How to File an Ethics Complaint
Consumer assistance in filing a complaint against a member of the collection industry.
ACA International, The Association of Credit and Collection Professionals, is a trade association for the credit and collection industry. Association members include third-party debt collection agencies, attorneys, creditors, asset buyers and vendors. ACA itself does not collect debt nor send out collection letters.
ACA International members are bound to abide by the ACA Code of Ethics (addressing consumer and business issues) and Code of Operations (addressing issues between agencies or between agencies and their creditor-clients).
If you wish to file a formal complaint with ACA against an ACA member, please verify the company's contact information.
If you are a consumer who wishes to file a complaint against a member, please complete the consumer complaint form. If you are a company who wishes to file a complaint against a member, please complete the company complaint form.
Any complaint, charge, statement, writing or allegation arising out of proceedings involving these rules concerning the alleged unprofessional conduct of a member is privileged and confidential. Additionally, any complaint, charge, statement, writing or allegation resulting in a decision or order rendered by ACA's Ethics Committee to sanction a member is privileged and confidential, except to publish the sanction against the complainee-member in the association's official publication and on the association's Web site for a period of 30 calendar days upon expiration of the member's right to appeal, as provided by ACA's Procedural Rules for the Ethics Committee.
If the company is not a member, ACA will forward your complaint to the nonmember in an effort to encourage the nonmember to resolve your complaint directly with you. Nonmembers are not bound by ACA's Code of Ethics and Code of Operations and therefore are not required to respond to the complaint or follow ACA's resolution process.
However, we ask nonmembers to respond to ACA regarding what actions they have taken in order to resolve your complaint. If the nonmember fails to respond to ACA within 45 days of its receipt of your complaint, ACA will forward the complaint to the Federal Trade Commission. If you are unable to resolve the dispute directly with this nonmember company, you may also wish to contact your secretary of state or attorney general for direction.
