Renton Collections , Inc. (RCI) is a third-party collection agency based in Washington state. RCI has received consumer complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), including failure to verify debts and misrepresentation. If you have been contacted by RCI, make sure you understand your rights before taking action.
The harassing company pays our fees.
They’re legit. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Renton Collections, Inc. is a legitimate collection agency, founded and incorporated in 1981. The BBB established its profile page in 1983. RCI is listed as a collection agency that uses the alternate business name, RCI Billing Services. Buzzfile estimates RCI’s annual revenue at $1.8 million and the size of its staff at 25 people.
According to its website, RCI is a “family owned and operated” collection agency capable of meeting the rapidly changing needs of high volume creditors,” and “has become one of the largest collection agencies in South King County and one of the most competitive agencies in the state.” RCI “offers a wide variety of services custom designed to fit the individual client’s needs.”
RCI’s Services page does not offer a lot of information about its debt collection practices. Site visitors learn that RCI’s “wide variety of services…often have the same common goal, but each client has a particular program to best suit its needs.”
In addition to collection services, RCI provides “pre-collection letters…free of charge, which can be designed to fit client needs.” RCI’s status reports “can be provided monthly, quarterly, or as frequently as the clients’ needs require.” Finally, RCI offers a number of account referral methods, including via a “copy of a delinquent balance sheet generated by a client’s computer system…an electronic file transmitted via secure e-mail…an electronic file copied to a standard 3-1/2 floppy disk…File Transfer (FTP) site…or CD ROM.”
RCI’s Clients page is similarly generalized, stating that they have “built numerous relationships with our clients that have stood the test of time.” The only other information about their clients is 5 testimonials and a statement of membership in the American Collectors Association ACA, the Washington State Collectors Association WSCA, MGMA, HFMA,” and some local business organizations.
RCI’s Legal page indicates that their three staff attorneys are available to pursue legal action against consumers who have “the ability to pay but are unwilling to do so.” There is no information about compliance policies, and there are no 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.
How many complaints are there against Renton Collections Inc – RCI?
As of October 2017, the BBB has given Renton Collections a rating of NR (No Rating). The BBB has closed 26 complaints against RCI in the past three years, with 3 closed in the past 12 months. There are also 15 negative reviews posted to their profile page. Most of the complaints allege problems with billing and collections. Since May 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has received 28 complaints about RCI, and Justia lists at least 5 cases of civil litigation naming RCI as a defendant.
Renton Collections, Inc.
Post Office Box 272
Renton Washington, 98057
Telephone: (800) 655-8231
Website: http://www.rentoncollections.com/
It is illegal for a debt collector to make empty threats to sue you or garnish your wages. It is also unlikely WPI 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 is a Sample Case Complaint:
Complaints against Renton Collections frequently cite inaccurate reporting of information to the credit reporting agencies (CRAs) and inaccuracies in verifying and documenting account and payment details. In November 2016, a complainant indicated that she had received “a summons and complaint” from RCI regarding medical bills from a period stretching from 2011 to 2015. She claimed not to have received the actual bills and questioned whether she was even liable, since she had been living at her parents’ home during the time in question under an arrangement that allowed her coverage under their medical insurance. As a result, she was unaware that she had any outstanding financial obligations resulting from medical treatment. She indicated that upon receipt of the “summons and complaint,” she contacted the hospital directly and set up “Charity Care” to have the outstanding balances resolved. Next, she contacted RCI and made a “bulk payment of $400” to “cover the NEW principal balance on the account after the charity care was approved which they would not give me the information to.” She alleged that the RCI representative she spoke to during the transaction could not help her; that RCI was not “working with her to get this resolved; that in fact she had been discriminated against by them telling me to contact them at a certain time and not being available when she called”; and that she had been “hung up on numerous times and treated poorly for the amounts owed that she was unaware of.” She also alleged that RCI “harassed her for not paying then didn’t help…when she asked to pay in full.”
In response, Renton Collections indicated that the accounts in questions had been paid “the same day as the complaint was submitted and we wrote off a majority of the legal fees associated with the account.” Furthermore, RCI posted a request to “close this complaint as we are no longer attempting to collect a debt.” The complainant accepted the response as a resolution, with the caveat that RCI “mentioned on a recorded line that they waived the interest at 50% not the attorneys’ fees.” As a result, although she did not reject the attempted resolution, she insisted that she will only withhold further objections “for now until I see the settlement papers to make sure they waived the interest and not attorneys’ fees.”
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…
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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 had just called rci moments ago to obtain information about a supposed debt owed to them from a hospital bill in 2014 , i was unaware of an accumulated debt of 800 dollars and why, so i called them and was treated very poorly , the lady was extremely rude and even hung up on me and all i really wanted to do was aquire information on the claim , im unsure what to do at this moment. I had planned on paying this debt off if it is in fact legitimate, but now i question that , ive never received mail for this and have no recollection of a bill dating back 6 years.. im unsure what to do as of right now.
I received a notification on my credit alerts that I had been sent to collections for $67.00. This was from an ER visit at Swedish Hospital in Seattle, WA. I had other bills for large amounts all of which I paid. I was not notified of the $67.00 bill which is why it was left unpaid. I was sent to collections RCI (Renton Collections Inc). I called on a Saturday about the matter, left a message to please call me back ASAP.
Monday I hadn’t received response so I called in again, transferred to Ed Clark ext 208. He explained the reason I had not been sent any info is because it is company policy to not mail anything out of state, and I’m in Oregon. I asked him to verify as that sounded ridiculous. He verified with manager that is company policy to not mail out of state which is why I received no notification. I asked what if someone being treated at the hospital lives elsewhere, farther than Oregon and they receive no notification, they just have to catch the collections account appear on their credit.
Now I have paid it in full days after receiving the email from Credit Karma asking if it was my account. It’s paid in full but I have a derogatory mark on my credit now due to this ridiculous oversight.
He explained that because the total balance was less than $150.00 I couldn’t pay with a card, only by check by phone which they would need my bank info. I’m not giving that out over the phone and a card payment is traceable. He then told me I could log into their website and pay with a credit / debit card, so I did. Ed was not rude, but not understanding either. I would say remained professional but it must be hard for someone to remain professional with ridiculous company policies. I certainly wouldn’t want to be in that profession. Especially since they make no effort to contact the account holder. Website says the company prides themselves on “good old fashioned customer service”. This statement must be false with the ridiculous company policies in place.
I told Ed I would be writing this review and posting it on all review sites so others will be aware that the company does not make any effort to notify collections account holder who are located outside of Washington state. I don’t expect any collections agency would have even one good review, however I just wanted this information to be posted for anyone else out of state who is facing the same issue.