Debt Collection Complaints Hit Record Highs

TL;DR

Debt collection complaints more than doubled between 2023 and 2024, and Q1 2025 alone has already surpassed all of 2023.

Harassment makes up nearly half of all reports, with states like Georgia, Texas, and Florida seeing the most per capita complaints.

If you’re a compliance or operations lead, now’s the time to audit, retrain, and upgrade your risk mitigation playbook, because regulators are watching.

Sources listed at the end of this article.

Why are debt collection complaints surging in 2025?

Complaint totals from the CFPB:

2023: ~109,900
2024: ~207,800
Q1 2025: 112,583

This means more complaints were filed in Q1 2025 than all of 2023.

If this trend holds, 2025 will be the most turbulent year in complaint volume.

What’s fueling the rise?

Higher delinquencies due to inflation and interest rates
Consumer debt averages now top $61,660 – over $85K in some states
Scam call confusion is leading to more legitimate agencies being reported
Consumers know their rights and how to file complaints

What percentage of 2025 complaints involve harassment?

Nearly 47% of Q1 2025 complaints, over 53,000 cases, involved harassment, threats, or abuse.

That’s a 4x increase compared to the same time last year.

If you think your scripts are “compliant enough,” think again.

Regulators and consumers are cracking down on:

Intimidating language
Excessive call frequency
Off-script attempts to push urgency

Compliance QA tip:
Do you know how often your agents improvise on calls with language they thought was helpful?

If you’re not scoring 100% of calls and flagging those that improvise on required statements, then that’s the first place you should start.

Which states have the most collection complaints?

Top states by per capita complaint rate:

Georgia
Texas
Florida
Delaware

But others like New York and Tennessee aren’t far behind.

This list will only grow as complaints trend upwards.

If you’re operating in or calling into these regions, expect increased regulatory attention.

You’ll need stronger documentation, proactive call monitoring, and geo-targeted script reviews.

What Should Collection Leaders Do Right Now?

Let’s get tactical. Here’s your immediate to-do list:

Audit Q1 complaints if you haven’t already
Update agent scripts to reflect empathy, clarity, and FDCPA language
Segment QA scoring by region or state
Schedule refresher training (especially on harassment thresholds)
Flag any off-script behavior with automated QA tools

Don’t let sloppy scripting or inconsistent coaching expose your agency.

What Are You Doing to Stay Compliant?

If a regulator or client asked that question today, could you answer that confidently?

Here’s how to build that answer, on paper and in practice.

Compliance Readiness Checklist

⬜ Monitor complaint trends using CFPB and FTC data
⬜ Align internal QA scoring to complaint types (harassment, disclosure, etc.)
⬜ Use real-time agent assist tools to flag tone issues and off-script behavior
⬜ Enable call transcription + sentiment scoring to detect risky patterns
⬜ Document regular training and coaching feedback loops
⬜ Customize scripts based on region
⬜ Track call outcomes (opt-outs, escalations, resolutions) to surface red flags faster

How Tech Helps You Answer That Question

Modern compliance tools allow you to:

Prevent issues in real-time with agent assist tools
Automate QA reviews to catch noncompliant behaviors earlier
Validate script adherence without relying on manual spot-checks
Generate audit-ready reports with geotargeted complaint heatmaps
Coach smarter by tying complaints to call data, not just gut feelings

Firsthand insight:
With a clear baseline of compliance issues now identified from auditing every call, real-time agent assist tools (like Abstrakt) will help this collection agency proactively reduce these compliance issues moving forward.

(Insights from a top collection agency in Canada)

Here are some other resources that you might find helpful, especially when looking at adding tech to help mitigate risk.

Sources

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – Complaint Data
FTC – Report Fraud
FTC – May Press Release
Accountsrecovery.net

This isn’t just a spike, it’s a shift.

If you lead compliance, operations, or QA in collections, now is the time to tighten processes, modernize your tooling, and make sure every agent knows where the line is and how not to cross it.