Data updates
By Kai Greenspan, Founding Editor · Last updated: July 15, 2026
Update log
July 15, 2026: 17 agencies added to the directory
Publishing batch 7 took the directory from 139 to 156 verified records (145 agencies and 11 collection law firms). Four of the new agencies carry 25 or more years of continuous Texas bond coverage, led by healthcare specialist North American Credit Services (31.7 years). Every bond filing was verified twice against the Secretary of State register (38 of 38 direct file-number lookups agreed), identities were settled by register address evidence, and complaint counts were read live from the CFPB database on exact company names, with name-variant checks that corrected two counts before publication. Source.
July 15, 2026: Collection law firms: a new, separately-labeled category
The directory now lists collection law firms: law practices that regularly collect debts, which makes them debt collectors under the federal FDCPA (Heintz v. Jenkins, 1995), each holding the same Texas surety bond the state requires of agencies. Because a law firm can sue in its own name, they are published as their own clearly-labeled category on the new collection law firms page, banded by the identical continuous-bond-years rule, and excluded from every agency list. Eleven firms were verified and published, led by Patenaude & Felix (23 years continuously bonded) and Austin-based Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson. Every filing was verified twice against the Secretary of State register, and two same-name register entities were identified as different firms and excluded. The methodology page discloses the category rules. Source.
July 14, 2026: 15 agencies added to the directory
Publishing batch 6 took the directory from 113 to 128 verified agencies, including five with 25 or more years of continuous Texas bond coverage (Collectech Diversified of Lubbock, Wakefield & Associates, S&S Recovery, AMCOL Systems and Nationwide Credit Corporation). Every new agency’s bond filings were verified twice against the Secretary of State register (a full-register pull plus a direct file-number lookup for each filing, 45 of 45 confirmed), register addresses and phone numbers were used to settle identities between same-named companies, and complaint counts were read live from the CFPB database on exact company names, with three same-name contaminations stripped. Source.
July 13, 2026: 19 agencies added to the directory
Publishing batch 5 took the directory from 94 to 113 verified agencies. Every new agency's Texas surety bond filings were verified twice against the Secretary of State register (wildcard search plus a direct file-number lookup for each filing, 53 of 53 confirmed), register addresses were matched against each company's own records to settle identities, and complaint counts were read live from the CFPB database on exact company names. McCarthy Burgess & Wolff's CLLA certification was also verified on the certifier's own published list and added to its profile. Source.
July 12, 2026: Public enforcement records added to profiles
Agency profiles now carry a Public enforcement record section when a regulator has concluded a formal action against the agency, reported neutrally from the regulator's own published documents and linked to them. The first two records are Transworld Systems' 2017 CFPB consent order ($2.5 million civil penalty, docket 2017-CFPB-0018) and Trident Asset Management's 2018 Connecticut Department of Banking consent order. Only adjudicated actions qualify, never allegations, and an enforcement record does not affect where an agency sits in the bands. Source.
July 12, 2026: Ranking bands simplified
The Verified Track Record bands were simplified from five bands (28+, 20-27, 10-19, 3-9, newly verified) to four (25+, 15-24, 5-14, under 5 years), and the top band's 'A+' letter label was dropped. The measure is unchanged: the same continuous-bond-coverage rule, computed the same way from the Texas Secretary of State register. The revision is recorded on the methodology page. Source.
July 12, 2026: Credit Solutions Corp added after review
Credit Solutions Corp (San Diego) was published following a manual review, taking the directory to 94 verified agencies. Its Texas bond history was corrected to its true 8.7 years of continuous coverage after a same-name mix-up in the source list, and its complaint count was set to zero: the exact company name carries no CFPB debt-collection complaints, and a similarly named Utah debt buyer's complaints were deliberately kept out. Source.
July 12, 2026: CFPB complaint counts refreshed
All-time CFPB debt-collection complaint totals re-read from the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database for all 93 published agencies; 79 counts changed. Counts can fall as well as rise because the CFPB removes complaints that fail its own publication criteria. Source.
July 12, 2026: 17 agencies added to the directory
Publishing batch 4 took the directory from 76 to 93 verified agencies. Every new agency's Texas surety bond filings were verified twice against the Secretary of State register (wildcard search plus a direct file-number lookup for each filing), and every industry claim is quoted from the agency's own website with a link and a checked date. Source.
July 5, 2026: All-time CFPB complaint counts adopted
Complaint counts across the directory were rebuilt from a full download of the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database: the all-time debt-collection complaint total for each agency, matched on the exact company name the CFPB records. This replaced the earlier mixed-window counts so every profile measures the same thing. Source.
July 16, 2026: Batch 8: fourteen new records, including a twelfth collection law firm
Fourteen records added: thirteen third-party agencies and one collection law firm (Michael J Adams PC, San Antonio). Every bond chain was verified twice at the Texas register (104 direct file lookups, zero disagreements) and every complaint count is the all-time CFPB debt-collection total for the exact company name on the live API. Founding years publish only where the company's own pages state them: three were left blank because the sources conflict (BCA Financial Services, Alliance Collection Agencies, Keynote Consulting), and one record (Vengroff Williams) discloses a 2013 Connecticut Department of Banking consent order, verified at the regulator. Two researched candidates were held rather than published: one pending an unread California DFPI order, one pending a ruling on a hybrid collect-and-purchase model. Source.
July 20, 2026: Batch 9: seventeen new records, including a thirteenth collection law firm
Seventeen records added: sixteen third-party agencies and one collection law firm (Osborn Jacobs & Hartung PLC of West Des Moines, formerly Abbott Osborn Jacobs PLC; its Texas bond stands under the former name and the rename is documented on the profile, with all four attorneys verified in good standing at the Iowa Supreme Court lawyer register). Every bond chain was verified twice at the Texas register (38 direct file lookups, zero disagreements) and every complaint count is the all-time CFPB debt-collection total for the exact company name on the live API, with one attribution settled by the CFPB's own state distribution and one carrying a recorded caveat. Founding years publish only where sources support them: six were left blank because sources conflict. One record (Recuvery LLC) discloses a 2025 California DFPI action, read in full at the regulator: a late annual report resolved by settlement with a $2,000 penalty. Four researched candidates were held rather than published, three of them pending unread regulator documents; four were excluded as a debt buyer, a mortgage servicer, a payment processor and a credit bureau, each on its own website's evidence. Source.
July 20, 2026: Holds resolution: ten new records and four enforcement disclosures
The directory's held candidates were resolved after reading the underlying regulator documents in full. Ten records were added: seven third-party agencies plus three whose profiles disclose a regulator action read at the source (Todd, Bremer & Lawson, a resolved 2011 Idaho license-lapse order; Global Solution Biz, a 2024 Idaho cease-and-desist for unlicensed collection; Balanced Healthcare Receivables and National Healthcare Collections, 2025 California late-annual-report settlements), and Medical Business Bureau, which is listed as a collection agency with its separate debt-purchasing service disclosed under a newly published scope rule. Two candidates were excluded on their own evidence (a debt buyer and a company found insolvent by a state regulator). Two existing profiles were updated: Wakefield & Associates, whose complaint history is now attributed across the two company names SEC filings prove are the same operation and which notes its 2025 merger into Revco Solutions; and Williams & Fudge, which records its acquisition of the former RGS Financial. One further candidate remains held pending a company milestone. Source.
July 22, 2026: Batch 10: seventeen new records, one specialism, three enforcement disclosures
Seventeen third-party agencies were added in demand order, taking the directory from 197 to 214 records. Davis & Jones (Debt Recovery Resources) received the Commercial specialism on its own exclusivity language ("commercial-only collections... built for B2B"). Three profiles disclose California DFPI actions read in full at the source: Saturn Systems (a February 2025 consent order for unlicensed collection involving 572 California consumers, a deceptive IRS-related letter and missing consumer notices, with a $90,000 penalty), and Financial Asset Management Systems and Compass Recovery Group (April 2025 late-annual-report orders settled for $2,500 and $2,000 respectively; paperwork violations, licenses continue). Two long-running worklist buyer hints were refuted by primary evidence (FAMS and Bilateral Credit are contingency agencies, not buyers). Eight candidates were excluded on their own evidence: three mortgage lender-servicers (Planet Home Lending, Caliber Home Loans, RoundPoint), two proven debt buyers (ASTA Funding per its own SEC filings; JTM Capital per the CFPB's complaint), one probable payday-paper buyer (Lela Mae), and two creditor-side loan servicers (ZuntaFi, Universal Account Servicing). Two of the seventeen (Commercial Trade, BYL Collection Services) publish without website links because their sites are dead or parked; their claims are sourced to archived captures and live BBB records, with operational re-checks queued. Source.
July 22, 2026: New: plain-English enforcement records
A new Enforcement records section went live, linked from the footer and from each affected agency profile. Where a regulator has taken a resolved action against a listed agency, we now explain it in plain English on its own page, drawn from the regulator’s own document, with every finding attributed to the regulator, the resolution stated, and the primary source linked and dated. The first four cover Transworld Systems (a 2017 CFPB consent order), Saturn Systems (a 2025 California DFPI order), Todd, Bremer & Lawson (a 2011 Idaho order) and Global Solution Biz (a 2024 Idaho order). Minor administrative matters, such as a late annual report, remain noted on the agency profile rather than given a page. Agencies may respond through the corrections policy. Source.
How the data stays current
The site rebuilds from its verified database every night. Complaint counts are re-read from the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database on a recurring cycle, and each refresh is logged above with the number of agencies whose counts changed. Bond filings are verified against the Secretary of State register when an agency is added and re-checked when its record is touched; every page shows the last-checked date for the facts on it. Errors are handled under the corrections policy.