Williams & Fudge , Inc. is a collection agency based in South Carolina that specializes in student loan debt. Consumers have complained that this agency has violated certain provisions of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) such as making false statements and improper contact or sharing of information. If you have been contacted by this debt collector understand your rights before responding.
The harassing company pays our fees.
They’re legit. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Williams & Fudge is a legitimate debt collection firm, founded in 1986. The BBB opened its file in 1990. They are currently headquartered in Rock Hill, SC., and listed as a collection agency. Buzzfile estimates Williams & Fudge’s annual revenue at $31.5 million and the size of its staff at 220 people.
Williams & Fudge is a family-owned business that aids “colleges and universities in the recovery of education-related receivables including Perkins Loans (Cohort management), tuition, campus-based institutional loans, Health Profession and Nursing Student Loans, private education (alternative) loans, and other receivables such as parking, room, board, and library fines.” In addition to third-party collections services, Williams & Fudge offers an “Early Intervention” program designed to prevent students from entering into delinquency.
Williams & Fudge describes itself as a business partner of educational institutes with a goal of responding quickly to customer needs. Williams & Fudge representatives visit campuses throughout the year to maintain a relationship as an extension of the university business office.
Williams & Fudge’s website does not discuss their policies of compliance. Their resources page is composed entirely of external links to information sites about Federal Perkins Student Loans; Federal Student Loan Grants; the Federal Student Aid Handbook; the Teacher Cancellation Low Income Directory; Family Education Rights and Privacy; the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA); the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA); the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA); and the Perkins Cohort Default Rate Guide. In addition, the payment portal requires site visitors to select their state of residence, after which appears a brief disclaimer of some of their rights under the FDCPA.
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.
In the three years prior to September 2017, the BBB has closed 132 complaints against Williams & Fudge, with 36 of those complaints closed in the past twelve months. Most of the complaints filed with the BBB alleged problems with billing and collections. Since April 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has closed 90 complaints, and Justia lists at least 5cases of civil litigation naming Williams & Fudge as a defendant.
Williams & Fudge
300 Chatham Ave
Rock Hill, SC 29730
Phone Number: 1-800-849-9791
Website: https://www.wfcorp.com/
It is illegal for a debt collector to make empty threats to sue you or garnish your wages. It is also unlikely W&F 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 against filed in Federal Court
In December 2008, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, a judge issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order on Summary Judgement in a case alleging Williams & Fudge had violated provisions of the FDCPA. In this case, a Williams& Fudge collection agent had obtained via skip tracing a phone number he assumed belonged to the plaintiff. In fact, the phone number belonged to the plaintiff’s estranged father. Initially, the collection agent had left a voice message at the number without identifying himself as a debt collector. Eventually, the collection agent made contact with the plaintiff’s estranged father, and after an initial erroneous identification, began discussing the details of the debt. When it became clear that the plaintiff’s father was unsure why he was receiving the call, the collection agent attempted to identify him by Social Security Number, at which point the plaintiff’s father informed the collection agent that he should be speaking to his son. Once the agent discovered the mistake, he continued discussing the debt, including asking for information about how to reach the plaintiff. The plaintiff charged that this conduct violated the FDCPA’s provisions that “any debt collector communicating with any person other than the consumer for the purpose of acquiring location information about the consumer shall…not state that such consumer owes any debt”; that “a debt collector may not communicate, in connection with the collection of any debt, with any person other than the consumer”; and that a debt collector must “disclose in the initial oral communication that the debt collector is attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used to collect the debt.” The judge in this case found that Williams & Fudge had violated all of these provisions as a matter of law, and granted the plaintiff‘s motion for summary judgement. Williams & Fudge’s objected that the violation was the result of “bona fide error,” but their motion for summary judgement was denied, and their objection was set for trial.
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).
Consumers have reported this agency harassing them from the following numbers:
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…
“We realize that ours is just one small case among many – and many more serious – but are heartened by the fact that you accepted it and represented us with a professionalism that belied the small dollar amount.”
“If you are unsure about this company…DONT BE!!! They are for real when they say they are here to help you. It only takes a few short minutes of your time to talk to a rep. I was a skeptic, but you did everything you said you would! I can’t say thank you enough!”
”Lemberg Law has saved me from the endless calls, and harassing voicemails. They really do go to bat for you. I didn’t know that debt collection agencies can end up paying your legal bill. What a surprise, to receive free legal help. I’m very grateful for all the hard work they did to finally give me my life back.”
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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In the beginning I was receiving daily calls & emails from a guy on their “team”. This man was so rude and I still don’t know how they got my email address. I finally called to see what was going on and spoke with Shirley, who was nice and helpful. I also requested to not deal with that man because he was so unprofessional, I’d compare his attitude to a freaking mob boss. Anywho, I found out the debt is from charges to my actual university account (for example, going to the bookstore and getting a hoodie and charging to my student ID) only thing is I know I didn’t spend $3936.34 on things. I’m scared to make a payment to them because they can sue for me debt so I’ve been putting them off since 2021. Shelly Wingate is now assigned to my account and she’s nice but I just feel a little eerie about this business.
Williams and Fudge has been calling my phone everyday from different numbers for a debt that is not mine. The lady that called was very rude and was arguing with me on while at work on my work phone. I became frustrated and hang the phone up because she wasn’t letting me get a word into the conversation.
Jarrod McClain has called me numerous times at work with foul language, threatening to take my fathers house to pay a debt and spoofs his number based on a debt incurred from a lengthy hospital visit in which I couldn’t withdrawal from my course. He told me that I had to pay 25$ a month, which I was doing then abruptly stopped payment and I got another spoofed call from another representative at work and in the early morning demanding that I pay 8,000$ or I could get my wages garnished.
Wes Pate who worked for Williams & Fudge, stole over $22,000.00 from me. He called for payments to be made towards my daughters student loans. I sent him around five cashere checks all together to pay the total of two loans. He told me that he received the payments and her two loans were now paid-in-full. A few months later, I talked to a woman from the Dept. of Education who told me that no money was received and the two loans had to be paid…again! When I told her that I had copies of the checks , the woman fromm the Dept. of Ed. told me that the checks didnt matter. That Williams and Fudge had to call her to confirm the payments. When I called Wes Pate at Williams & Fudge, he told me that he wasn’t his job to do that. When I started to cry, he added: “We are done with you. Don’t call us again.”
I will never vote again. I believe that the Educational Dept. and the collection agency stole the money sent to them to pay for student loans. The loans are targeted at low-income students who end-up mortgaging their life away. The Educational Dept. and the collection agency are crooks. It is shameful and cruel what they are allowed to do. They have no accountability.
When I went to a lawyer for help, the lawyer told me that he wasnt going to take on the Dept. of Ed. Plus, he told me he would charge around $200,000.
Now the loans total over $80,000.
Someone called me today, from 219-209-9884, asked for me by name, then asked if XXXX was my son, which I confirmed. He then told me that they have been trying to reach him for months by phone and have been unable and asked if I could give him a working number. I refused and asked what this was about. All he would tell me was that it was a “personal matter” that they needed to reach my son to resolve and that he couldn’t tell me what it was without my son’s permission. Then he asked several more times if I would give him my son’s phone number, or at least confirm the last 4 digits of the phone number they have for him. Again, I refused and suggested they should send my son a letter if they really wanted to reach him. He said they have sent him several letters in recent months – they absolutely have not. I check the mail. My son has received no letters. I then suggested he give me his name and number and I could pass the information on to my son. He said his name was Daniel Ohlman and his number is 800-849-9791 ext. 2110. When I call that number, I reach Williams & Fudge. My son has no debt in collections on his credit report, so this is clearly a scam.
Williams and Fudge has been calling me nonstop for months (nearly every day). Here’s the thing: I’ve never taken out a loan and I’m not even in college yet (Just turned 18, still in high school). I’ve never picked up one of their calls, but their voicemails are adamant that I have a significant loan I need to pay. Also, I’m in KY, so I’m not sure why they, a SC company, would be calling me. In any case, it’s strange.
They have called me daily, on and off for over a year, from multiple numbers with the same exchange.
They are doggedly seeking payment for a phantom debt owed to Capella University. I have never attended Capella University. I have no business dealing with them, and more importantly I have nothing on my credit report related to a debt owed to Capella University. Since, as I understand the process, loans go on to your credit report at inception and remain listed even after you have paid them off. Between them and “car warranties” I am never able to answer phone calls that have numbers I don’t recognise.
Williams and Fudge have contacted people who I didn’t even know at the time I took out my student loan and have NEVER put on any loan application paperwork. They called my soon to be mother-in-law yesterday claiming she was a co-signer, which is impossible as I took out the loan almost 6 years ago when starting college and I’d not even met her yet, let alone my fiance. They tried to convince her that she was going to have legal issues or fines if she didn’t give out my contact information. I’m still in college and my loans are all in deferment as I’m STILL a student and fall into that protection. They have started contacting everyone listed in my Facebook friends lists, even people who’ve never been an emergency contact of mine. Today was the FIRST day they called me and left their name with me. I never got mailings, emails, or calls that indicated their names; I have, however, gotten calls at all weird hours from spoofed phone numbers in which the caller purposely restored the name of the person calling and said I had the paperwork on their desk that needed addressed. When I’d call back in the inbound number, it wasn’t a real number and couldn’t connect to anything. They are in Carolina, I found today, but the call was from a Portland OR area code, which is a violation. When I told them calling people who are not related to me nor who I’d ever shared information of with them was a violation of the FDCPA, the lady calling offered to “reeducate me.” To which I let her know I work at a law firm (for processing class action paperwork), she raised her voice and demanded I tell her the name of the law firm, which is not only illegal but if they have all my credit information they know where my place of employment is.
I would give no stars if I could. I have an outstanding balance with a school I had to drop out of. Money has been tight since the pandemic (covid). This company calls me daily and then get mad if I don’t answer. Today alone I have gotten 5 calls and this is after I have told them NOT to call me daily. The lady that called tonight was rude and wouldn’t let me talk and hung up on me. After she told me they haven’t called 5 times today but I have a call log to prove it. This is harrassment.
They email me every week regarding a loan I have in forbearance due to COVID
The fact is, Williams and Fudge is nothing but a bunch of thugs. They will tell you anything to get your money. ALL of my school loans are in forbearance because I work for minimum wage. These worthless punks concocted a story where they could seize my stimulus check because I had taken out a loan that wasn’t “covered by the CARES act.” Because of this, they could take this $1200. These punks need to be arrested and their organization shut down. The stimulus wasn’t given to go in the pockets of criminals. My son and my 75 year old mother have gotten their checks, so I know it got seized. Fuck you, Williams and Fudge.
I have withdrawn from my course at Campbellsville University in Kenturky and had paid for the semester I was about to finish before withdrawing from my course. Now the university has sent my account to this collecting company saying I have to pay $3000 for a semester I had not even attended and had sent my withdrawal application two weeks before my current semester that I had paid for in full was going to end.
I am not willing to pay any tuition fees for a semester I had not attended and did all the right steps to withdraw from my course before that semester even started. Now this company is sending letters to my relatives addresses which I don’t understand why they are harassing me in this way without even knowing the truth.
Alfred N is actually an employee for William & Fudge. People here are disputing whether the collection is legitimate. Alfred N is stating that the school is trying to collect a debt, which is obvious. The people posting on this website are reporting harassment from W&F. Alfred N is just angry that you want to protect yourself.
Very disrespectful call was placed by them to my house today by this agency and they had told my wife she has bad parenting skills because of this debt they are trying to find my daughter.
They have been calling me nonstop after ive already made payments to them. On top of that, theyve called my workplace multiple times asking for me and asking personal questions. Theyre ruining my life and job at this point. Im already making payments to them i dont know what else they want from me. I need help either taking legal action especially if what theyre doing isnt right.
A few months ago they called my dad’s cell phone, (I dont live with my dad) and they told him why they were calling, my address, my social security number, and my number. Thank god it was my dad they called, it could’ve been anyone they gave my information to! Then they called me and wouldn’t tell me why they were calling and the gentleman was very rude and aggressive towards me so I hung up. Now months later, they are calling my work
I had 2 private student loans that I worked with Pan American Consulting to pay them off. They have been paid off for over 6 months, now I have Williams & Fudge calling. They say the loans are not paid. Very rude people.
Hi, I don’t really remember but Williams & Fudge is saying I owe 7400 dollars to Perkins Loan from 1992. Do I have to pay this?
hello I attend UNM, this past fall 2018. I had a debt of $3,363.39 dollars that term.
When I called a few months after the the term was finished. I was told that my account was sent to collections of Williams and fudge. I contacted their offices and it came as a surprise to know to that i know must pay $4,368.17. which is almost $1000 dollars more, than my original debt with the school. Can I get any help with this, I don’t know what to do.
I have tried numerous times to get what I supposedly owe and to whom in writing, I am not going to provide banking information to someone one the phone regarding a debt I am unaware of. They call me about once a month, I ask for the same information and they always say they will send it over so I can pay it off but i have never received anything. I always put it off to be a scam due to this. Now, it is reporting as collection on my credit?! This is ridiculous and not sure where to go.
Actually, W&F is not a scam and they do report payments to the school once received. They do represent colleges and universities and if you think you don’t owe, call the school you attended and they will confirm. In fact, the school tried to reach you before the account was sent to collections.
If you signed up for classes and you didn’t finish them or you failed, YOU WILL OWE THEM!
I called Strayer to pay back the money that I owe and I believe they referred me to Williams and Fudge. I called Strayer back to make sure the money that I owe is being paid back to Strayer and I was told that they haven’t received anything from Williams and Fudge. I believe this is a scamming company because I’m not the only one that has had this issue. Where is my money going? And this is a deed that comes from my heart so I’m determined to pay back Strayer.
After the first call I received from William and fudge I emailed them the following day the documents that showed I had a zero balance with the school and they have been calling me for over 6 months-at work on my cell phone and 2o mins ago got verbally nasty with me when I tried to explain I sent the documents 6 months ago and told me I wasn’t going to tell them what to do…I hung up the phone. I am so mad I am being harassed for a debt I do not owe and they were sent the statements to show this!! Make it stop please
I was called by Williams and Fudge Collections Agency stating that I owe 4,000 to an online school I was attending. I qualified for financial aid and have never seen a penny of that money. The school took everything. Now the school has closed for financial fraud. What can I do?
So Williams and Fudge called me several times. (I was a victim of domestic violence and I do not answer calls that I do not know) I call back they would not tell me who they were or anything then when I finally got an answer I could not understand what she was saying. She proceeded to talk to me like I was stupid so I hung up. I told my boyfriend so he calls to figure out who it was. They told him ALL of my information they even had my name wrong! He also gave them a fake name and they told him everything!
I’m not sure if this would be a legal issue but I’d rather ask to be safe, I owed my college 1,400 dollars and when williams and fudge called me they said i owed $2,000 because the “school just added on the extra”. Is there anything I could do about this or is it part of what they’re supposed to do and charge?
They will not stop calling me for someone else.
If I pay the settlement that Williams and Fudge is asking for will this go on my credit report?
Ok. SO, I did go to school for teaching 8 years ago. I did have a perkins loan that I was paying on, but needed to file for bankruptcy. I filed for bankruptcy 2 years ago. I’ve not gotten any notification from the school or anything, so I figured it was included in my bankruptcy. I get several calls from this agency and finally answered today. I informed them that I can not give them 500 that they wanted me to and explained that I am in the middle of doing teacher loan forgiveness and if I consolidated my loans it would revoke my application. THey didn’t seem to care. I don’t want a garnishment. I’ve had a lot of those where I was screwed over i.e. was brought a summons to the wrong address and then have a garnishment because I didn’t show up to court. I need help.
I have been out of school (graduated) less than 30 days. This guy calls me this morning telling me the school has turned my account over to them for $125. He was quick to let me know my social security number, as if to validate his claim. I have sent email to my financial advisor at the school. I sure do not want this affecting my credit. However, he is not the loan company that services my student loan and my school account shows a $0 balance.