U.S. Collections West , Inc. (USCW) is a third-party collection agency based in Arizona. USCW has received consumer complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA), including illegal communication tactics and misrepresentation. If you have been contacted by USCW, make sure you understand your rights before responding.
The harassing company pays our fees.
They’re legit. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), U.S. Collections West is a legitimate collection agency, founded and incorporated in 1986. The BBB opened its file in 1988. USCW is listed as a collection agency and has a secondary website located at www.ethicalaz.com/uscollectionswestinc. Buzzfile estimates USCW’s annual revenue at $4.4 million and the size of its staff at 42 people.
According to its primary website at www.uscollectionswest.com, USCW “incorporates innovation and experience to produce the leading percentiles for our customers.” USCW collects “all types of debt” and does not specify or limit the industries it serves. Their collection services include civil debt litigation, pre-collect service, credit reporting, consumer online payment solutions, and online client login.
U.S. Collections West collection staff accepts accounts on a contingency basis and also purchases debt. Their contingency rates are based on the age of the account; the account balance; the volume of accounts placed; and the type of account with regard to its “collect-ability.” USCW pays court costs and attorney fees for litigated claims up front. Pre-collect services include standard per-letter rates for litigated and non-litigated accounts. USCW offers several options for clients interested in assigning accounts for collection.
The USCW website contains a client service guarantee, but no references or links to consumer protection resources, laws, or agencies. There is also no information about USCW’s compliance policies or employee training.
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 23 complaints against USCW in the past three years, with 9 complaints closed in the past 12 months. Almost all of those complaints allege problems with billing and collection. Since April 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has closed 33 complaints against USCW. Justia lists 6 cases of civil litigation naming USCW as a defendant.
U.S. Collections West, Inc.
P.O. Box 39695
Phoenix, AZ 85069
Telephone: (888) 254-6967
Website: http://www.uscollectionswest.com/
It is illegal for a debt collector to make empty threats to sue you or garnish your wages. It is also unlikely USCW 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
In June 1998, in United States District Court for the District of Arizona, a judge issued a Memorandum and Order in a case alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA). In this case, the plaintiff had rented an apartment in 1995 and later defaulted on the lease. The property manager for the apartment complex obtained a judgment against the plaintiff and assigned it to U.S. Collections Westfor collection. In 1996, USCW mailed the plaintiff four letters, each attempting to collect a different amount. Later in 1996, USCW filed an Application for Writ of Garnishment of the plaintiff’s earnings with an assignment to the property management company in the amount of $832.80. The amount of the judgment in the writ entered by Scottsdale Justice Court was $702.77. The USCW representative who applied for the writ was not an attorney.
The plaintiff cited violations of the FDCPA on four counts:
1. The difference in the amount of the debt stated in the assignment and the writ constituted a violation of the FDCPA’s prohibition against “falsely representing the amount of a debt in order to collect a debt.”
2. The non-attorney USCW representative’s signing of the application for writ of garnishment violated the FDCPA’s prohibition against using “any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt,” because such actions can only be taken by an attorney.
3. The act of filing the application for the writ of garnishment constituted a violation of the FDCPA’s prohibition against threatening to take actions that cannot legally be taken.
4. USCW’s actions constituted actions intended to “harass, oppress, or abuse” a debtor.
USCW argued that its violation on count 1 should be excused on the basis of the “bona fide error” defense because it relied on the figures supplied by the property manager. The court disagreed, because the “bona fide error” defense only works when the accused can prove that they had a process in place to prevent the error and used it. The court found in favor of the plaintiff on count 2, citing the Arizona Supreme Court’s broad definition of “practice of law,” and the requirement that practitioners be registered with the Arizona State Bar. USCW attempted to argue it was not guilty on count 3 because they did not threaten to take actions they could not legally take; they actually took the action. The court disagreed and found for the plaintiff. However, the court found that the plaintiff had not carried the burden of proof showing an intent to “harass, oppress, or abuse,” so left that issue for a jury to decide.
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 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.”
“I would recommend your company to anyone. You have the debt collectors off my back, and I will finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Throughout the entire procedure your employees were courteous and professional. I was blown away by their efficacy also.
“After speaking to one of the partners, and going over the plan of action, I felt I’d chose the perfect company to go to work for me. He was very accommodating in describing what was going to happen. I would strongly recommend Lemberg Law to anybody being hassled by debt collectors”
Chances are good that we can help. Call us today and we’ll explain.
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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 have a dismissed judgemnt against us west collections from 2018 how can I make them remove it they are stating it was dismissed
I have a apartment I use to live at back in 2008 and the last month of my lease I didn’t pay them and now they saying I owe like almost 15,000 all together I was wondering do they have a right to make me go to court and pay them money back plus I’m not working I’m on disability and social security income and I’m a single mom I’ve no other income and they were telling I can go to jail for all this I need help really bad I’ve a court hearing on 17th of this month please help me understand Wat will happen to me plus the other person that was on the least he has not worked since March he was laied off of his job he has only 240 coming in from his unemployment so can you please tell me Wat we should do I’m very scared and worried about everything
I just found out that I was garnished I was not served any paperwork for this upcoming garnishment and looking up case number online total judgement is for 2562.15 on my garnishment order for work it shows total amount due is 2880.24. The amount is incorrect, how do I fight this garnishment?
USCW calls claiming my school is suing me for unpaid tuition. When I call the school they explain they had turned it over to US Collections West and advise me to set up payment but there is no authorization for suing. But when I call USCW they say they have rights to sue and can proceed if I dont follow the rules of 200 now and couple thousand alter. They have called my work over ten times in two days, they call late at night when they claim they dont. They refuse to give me any paper work. I dont know what to do.
This company attempted to sue me for an apt where the rent was unpaid for 1 month for 459.00 , and got a default jdmnt then tried to report to my CBR that I owed them over 6500, so I did what anyone would do and requested documents, itemized statements of the repairs they said I owed, the had no proof of anything, I reported them to the AG, FTC, BBB and advised them of how they violated the FDCPA in numerous ways, gave them 30 days to provide me solid proof or they would have to delete it from my CBR….Finally they ended up closing the acct and removing it from my CBR, however now I am stuck with a jdmnt on my record that I need to have them dismiss with the court but they refuse to do that.
I have been harassed by US Collections West for going on 6 years now. I got a letter the other day stating that they are going to garnish my wages. I rented an apartment from December 2011 to December 2013. The last few months of the lease I let a friend move in there and she wound up not paying the rent for the last month. They actually evicted her out of there. I bought my house this year in February this debt came up but was instructed by my mortgage broker to ignore it because if I paid it off it would be acknowledging the debt and my credit score would go down causing my interest rates to go up. Anyways attached to the letter was an eviction judgement from 2014 which I didn’t quite get because the apartment was vacated in 2013.
I have a debt with USCW that I have to pay off before I can rent an apartment. I have been trying for over a year to contact them and start making payments, however, no matter how many messages I’ve left, no one ever calls me back and I have been unable to move out of my in-law house. There’s no way to get it resolved online, and it’s really starting to make me wonder if I’m ever going to be able to rent again, and my in-laws are about to sell their house! I’m getting desperate and I don’t know what to do!!
I’m a previous employee…I’ve filed a eeoc complaint and a labor board complaint…are you willing to do anything pro-bono w/ a large fee for your firm to pursue Mr. Don Darnell’s other illegal tactics?