Family Dollar.
The home page also includes a “mini-Miranda” identifying PCMS as a debt collector. Beneath the mini-Miranda is a statement derived from provisions of the TCPA that reads, in part, “by providing your cell phone number or email address, you expressly permit us to contact you in that manner, including using an automated telephone dialing system and that the cell phone or email provided is your own.” However, there is no mention of the TCPA, nor of potential penalties against collection agencies who violate this law. This paragraph is immediately followed by a web-based contact form that requests site visitors’ email addresses and mobile phone numbers.
The other 3 pages of the PCMS website include various versions of the same information.The PCMS privacy policy includes information about cease and desist letters and HIPAA privacy laws. Although the Privacy Policy page states that there is a “‘consumer resources’ section of the website,” no such page or section actually exists.
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.
As of April 2019, the BBB has closed 9 complaints against Preferred Collection and Management Services in the past 3 years, with 5 complaints closed in the previous 12 months. Almost all of those complaints alleged problems with billing and collections.Since May 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has closed 23 complaints involving PCMS. Justia lists at least 1 case of civil litigation involving PCMS.
Preferred Collection and Management Services, Inc.
PO Box 2964
Tampa, FL 33601
Telephone:(813) 251-0802
Website: https://preferredcms.com/
It is illegal for a debt collector to make empty threats to sue you or garnish your wages. It is also unlikely PCMS 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 Complaints
Complaints against Preferred Collection and Management Services cite problems resulting from disputes about the validity of debts and excessive and prohibited communication tactics. In March 2019, a complainant stated that PCMS was violating her request that they not call her, and that they were attempting to collect a debt she didn’t owe. According to the complainant, she had asked PCMS to “stop calling her on her cell phone and at her place of employment.” She also requested that PCMS not “email her or send her a letter in the mail.” As for the bill PCMS was attempting to collect, the complainant stated that it “was covered by… health insurance,” and that she is “being harassed over $50 to $80” that she claimed not to owe. Specifically, she stated that PCMS had placed “numerous phone calls on her cell and at work… for over 3 months,” and that her “health insurance covered whatever bills they think she owes.” In response, PCMS stated that “according to their notes, there has been no request until now to stop calls and/or letters; however, they have now placed do not call and do not mail parameters on this account.” PCMS also stated that the complainant had sent an “EOB showing no patient responsibility.” PCMS disputed the complainant’s analysis of the debt, insisting that “$66.46 is still due.” The complainant replied, stating that the bill was for a “mammogram that was covered under her insurance.” She had “paid the co-pay of $50 and the rest was covered by her insurance.” She insisted that she was “not responsible for $66.46,” and that she has “been a loyal patient for over 25 years and refuses to pay for something she did not create.
In January 2019, a complainant stated that Preferred Collection and Management Services had been attempting to collect bills he did not owe. According to the complainant, there were 7 “accounts… reported on his credit report,” but when he contacted the hospital,” they said he did not “owe, and have never owed them money, and they did not turn him over to collections for any reason.” He also stated that PCMS “refused to provide ownership of these accounts,” and that they “refused to contact the hospital for correct information about this account.” After contacting the hospital a final time, he was again told “that they have searched his files and still cannot find anything he owes and cannot find anything that was turned into collections.” PCMS insisted that the debts had been validated, and that when they contacted the hospital, they were “informed that… they had spoken to the complainant on several occasions; that they had advised him that the dates in collection were from their old system; and that they did not tell him that he does not owe.”
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.
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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