What is the most common complaint against Stephens and Michaels Associates, Inc.?

The most common issue consumers report about Stephens and Michaels Associates, Inc. is "Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed", specifically "Debt is not mine". This is based on 77 complaints filed with the CFPB.

Are complaints against Stephens and Michaels Associates, Inc. increasing or decreasing?

Complaints against Stephens and Michaels Associates, Inc. are falling. The company received 0 complaints in the last 12 months, showing improvement over prior periods.

What is Stephens and Michaels Associates, Inc.'s reputation grade?

Stephens and Michaels Associates, Inc. has a reputation grade of C (score: 56.7/100), PlainCollector's composite letter grade blending complaint volume, response timeliness, dispute rate, and complaint trend.

Does Stephens and Michaels Associates, Inc. respond to consumer complaints?

Stephens and Michaels Associates, Inc. has a 92% timely response rate to CFPB complaints. Consumers disputed the company's response in 16% of cases.

In how many states does Stephens and Michaels Associates, Inc. operate?

Stephens and Michaels Associates, Inc. has received CFPB complaints from consumers in 24 states, with the most complaints from New York (9 complaints).

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

Stephens and Michaels Associates, Inc. - Debt Collector Complaint Profile

CFPB complaint profile across 24 states, reputation grade C.

Compiled by PlainCollector

Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed

39
Communication tactics

19
Disclosure verification of debt

11
False statements or representation

4
Improper contact or sharing of info

3
Taking/threatening an illegal action

1

Data updated September 2026

CFPB complaint disposition

CCDB record stephens-and-michaels-associates-inc Stephens and Michaels Associates, Inc.

Grade C · 77 CFPB filings · 92% timely · lead issue: Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed · vol #950 · compose #2996

VOL 77
GRADE C
12MO 0
STATES 24
TIMELY 92%
DISPUTE 16%
ISSUE Cont'd attempts collect de…
RANK #950
COMPOSE #2,996

Volume peers

Nearest volume peer: Adelante, Inc (77 complaints)

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

Stephens and Michaels Associates, Inc.'s 77 CFPB complaints sit next to Adelante, 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 →

Distributed filing map

Stephens and Michaels Associates, Inc. spreads filings across 24 states - New York leads at only 11.7%

Despite a broad state map, Stephens and Michaels Associates, Inc. still sits volume #950 against composite #2,996 - the two RankMaps diverge by 2,046 places. Corpus placement method.

Most-even geography: Lead state under 15%; New York still leads at 11.7% across 24 states
Seasonal peak: 2025-05 10.0%; 8–15% band · 4 filings
Divergent corpus ranks: #950 volume; #2,996 composite; Cleanest-composite ladder is 2,046 places worse than volume

How does Stephens and Michaels Associates, Inc. compare to its peers?

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

Stephens and Michaels … National average

Complaints (last 12 mo)lower is better

268

Timely-response ratehigher is better

92%

99%

91%

Consumer-dispute ratelower is better

16%

21%

19%

Source: CFPB Consumer Complaint Database.

Complaint Trend (24 months)

2023-05 2026-02

Issue Detail Breakdown

Issue	Complaints
Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed	39
Communication tactics	19
Disclosure verification of debt	11
False statements or representation	4
Improper contact or sharing of info	3
Taking/threatening an illegal action	1

Where do complaints against Stephens and Michaels Associates, Inc. come from?

Stephens and Michaels Associates, Inc.'s own per-state count, not a national baseline.

New York

9
California

8
Florida

8
Texas

8
Ohio

6
Virginia

6
Georgia

5
North Carolina

4

Compare beyond geography

Nationwide peers by volume & timely response

Two PlainCollector-derived comparison paths for Stephens and Michaels Associates, Inc.: 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: 77.

4 peers

Know your rights before responding to Stephens and Michaels Associates, Inc.: 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.