What is the most common complaint against Esser, James & Associates?

The most common issue consumers report about Esser, James & Associates is "Improper contact or sharing of info", specifically "Talked to a third party about my debt". This is based on 33 complaints filed with the CFPB.

Are complaints against Esser, James & Associates increasing or decreasing?

Complaints against Esser, James & Associates are falling. The company received 0 complaints in the last 12 months, showing improvement over prior periods.

What is Esser, James & Associates's reputation grade?

Esser, James & Associates has a reputation grade of C (score: 58.3/100), PlainCollector's composite letter grade blending complaint volume, response timeliness, dispute rate, and complaint trend.

Does Esser, James & Associates respond to consumer complaints?

Esser, James & Associates has a 97% timely response rate to CFPB complaints. Consumers disputed the company's response in 30% of cases.

In how many states does Esser, James & Associates operate?

Esser, James & Associates has received CFPB complaints from consumers in 17 states, with the most complaints from California (5 complaints).

This data comes from the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database and reflects consumer complaints, not proven violations.

Esser, James & Associates - Debt Collector Complaint Profile

CFPB complaint profile across 17 states, reputation grade C.

Compiled by PlainCollector

Improper contact or sharing of info

9
Communication tactics

8
Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed

8
Disclosure verification of debt

3
Taking/threatening an illegal action

3
False statements or representation

2

Data updated September 2026

CFPB complaint disposition

CCDB record esser-james-associates Esser, James & Associates

Grade C · 33 CFPB filings · 97% timely · lead issue: Improper contact or sharing of info · vol #1468 · compose #2634

VOL 33
GRADE C
12MO 0
STATES 17
TIMELY 97%
DISPUTE 30%
ISSUE Improper contact or sharin…
RANK #1,468
COMPOSE #2,634

Volume peers

Nearest volume peer: Account Recovery Services, Inc. (33 complaints)

CFPB complaint volume neighbourhood (this collector + nearest volume peers)

Esser, James & Associates's 33 CFPB complaints sit next to Account Recovery Services, Inc. on the volume neighbourhood; peer NAMES stay, and disposition VALUES are this collector's. Grades compare collectors to each other - a complaint is a filing, not a proven violation. How to read a complaint count →

Steady monthly series

California is the plurality state for Esser, James & Associates (15.2%)

Volume rank #1,468 and composite rank #2,634 diverge by 1,166 places on PlainCollector's CFPB-derived corpus maps. Corpus placement method.

Plurality state: California 15.2%; Mid-band (15–30%) · 17 states with ≥1 filing
Even monthly load: Peak under 8%; Highest month 2020-06 at 7.3% (3 filings)
Divergent corpus ranks: #1,468 volume; #2,634 composite; Cleanest-composite ladder is 1,166 places worse than volume

How does Esser, James & Associates compare to its peers?

How does Esser, James & Associates compare? Versus a similar-volume peer and the national average (collectors with ≥50 total complaints), drawn from 10 collectors with a comparable complaint count

Esser, James & Associa… National average

Complaints (last 12 mo)lower is better

268

Timely-response ratehigher is better

97%

94%

91%

Consumer-dispute ratelower is better

30%

12%

19%

Source: CFPB Consumer Complaint Database.

Complaint Trend (24 months)

2020-06 2025-01

Issue Detail Breakdown

Issue	Complaints
Improper contact or sharing of info	9
Communication tactics	8
Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed	8
Disclosure verification of debt	3
Taking/threatening an illegal action	3
False statements or representation	2

Where do complaints against Esser, James & Associates come from?

Esser, James & Associates's own per-state count, not a national baseline.

California

5
Florida

4
Pennsylvania

4
Alabama

3
Massachusetts

2
New York

2
Texas

2
Arizona

1

Compare beyond geography

Nationwide peers by volume & timely response

Two PlainCollector-derived comparison paths for Esser, James & Associates: nearest all-time CFPB complaint volume and nearest CFPB timely-response rate among collectors with at least 100 logged complaints. State breakdowns above stay geographic; these neighborhoods vary by metric.

Similar filing volume

Nearest collectors by total CFPB complaints. This record: 33.

4 peers

Know your rights before responding to Esser, James & Associates: FDCPA rights guide · debt validation letter · rights library.

Data sourced from the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCollector

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Consumer Complaint Database, 1,139,236 debt collection complaints are represented in the current PlainCollector snapshot. See our methodology for how PlainCollector computes each company's reputation grade from this data.

Every figure on PlainCollector is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.