First Collection Services: Who They Are and Your Rights

Type

Collection agency

Also known as

International Computer Systems, Inc.; FCS

Headquarters

Little Rock, AR

Collects

telecommunications accounts, utility bills, banking accounts, medical bills

Phone numbers it lists

(800) 844-2036

Website

fcscollects.com

153 debt collection complaints were sent to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about International Computer 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 First Collection Services?

First Collection Services (FCS) describes itself as a family-owned company with a national reach that has provided receivables services "since 1969." Its office is at 10925 Otter Creek East Blvd., Little Rock, AR 72103, and its consumer line is (800) 844-2036, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. It lists New York City license No. 1110453-DCA and posts state notices for California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Nevada, North Carolina and Tennessee residents.

The CFPB lists this company's complaints under "International Computer Systems, Inc." The FCS website doesn't use that name, but a 2018 federal case caption identifies the defendant as International Computer Systems, Inc. doing business as First Collection Services, and an insideARM trade article about the Arkansas-based agency also refers to International Computer Systems. The name is easy to confuse with I.C. System, a separate Minnesota agency with its own profile.

Why First Collection Services May Be Contacting You

FCS says it serves the telecommunications, utility, banking and medical industries, and it offers both first-party services (contacting customers in the client's name, before an account goes to collection) and third-party collection. Many people hear from FCS about a final bill from a phone, cable or internet provider, or about a utility balance after moving out. Letters should name the company that placed the account. FCS takes payments through payfcs.com.

How to Check a Debt First Collection Services Says You Owe

Final bills for phone and utility service often include equipment charges, early-termination fees or estimated readings that deserve a second look:

• Read the validation notice carefully. It must give the creditor's name, the account number and an itemization from a stated date (15 U.S.C. § 1692g; 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34).
• Dispute in writing within the validation period. If you returned equipment or cancelled on time, send copies of the return receipt or confirmation number with your dispute. FCS must then pause collection until it mails verification.
• Ask whether the provider still owns the account. Telecom balances are sometimes sold to debt buyers, which changes who can sue.
• Check the dates. A Texas suit on most debts must be filed within four years (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004), and debt buyers can't sue on consumer debts once that period runs (Tex. Fin. Code § 392.307). Other states set their own deadlines.

What First Collection Services Can and Can't Do

When FCS collects in its own name for a client, it is a "debt collector" under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). Its first-party work, done in a creditor's name, may fall outside the FDCPA, so notice whose name is on the letter. As a third-party collector, FCS:

• May not report a balance it knows is disputed without marking it as disputed (15 U.S.C. § 1692e(8)).
• May not charge a fee beyond what your service contract allows (15 U.S.C. § 1692f(1)).
• Must follow Regulation F's limits on calls, texts and emails, including the seven-calls-in-seven-days presumption (12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)(2)). See can debt collectors text or email me?
• Must stop most contact once you ask in writing (15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c)).

We did not find a CFPB enforcement action against First Collection Services or International Computer Systems, Inc. Questions about an FCS account? Contact our FDCPA attorneys.

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 First Collection 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

• First Collection Services: home page
• First Collection Services: Who We Are
• First Collection Services: New York disclosures
• ClassAction.org: 2018 federal case caption naming International Computer Systems, Inc. d/b/a First Collection Services
• insideARM: First Collection Services, an Arkansas-based agency, and International Computer Systems
• CFPB enforcement actions search: First Collection
• CFPB enforcement actions search: International Computer
• CFPB Consumer Complaint Database: International Computer Systems, Inc., debt collection

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