Regional Recovery Services , Inc. or RRS is a third-party collection agency based in Indiana. RRS has received consumer complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), such as communicating information about delinquent debts to unauthorized third parties and failing to provide written verification of debts. If Regional Recovery has contacted you about delinquent financial obligations, make sure you understand your rights before you take action.
The harassing company pays our fees.
They’re legit. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Regional Recovery Services, Inc. was originally founded in 1929, then incorporated in 2012. The BBB established a profile page for RRS in 2001. The BBB lists Regional Recovery Services as a collection agency. Manta estimates RRS’s annual revenue at $500,000 to $1 million and the size of its headquarters staff at 5 to 9 employees.
According to its website, RRS “is a licensed Indiana and Illinois agency that offers a variety of services, which focus on providing a dignified buffer between individuals and businesses as a service provider.” RRS states that their “nationwide resources and personnel… are incomparable advantages…that aid in RRS’s undisputed competence in handling …local and national accounts.” In addition, RRS “strives to maintain good will with… customers.”
The Regional Recovery Services website does not state specifically which types of businesses or industries for whom they collect delinquent debts. However, their Services page indicates that they provide professional collection services by trained agents, third-party billing and accounting control, and nationwide skip-tracing. As a full-service collection agency, RRS reports delinquent debts to all three major national credit reporting agencies; processes new accounts through the national registry of address changes; utilizes letter processing and billing, as well as predictive dialers; and promises “24-hour turnaround time from placement to action.” RRS also employs on-staff legal counsel and uses “insurance filing collection system management.”
RRS states that it “prides itself in the continuous training of employees in the specialized collections, locating, and skip-tracing process, which … is constantly reinforced by diligent supervision of all operations.” However, their website does not provide any information about their regulatory compliance policies. In addition, their consumer resources page does not provide any links or references to consumer protection resources, laws, or enforcement agencies, displaying only an “under construction” placeholder message.
As of January 2020, the BBB has closed 11 complaints against Regional Recovery Services in the preceding three years, with 5 complaints closed in the previous 12 months. Most of those complaints cite problems with billing and collections, although 4 complaints also cite problems with customer service or sales. As of April 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has closed 1 complaint involving RRS. Justia lists at least 3 cases of civil litigation involving RRS.
Regional Recovery Services, Inc.
PO Box 3333
Munster, IN 46321
Telephone: (219) 803-0823
Website: http://www.regionalrecoveryservice.com/
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.
It is illegal for a debt collector to make empty threats to sue you or garnish your wages. It is also unlikely RRS 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!
Absolutely. You can sue a debt collector. Here is a Sample Complaint:
Complaints against Regional Recovery Services cite problems resulting from disputes about the validity of debts, and the accuracy of information reported to the credit reporting agencies. In April 2019, a complainant stated that RRS had “been trying to collect a debt from him for almost 6 months,” but the complainant stated that the bill was not his responsibility. According to the complainant, the alleged debt was for a bill from a medical clinic that the complainant had visited “for injuries sustained at work, and as such it was covered under workers’ compensation.” The complainant stated that he had “provided the medical clinic with his work comp insurance provider information at the time of service…and filed a claim that very day.” However, RRS allegedly “reported this debt to the credit bureaus as an unpaid collection account, thereby causing some serious damage to his credit.” The complainant stated that he had “told the representative at RRS that it was a work comp claim and” that state law prevented them from attempting to collect the bill from him “or report this account as delinquent.” Regardless, the complainant insisted that Regional Recovery Services “refused to remove the collection account.” RRS allegedly “sent him an updated bill from the medical clinic, which states that he has zero responsibility for this bill” and does not owe anything; however, the complainant said that RRS offered the “updated bill… only as a resolution of his previous dispute,” but insisted that he “still owes the amount” in the original collection letter. He also said that they had not removed the delinquency from his credit report. The complainant indicated that he would be filing a complaint with the Indiana workers’ compensation board. In its response, RRS argued with the complainant about the date on which he filed the workers’ compensation claim, but ultimately acknowledged that he had been incorrectly billed and that they took steps to have the item removed from his credit report.
In May 2019, a complainant stated that she had not received a response from Regional Recovery Services regarding her request for debt validation or her dispute that RRS had violated HIPAA laws designed to protect medical information. According to the complainant, RRS had responded to her original request from debt validation by sending a highly detailed “billing statement from the alleged original creditor” that showed her “insurance provider, …ID number, …detailed procedures, and dates.” She stated that “under …HIPAA…, EHRs (electronic health records) cannot be shared with a third party, unless it is directly related to that patient’s health.” In addition, RRS must also be a designated “Business Associate” with the legally required agreement necessary to be allowed to receive limited amounts of medical information; however, RRS failed to provide her with any such documentation. She said it had “been 30 days since she had last reached out and 3 months since the …information was originally requested.” As a result, she said that Regional Recovery Services is “in violation of several laws.” In its response, RRS said the complainant had made “outlandish claims.” Regional Recovery Services said that the original creditor had provided all the necessary information from the creditor after they responded to a dispute received from the credit reporting agencies, and that they had therefore fulfilled all their obligations. RRS stated that the “rest of the dispute …is just adding as many acronyms for potential violations that the person can muster.” RRS refused to address the complainant’s concerns, stating that their “offer will be to update the credit report when the account is, in fact, paid.”
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…
“With your help the nagging collection calls have finally ceased! I was thrilled I was also able to get damages from the collection agency. I am unable to adequately express my joy. I am so thankful I made the call.”
“When I first emailed the office, I was not exactly sure what they could do for me. I had an idea, but they responded back with everything I could expect to take place. I never believed I would be receiving a check, it was definitely a silver lining. I highly recommend them to anyone seeking customer legal services.”
“I just wanted to let you know we received the check from your office on now and I wanted to take some time to inform you that we really appreciate all of your efforts in this matter.”
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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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