State complaint profile
Debt collection complaints in Iowa
3,765 CFPB complaints filed against 674 debt collectors active in Iowa.
- Complaints
- 3,765
- Collectors
- 674
- Top collector
- Encore Capital Group Inc.
This data comes from the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database and reflects consumer complaints, not proven violations.
Iowa at a glance
Iowa consumers have filed 3,765 CFPB debt-collection complaints against 674 collectors.
- 3,765
- CFPB complaints filed
- 674
- collectors active here
- #1
- most-complained: Encore Capital Group Inc.
State-of-residence is the consumer's address at filing, not the collector's. A complaint is a consumer filing, not a proven violation.
Iowa Debt Collection Laws
Federal FDCPA protections apply. Some states have additional laws, contact the Iowa Attorney General for state-specific information.
Insights: Debt Collection in Iowa
Consumers in Iowa have filed 3,765 CFPB debt collection complaints against 674 different collectors. Complaint volume reflects both the size of the collection industry operating in Iowa and the willingness of residents to escalate disputes through the federal regulatory process rather than handle them privately with the collector.
Higher per-capita complaint counts in some states correlate with a combination of stronger state-level consumer-protection statutes (which often add private rights of action on top of the federal FDCPA), more active state attorneys general, and more public outreach from the CFPB itself, not necessarily worse collector behavior. The pattern can also reflect debt-buyer concentration: states where large secondary-market buyers route accounts tend to generate elevated complaint flow regardless of the underlying account's origin.
The most-complained-about collector active in Iowa is Encore Capital Group Inc., but national-scale buyers and servicers typically dominate complaint volume in every state. For the practical Iowa-specific protections that go beyond the federal FDCPA, licensing requirements, statute-of-limitations rules, and exempt-property thresholds, see the state rights note above and our FDCPA rights guide.
Most-complained-about collectors in Iowa
By complaints filed from this state
- Encore Capital Group Inc.
Encore Capital Group Inc.
175 complaints
- Resurgent Capital Services L.P.
Resurgent Capital Services L.P.
160 complaints
- Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC
Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC
134 complaints
- CL Holdings LLC
CL Holdings LLC
119 complaints
- I.C. System, Inc.
I.C. System, Inc.
90 complaints
- CCS Financial Services, Inc.
CCS Financial Services, Inc.
78 complaints
- Capital ONE Financial Corporation
Capital ONE Financial Corporation
74 complaints
- Avadyne Health Holdings, Inc 59
Avadyne Health Holdings, Inc
59 complaints
What this shows These eight collectors draw the most complaints from Iowa residents, usually national bureaus and large debt buyers operating in every state.
Active Debt Collectors
Sorted by most complaintsEncore Capital Group Inc.
DResurgent Capital Services L.P.
DPortfolio Recovery Associates, LLC
DCL Holdings LLC
DI.C. System, Inc.
DCCS Financial Services, Inc.
FCapital ONE Financial Corporation
DAvadyne Health Holdings, Inc
CSynchrony Financial
DTransworld Systems Inc
DBread Financial Holdings, Inc.
DHauge Associates, Inc.
CCitibank, N.a.
DEquifax, Inc.
DExperian Information Solutions Inc.
DTransunion Intermediate Holdings, Inc.
DERC
DNational Credit Systems,Inc.
DAbbott Osborn Jacobs PLC
CCaine & Weiner Company, Inc.
DHW Holding, Inc
DKriya Capital, LLC
DThe CBE Group, Inc.
DAutomated Accounts Management Services
CDiversified Adjustment Service, Inc.
DJpmorgan Chase & Co.
DRadius Global Solutions LLC
DCredit Bureau Services of Iowa Inc.
DProCollect, Inc.
FCentral Portfolio Control Inc.
DDiscover Bank
DWells Fargo & Company
DGurstel Law Firm, P.C.
DNCS, Inc
DNational Credit Adjusters, LLC
DBank of America, National Association
DConvergent Resources, Inc.
DBlitt and Gaines, P.C.
DRevco Management, LLC
FAfni Inc.
DNavient Solutions, LLC.
DPhoenix Financial Services LLC
DRowland Avenue Management, Inc. A/KA Columbia Debt Recovery, LLC d/b/a Genesis
FT.S. Holdings
FThe Stark Collection Agency, Inc.
FCavalry Investments, LLC
DCLGF Holdco 1, LLC
FCredit Protection Association, L.P.
DDiversified Consultants, Inc.
DExpert Global Solutions, Inc.
DIf a collector is contacting you in Iowa
Federal FDCPA rights apply everywhere; some state protections go further.
- Check the collector's national record and grade before you respond or pay. Browse rankings
- Demand written debt validation within 30 days of first contact. Validation letter
- File with the CFPB, your Iowa attorney general, or the state finance regulator, the three channels run in parallel. Your rights
Per-capita rate reflects where consumers file, not collector misconduct. Not legal advice, for your situation, consult a licensed attorney.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
About These Collectors
Every collector listed for Iowa appears here because at least one consumer from this state filed a complaint with the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) naming that company. The page is a per-state slice of the federal Consumer Complaint Database. Most entries are credit-reporting agencies (Equifax, TransUnion, Experian) and large national debt-buyers (Encore Capital, Portfolio Recovery, Resurgent Capital). Smaller regional collectors appear only when complaint volume from Iowa residents passes the dataset's inclusion threshold.
What the Grade Means
Each company's letter grade combines four signals: total CFPB complaint volume normalized against company activity (size-adjusted), timely-response rate (the share of complaints answered within the federal 15-day window), consumer-dispute rate (the share of company responses consumers flagged as inadequate), and complaint trend (whether recent volume is rising, stable, or falling). The composite is bucketed A through F on a curve, each grade holds roughly a fifth of the 5,283 graded collectors, so an F reflects the weakest ~20% relative to peers, not an absolute threshold. Click any company to see the breakdown.
Filing a Complaint as a Iowa Resident
If you believe a collector named on this page has violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) or otherwise mishandled your account, you have three parallel channels. First, the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint - the federal channel that powers this dataset. Second, the Iowa attorney general's consumer protection division, which enforces state-level debt-collection statutes. Third, the state banking-and-finance regulator (which may license debt collectors operating in Iowa). The three channels serve different purposes and can be pursued in parallel; we recommend the CFPB first because it produces a public record and a required company response within 15 days.
Methodology Note
State-of-residence in the CFPB record is the consumer's address at the time of complaint, not the collector's address. National collectors operate from a small number of corporate centers (typically Texas, Arizona, Florida, California) but appear on every state's per-state page when consumers from that state file. The state ranking and the per-state collector counts therefore reflect consumer experience, not corporate footprint. For collector headquarters and licensing detail, see the individual collector detail page.
Reading This Page Alongside the National View
Every collector listed here also appears on the national rankings page and on the recent-12-month leaderboard. The state-page slice gives you the Iowa-specific complaint volume and per-state collector mix; the national pages give you the full nationwide context for understanding whether a collector's behavior in Iowa reflects a structural pattern or a localized issue. We recommend reading both before deciding whether to file a complaint or pursue state-channel remedies, a collector with high state volume but low national volume points toward a regional portfolio acquisition or enforcement gap, while a collector with high state AND national volume points toward a structural compliance issue.
What the Per-Capita Rate Means
The complaints-per-100,000-residents rate normalizes absolute complaint volume against Iowa's population, which makes cross-state comparison meaningful. Populous states naturally generate higher absolute complaint counts, but per-capita rate surfaces states where consumers are disproportionately likely to file federal complaints. A high per-capita rate typically reflects some combination of (a) higher uninsured-rate medical-debt activity, (b) weaker state-level debt-collection licensing enforcement, (c) longer statute-of-limitations periods on consumer debt, or (d) active consumer-advocacy infrastructure that directs residents toward the federal complaint channel. None of these factors implies misconduct by any specific collector, they shape the volume at which consumers in a state are willing and able to file complaints with the federal government.
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.
| Publisher | PlainCollector |
| Sources | the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database |