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Complaints about aggressive debt collection have skyrocketed in recent months, federal data shows, a sign that more Americans are falling behind on credit cards and medical bills.
The rise in debt-collection complaints also suggests debt collectors may feel emboldened, some consumer advocates say, by a presidential administration that has gutted the federal government’s consumer watchdog effort.
The Federal Trade Commission logged more than 140,000 debt collection complaints in the second quarter of 2025, up from about 44,000 in the same period last year. Complaints are most common in Georgia, Texas and Florida.
“I think we’re just seeing more people fall into debt and then struggling with collections,” said Thomas Nitzsche, a financial educator at the credit counseling nonprofit Money Management International.
Household debt in America reached $18.4 trillion in the second quarter of 2025, up from $14.3 trillion at the same time in 2020. Credit card debt surpassed $1.2 trillion in the second quarter, up from about $800 billion at the same time five years ago.
The delinquency rate on consumer loans stood at 2.8% in the second quarter, its highest level since 2012.
“Americans owe more debt than at any point in history,” said Erin Witte, director of consumer protection at the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America.
‘They don’t understand my situation’
Priscilla Rishavy of Jacksonville, Florida, amassed roughly $30,000 in medical debt when her middle child endured cancer treatments, starting in 2021.
Rishavy, 36, is a single mother of three. On top of the medical debt, she has credit card debt, which piled up during a divorce. She’s working with Money Management International to pay off the card debt while also juggling the medical debt.
She gets calls from debt collectors roughly twice a week.
“They don’t understand my situation,” she said. “I told them, ‘Right now I cannot pay any more than I am paying,’ and they still call.”
Here are the top debt collection complaints
Debt collectors generally descend after a creditor has given up sending bills and resorts to contacting the consumer by phone. Some creditors use in-house debt collectors. Others sell delinquent accounts to debt-collection companies.
Some debt-collection tactics are unethical, even illegal. Here are the top debt-collection complaints, according to an analysis of federal data by the National Consumer Law Center and Consumer Federation of America:
- Attempted to collect a debt that wasn’t owed (39.6%).
- Problems with written notification about debt (20.5%).
- False statements or representations (9.9%).
- Abusive communication tactics (7.9%).
- Took or threatened negative actions (7.5%).
“Overwhelmingly, the most common complaint over time has been attempting to collect a debt that’s not owed,” said April Kuehnhoff, a senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center.
Debt collectors take every complaint seriously, according to ACA International, a trade group that represents collection agencies.
“Two-way communication between a consumer and the collection agent is the best way to learn about options to successfully resolve a debt,” the group said in a statement.
The trade group noted that the FTC database includes complaints that are actually inquiries, asking, for example, whether insurance might cover a debt.
USA TODAYDebt collection slowed during the COVID-19 pandemic, when some creditors offered debt forgiveness and paused collection efforts. Federal stimulus payments helped consumers pay down debts and boost savings.
As the pandemic faded, the debt collection industry roared back, along with the attendant complaints.
According to FTC data, complaints reached a low ebb of about 22,000 in the final quarter of 2022. Complaints rose to 45,000 in the first quarter of 2024, and to 137,000 in the first quarter of 2025.
Debt collection lawsuits are surging
In a related trend, state courts are seeing a spike in debt collection lawsuits. Court filings surged in 2023 and 2024, according to a Sept. 2 report from the Pew Charitable Trusts, based on data from states and major metropolitan areas.
Many cases seek relatively small sums. Their targets typically have no legal representation and often don’t understand why they have been sued.
“A lot of these cases end in default judgment, where the consumer may not have known about the lawsuit at all,” said Witte of the Consumer Federation. “A judgment is a really powerful tool to take your money.”
Creditors sell the debt to collection agencies, “which tend to be more aggressive than the original creditor,” Nitzsche said. Overzealous collectors spark complaints.
In recent years, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau played an outsize role in fielding those complaints.
But the Trump Administration gutted the watchdog agency this year, slashing staff and halting much of the work. The agency still collects debt collection complaints, but consumer advocates say it is doing less to police them.
“The messages that companies are getting is that there is no CFPB watching their conduct anymore,” Witte said.
Here’s what debt collectors can’t do
Money Management has a host of tips for “debtors” who want to know their rights. For a start, get any debt verified in writing and check it against your credit report.
Here are a few other guidelines:
- You can ask a debt collector to stop calling you at work.
- A debt collector can’t threaten you with violence or curse at you.
- A collector usually can’t seize your bank accounts or have you arrested if you don’t pay immediately.
To see the full list, click here.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Debt complaints are surging. Here’s the sobering reason.
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