Financial Recovery Services, Inc. (FRS) is a Minnesota third-party collection agency founded in 1996. It collects consumer accounts for creditors, including deficiency balances, and may contact you about a past-due or charged-off account.
- Type
- Collection agency
- Also known as
- Financial Recovery Services, Inc.; FRS; Financial Recovery Services of Minnesota Inc
- Headquarters
- Mendota Heights, MN
- Collects
- consumer accounts placed by creditors, deficiency balances
- Website
- fin-rec.com
160 debt collection complaints were sent to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about Financial Recovery Services, 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 Financial Recovery Services?
Financial Recovery Services, Inc., known as FRS, is a Minnesota corporation that the Better Business Bureau lists as starting business in February 1996. The BBB gives its headquarters as 1345 Mendota Heights Road, Suite 100, in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, with a second listed location in Bloomington. It also lists the alternate name Financial Recovery Services of Minnesota Inc. and names Brian Bowers as president. The company's website is fin-rec.com, which describes FRS as a consumer debt collection agency. We were not able to read the rest of that site, so we have not listed phone numbers here; use the number printed on your letter and confirm it matches the company.
We did not find a CFPB enforcement action against Financial Recovery Services.
Why Financial Recovery Services May Be Contacting You
FRS's BBB listing describes its services as third-party debt collection, pre-legal collection, deficiency balance collection, client file transfers, a consumer payment portal and receivables management. A "deficiency balance" is what a lender says remains after collateral (most often a car) is repossessed and sold. So an FRS letter may concern a credit account a creditor charged off, or the amount a lender claims after a repossession. "Pre-legal" placements are accounts the creditor may be considering for a lawsuit.
How to Check a Debt Financial Recovery Services Says You Owe
Deficiency claims deserve extra scrutiny because the sale price of the collateral drives the whole balance.
- Use the validation notice. It must name the creditor and itemize the debt from a set date (15 U.S.C. § 1692g; 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34). Dispute in writing within the validation period and FRS must pause collection until it verifies.
- For a deficiency, ask for the notice of sale the lender sent you, the date and price of the sale, and an accounting of repossession, storage and auction costs. Under the Uniform Commercial Code, a lender must dispose of collateral in a commercially reasonable way and give proper notice. See car deficiencies after repossession.
- Ask who owns the account. Find out whether it's still the original lender or a buyer.
- Check the limitation period. Texas generally sets four years for consumer debt suits (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004) and bars debt buyers from suing on time-barred consumer debt (Tex. Fin. Code § 392.307). Other states differ, and the start date for a deficiency can be disputed.
What Financial Recovery Services Can and Can't Do
An agency that collects debts owed to others is a "debt collector" under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6), so FRS must follow the FDCPA and Regulation F. For example:
- A "pre-legal" letter may not threaten a lawsuit unless one is actually intended (15 U.S.C. § 1692e(5)).
- It may not misstate the amount of a deficiency or add fees not authorized by the contract or by law (15 U.S.C. §§ 1692e(2), 1692f(1)).
- Calls are presumptively limited to seven in seven days per debt (12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)(2)).
- Texas does not allow wage garnishment for ordinary consumer debts like a car deficiency (Tex. Const. art. XVI, § 28), so a threat to garnish your paycheck would be a red flag.
If an FRS letter or call seems off, our FDCPA attorneys can review it.
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 Financial Recovery Services 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
- BBB business profile: Financial Recovery Services, Inc. (facts only)
- CFPB enforcement actions search
- CFPB Consumer Complaint Database: Financial Recovery Services, Inc., debt collection
This profile is general information compiled from public sources, not legal advice, and it does not state or imply that Financial Recovery Services has violated any law. Company details change; tell us if something here is out of date.