Armstrong & Associates: Who They Are and Your Rights

Type

Collection agency

Also known as

Armstrong and Associates, Inc; Armstrong & Associates, Inc.; CARE Professional Services; Mobile Adjustment Service

Headquarters

Mobile, AL

Collects

hospital bills, physician bills, medical bills

Phone numbers it lists

(800) 226-8470, (251) 338-2155

Website

arserv.com

31 debt collection complaints were sent to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about Armstrong and Associates, Inc from November 13, 2023 to November 12, 2026. A complaint is a consumer's account, not a finding that the company broke the law. Read the complaints in the CFPB database.

Who Is Armstrong & Associates?

Armstrong & Associates is a collection agency at 208 Adams Street in Mobile, Alabama. Its history page traces the business to 1915, when F.E. Armstrong founded the Armstrong System, later called Mobile Adjustment Service. The company took the Armstrong & Associates name in 1973 and marked its centennial in 2015. Its Better Business Bureau profile lists the entity as a corporation and gives alternate names including CARE Professional Services, which the company describes as an extended business office division formed in 1997.

The company's site names attorney Gordon Armstrong, admitted in Alabama, whose law office became the company's legal counsel in 1992, and describes him as the fourth generation of the family in the business. Its site displays membership logos for ACA International, HFMA and MGMA.

Why Armstrong & Associates May Be Contacting You

The company states, "Our focus is 100% healthcare collections," and says its clients range from small physician practices to large hospital systems. So if Armstrong & Associates is calling or writing, the debt is very likely a bill from a hospital, emergency department, physician group or other medical provider. Its CARE division handles early-stage, extended business office work, which means you may hear from the company while a bill is still fairly new.

Its published numbers are (800) 226-8470 and (251) 338-2155 for account questions. The company also warns that it sends texts from (251) 428-3322 and offers a payment portal.

How to Check a Debt Armstrong & Associates Says You Owe

With a medical collection, the most common problems are insurance that was never billed, a wrong patient, or a balance that should have been reduced by financial assistance.

• Review the validation notice. It must name the provider as creditor and itemize the amount (15 U.S.C. § 1692g; 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34).
• Dispute in writing in time. A written dispute within the validation period requires the agency to pause collection until it verifies the bill. Ask for an itemized statement and proof of insurance billing.
• Confirm the owner. Ask whether the hospital or practice still owns the account.
• Check for charity care. Nonprofit hospitals typically have financial assistance policies. If you applied or qualified, say so.
• Mind the clock. Texas generally allows four years to sue on a debt (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004), and debt buyers may not sue on time-barred consumer debt in Texas (Tex. Fin. Code § 392.307). Alabama and other states have their own limits.

What Armstrong & Associates Can and Can't Do

An agency that collects for medical providers is a "debt collector" under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). Things to know:

• Texas facilities generally must send an itemized bill before collecting. Read about Texas SB 490.
• A 2025 CFPB rule that would have removed medical debt from credit reports was vacated, but the credit bureaus' own limits on paid and small medical collections still apply. See our article on the vacated medical debt rule.
• Text messages must include a simple way to opt out (12 C.F.R. § 1006.6(e)).
• It may not reveal your medical debt to your employer or relatives beyond the narrow location-information rules (15 U.S.C. § 1692b, § 1692c(b)).

We did not find a CFPB enforcement action against Armstrong & Associates. To discuss collection conduct, see our Texas FDCPA attorneys page.

We Sue Debt Collectors That Break the FDCPA

Texas Debt Law files Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lawsuits against debt collectors in federal court for consumers in Texas, California, Illinois, Georgia and Colorado. If Armstrong & Associates or anyone collecting for it harassed you, misstated what you owe, threatened action it could not take, or told others about your debt, you may have a claim. A court can order a collector that violated the FDCPA to pay your actual damages, up to $1,000 in additional statutory damages, and your attorney's fees and costs (15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a)). An FDCPA claim generally must be filed within one year of the violation (§ 1692k(d)), so keep your letters, call logs, voicemails and screenshots, and talk to us early. Texas residents may also have claims under the Texas Debt Collection Act. Learn more from our FDCPA attorneys.

Free FDCPA Case Review(214) 851-2250

Or start your free case evaluation online. No lawyer can promise a result; every claim depends on its facts and proof.

Sources

• Armstrong & Associates: home page
• Armstrong & Associates: About us
• BBB business profile: Armstrong & Associates, Inc. (facts only)
• CFPB enforcement actions list
• CFPB Consumer Complaint Database: Armstrong and Associates, Inc, debt collection

This profile is general information compiled from public sources, not legal advice, and it does not state or imply that Armstrong & Associates has violated any law. Company details change; tell us if something here is out of date.