Commonwealth Financial Systems, Inc. was a Dickson City, Pennsylvania third-party collector of past-due medical bills. A December 2023 CFPB consent order required it to stop collecting debts and leave the business, so contact today usually concerns an old account or a credit-report entry.
- Type
- Collection agency
- Also known as
- Commonwealth Financial Systems, Inc.
- Headquarters
- Dickson City, PA
- Collects
- medical bills
27 debt collection complaints were sent to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about Commonwealth Financial Systems, 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 Commonwealth Financial Systems?
Commonwealth Financial Systems, Inc. is a nonbank corporation whose principal place of business, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was in Dickson City, Pennsylvania. The CFPB described it as a third-party debt collector that specialized in past-due medical debts and that furnished information about consumers to the credit reporting companies.
On December 15, 2023, the CFPB issued a consent order against the company in an administrative proceeding (File No. 2023-CFPB-0018). The CFPB alleged that Commonwealth did not reasonably investigate disputes, did not tell credit reporting companies when information was disputed, and kept trying to collect disputed medical debts without documentation to support them. The order imposed a $95,000 civil penalty, permanently banned the company from debt collection, debt buying and selling, and consumer reporting, and required it to ask the credit reporting companies to delete the collection accounts it had reported. In announcing the order, the CFPB said the company would cease operations.
Why Commonwealth Financial Systems May Be Contacting You
Because of the 2023 ban, Commonwealth should no longer be collecting. Most people who look up the name today find it in one of two places: an old collection letter about a doctor's or hospital bill, or a collection tradeline on a credit report. If someone calls or writes in Commonwealth's name now, treat it with caution. Ask for the caller's full company name, mailing address and the original medical provider, and don't pay until you've confirmed in writing who holds the account. If the medical debt is real, it may have gone back to the provider or been placed with a different agency.
How to Check a Debt Commonwealth Financial Systems Says You Owe
- Look at your credit reports. The order required Commonwealth to ask the bureaus to delete the collection accounts it had reported. If a Commonwealth tradeline is still showing, dispute it with each bureau and mention the December 2023 CFPB order. See how long a collection can stay on your report.
- Go to the provider. Ask the hospital or practice whether it still claims a balance, who is collecting it now, and for an itemized bill. Check whether insurance was billed properly.
- Use your validation rights with any new collector. A collector that takes over the account must send a validation notice (15 U.S.C. § 1692g; 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34). Dispute in writing within the validation period if the amount or the debt is wrong; see how to dispute a debt.
- Watch the age of the bill. In Texas, suits on most debts must be filed within four years (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004), and a debt buyer can't sue on time-barred consumer debt (Tex. Fin. Code § 392.307). Other states set different periods.
What Commonwealth Financial Systems Can and Can't Do
As a third-party collector of consumer medical bills, Commonwealth was a "debt collector" under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6), and the CFPB order now bars it from collecting at all. Any company that picks up one of its old accounts is bound by the same rules:
- After a timely written dispute, a collector must stop collecting until it mails verification (15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b)).
- A collector that reports a debt it knows is disputed must report it as disputed (15 U.S.C. § 1692e(8)).
- A collector may not claim you owe an amount it has no reasonable basis to claim (15 U.S.C. § 1692e(2)(A)).
- Medical providers' collectors may not discuss your bill with your employer or relatives, apart from location requests; see who a collector can contact.
For more on medical bills, see whether you can be sued over medical bills in Texas.
Government Actions on the Public Record
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 Commonwealth Financial Systems 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
- CFPB enforcement action: Commonwealth Financial Systems, Inc.
- CFPB press release: CFPB Shuts Down Commonwealth Financial Systems (Dec. 15, 2023)
- CFPB Consumer Complaint Database: Commonwealth Financial Systems, Inc., debt collection
This profile is general information compiled from public sources, not legal advice, and it does not state or imply that Commonwealth Financial Systems has violated any law. Company details change; tell us if something here is out of date.