Hauge Associates: Who They Are and Your Rights

Type

Collection agency

Also known as

Hauge Associates, Inc.; The Hauge Group; Med-Plan Services, Ltd.; Hauge Services

Headquarters

Sioux Falls, SD

Collects

healthcare bills, past-due consumer accounts

Phone numbers it lists

(800) 284-3131

Website

thehaugegroup.com

37 debt collection complaints were sent to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about Hauge 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 Hauge Associates?

According to The Hauge Group's history page, the business began in the 1960s as Hauge Credit Service, when Arlen "Arnie" Hauge bought the Credit Bureau of Sturgis, South Dakota. It added offices in Rapid City and Spearfish in the 1970s, incorporated as Hauge Associates, Inc. in the 1980s and expanded into Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois over the following decades. Arnie Hauge retired in 2008, The Hauge Group was formed in the 2010s, and the company says new ownership arrived in 2020.

The Better Business Bureau lists Hauge Associates at 2320 W. 49th Street, Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57105, with Chris Wosje as president. The company's website gives (800) 284-3131 as its phone number. The BBB also lists a Hauge Group location in Montrose, Colorado.

We did not find a CFPB enforcement action against Hauge Associates.

Why Hauge Associates May Be Contacting You

The Hauge Group runs three services:

• Hauge Associates: full-service debt collection for clients.
• Med-Plan Services: helps hospitals, clinics and other medical providers process active receivables.
• The Bridge System: a pre-collection program to resolve past-due accounts before they go to collection.

So a contact could come from any of these names. A Med-Plan or Bridge System notice may be about an account that is still with the provider. A Hauge Associates letter generally means the account has been placed for collection. Payments for the two main brands go through separate Evoke Pay portals.

How to Check a Debt Hauge Associates Says You Owe

First learn which Hauge entity is writing and for which provider or business. If the account is in collection, the validation notice should name the creditor and itemize the amount (15 U.S.C. § 1692g; 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34).

For a healthcare balance, request the provider's itemized statement and your insurance claim history. Look for services billed twice or claims that were never submitted. If you received a financial assistance discount, make sure it was applied. Dispute any error in writing within the validation period, which pauses collection until verification is mailed, and ask whether the provider still owns the account.

Check the dates. In Texas, most consumer debt suits must be filed within four years (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004), and debt buyers may not sue on time-barred consumer debt (Tex. Fin. Code § 392.307). South Dakota and other states set their own limits.

What Hauge Associates Can and Can't Do

When Hauge Associates collects defaulted consumer debts for clients, it is a "debt collector" under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). Work it does for a provider before the account is in default, such as billing support, may not be covered by the FDCPA.

• It may not report a medical collection to a credit bureau before communicating with you (12 C.F.R. § 1006.30(a)); see medical debt reporting changes.
• It may not share details of your medical debt with third parties, with narrow exceptions (15 U.S.C. § 1692c(b)).
• For a Texas provider's bill, an itemized bill generally must come before collection; see Texas SB 490.
• It may not exceed seven call attempts in seven days per debt without a presumption of harassment (12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)(2)).

Read more on our 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 Hauge 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

• The Hauge Group: home page
• The Hauge Group: Our history
• BBB business profile: Hauge Associates, Inc.
• CFPB enforcement actions search
• CFPB Consumer Complaint Database: Hauge Associates, Inc., debt collection

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