Fair Collections & Outsourcing (FCO) is a Maryland-based collection agency that describes itself as a national rental housing debt collector. A notice from FCO usually concerns money a landlord or property manager says you owed when you moved out.
- Type
- Collection agency
- Also known as
- Fair Collections & Outsourcing, Inc.; FCO; FCO Holding, Inc.; Fair Collections & Outsourcing of New England, Inc.
- Headquarters
- Laurel, MD
- Collects
- apartment and rental housing balances
- Phone numbers it lists
- (877) 324-7959
- Website
- fco.com
3,350 debt collection complaints were sent to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about FAIR COLLECTIONS & OUTSOURCING, 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 Fair Collections & Outsourcing?
Fair Collections & Outsourcing, Inc. (FCO) is a debt collection agency that calls itself a national rental housing debt collections agency. Its website lists a mailing and office address at 14400 Sweitzer Ln #235, Laurel, MD 20707, and memberships in rental-industry groups such as the National Multifamily Housing Council as well as ACA International. It publishes several NMLS license identifiers in its footer.
According to the CFPB, FCO is part of a group of companies under FCO Holding, Inc., a Maryland-based debt collector, which also includes Fair Collections & Outsourcing of New England, Inc. and FCO Worldwide, Inc. The CFPB identified Michael E. Sobota as the CEO, president, director and owner of FCO Holding.
Why Fair Collections & Outsourcing May Be Contacting You
FCO's business is built around landlords and property managers. If it contacts you, the account is most likely a "move-out" balance from an apartment or rental home: unpaid rent, a lease-break or reletting fee, cleaning or repair charges, or unpaid utilities that were billed through the property. The landlord's name should appear on the notice as the creditor.
FCO's website separates its lines: the Collections Department at (877) 324-7959 is the number it gives to people who received a bill or notice, while other numbers are for property-manager clients and sales.
How to Check a Debt Fair Collections & Outsourcing Says You Owe
Rental balances are often built from estimates made after you leave, so the details matter more than the total.
- Use the validation notice. FCO must give you a notice listing the creditor, the itemization date and the amount, plus your deadline to dispute (15 U.S.C. § 1692g; 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34).
- Dispute in writing, with specifics. If you dispute in writing during the validation period, FCO must stop collecting until it sends verification. Ask for the signed lease, the move-in and move-out inspection reports, photos, repair invoices and the security-deposit itemization.
- Check the deposit. In Texas a landlord generally must refund the deposit or give a written list of deductions within 30 days after you surrender the unit and give a forwarding address (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103). Make sure the deposit was credited against any balance.
- Ask whether the landlord still owns the debt. If the account was sold, the new owner should be named.
- Note the dates. Texas usually allows four years to sue on a debt like this (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004), and debt buyers may not sue on time-barred consumer debt (Tex. Fin. Code § 392.307). Leases from other states may carry different deadlines.
What Fair Collections & Outsourcing Can and Can't Do
As a third-party agency collecting for landlords, FCO is a "debt collector" under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6) when it collects consumer rental debt. Points that come up with rental accounts:
- It may not add court costs or attorney's fees unless a court awarded them or the lease and law allow them (15 U.S.C. § 1692f(1)).
- It may not report a balance to credit bureaus as undisputed after you have disputed it, and as a furnisher it must reasonably investigate credit-report disputes, including identity-theft claims.
- It may not discuss your debt with a roommate, relative or neighbor, apart from limited location inquiries.
- It generally may not call more than seven times in seven days about the same account (12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)(2)).
FCO has been the subject of a 2016 District of Columbia Attorney General settlement, a 2021 CFPB court judgment and a 2025 Connecticut Department of Banking consent order about licensing, all listed below with links to the government's own descriptions of what was alleged and required. If you believe FCO crossed a line, see our Texas FDCPA attorneys page.
Government Actions on the Public Record
- Connecticut Department of Banking consent order (alleged that Fair Collections & Outsourcing, Inc. collected in Connecticut without a license from at least 2015 through 2024 and that its licensed New England affiliate commingled Connecticut collections with it; $10,000 civil penalty and $2,000 back licensing fees; neither admitted nor denied) (2025-05-01)
- CFPB stipulated final judgment against FCO and its owner (alleged FCRA furnishing and dispute failures and FDCPA misrepresentations; $850,000 civil penalty) (2021-10-27)
- District of Columbia Attorney General settlement (alleged collection of unawarded court costs and fees and voicemail and verification issues; restitution and $45,000) (2016-06-21)
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 Fair Collections & Outsourcing 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
- FCO: home page
- FCO: About us
- FCO: Contact us
- CFPB enforcement action: FCO and Sobota
- D.C. Office of the Attorney General: settlement with FCO (2016)
- CFPB Consumer Complaint Database: FAIR COLLECTIONS & OUTSOURCING, INC., debt collection
This profile is general information compiled from public sources, not legal advice, and it does not state or imply that Fair Collections & Outsourcing has violated any law. Company details change; tell us if something here is out of date. Lea este perfil en español.