Oregon’s Division of Financial Regulation has issued a consent order against a Wisconsin-based debt collector accused of operating in the state without proper registration.
The division alleged the company violated Oregon Collection Agency Law, which requires all collection agencies operating in the state to register with the Department of Consumer and Business Services.
The investigation was triggered by a consumer complaint forwarded to the division from the Oregon Department of Justice in April 2025.
Regulators reviewed the company’s licensing status and collection activity, finding the firm had no Oregon registration despite holding collection agency approvals in other states, according to an NMLS search.
The division alleged the company collected debts from more than 1,500 Oregon consumers or accounts without the required registration in place.
The company itself disclosed that it had collected approximately $155,500 from 1,569 Oregon consumers or accounts since January 2023.
Further investigation revealed the company continued collection activity even after responding to the division’s initial request for information, identifying another 243 Oregon consumers from whom it collected approximately $21,700.
In total, the division treated each instance of collection activity conducted without the required registration as a separate alleged violation, resulting in 1,812 alleged violations of Oregon law.
The company stated that it believed it was exempt from Oregon’s registration requirement and obtained an Oregon collection agency registration in April 2026, ahead of the consent order being finalised.
Under the terms of the consent order, the company must cease and desist from further violations and pay $40,000 of a $181,500 civil penalty assessed against it.
The remaining $141,500 of the penalty is suspended for three years and will be waived entirely if the company complies with the order and commits no new violations of the Oregon Collection Agency Law.
The case highlights how a single consumer complaint can prompt a much broader regulatory review of a company’s entire licensing history and multistate collection activity.
State regulators across the US have been stepping up licensing enforcement actions against financial services companies conducting activity without proper registration or licensing in recent years.
Debt collectors and other multistate financial services providers are being urged to confirm that their licences and exemption analyses align with their actual activities in each jurisdiction where they operate.