M.A.R.S., Inc. (Metropolitan Accounts Receivable Specialists) is a Tulsa, Oklahoma collection agency established in 1976. It specializes in apartment and landlord-tenant lease defaults and also handles medical, retail, government, telecom and subrogation accounts.
- Type
- Collection agency
- Also known as
- MARS Collection Agency; Metropolitan Accounts Receivable Specialists; MARS, Inc.
- Headquarters
- Tulsa, OK
- Collects
- apartment and lease-default balances, medical accounts, retail and commercial accounts, government accounts, telecommunications accounts, subrogation claims
- Website
- marscollect.com
129 debt collection complaints were sent to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about M.A.R.S., 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 M.A.R.S., Inc.?
M.A.R.S., Inc. stands for Metropolitan Accounts Receivable Specialists. Its website, which operates as MARS Collection Agency, says the company was established in Oklahoma on August 2, 1976, and began as a medical billing company. It is located at 10830 E. 45th Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The site offers a contact form rather than listing a phone number, and it doesn't list license numbers; it says its staff follow the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We did not find a CFPB enforcement action against M.A.R.S., Inc.
Why M.A.R.S., Inc. May Be Contacting You
MARS describes landlord-tenant lease defaults and apartment collections as its specialty. The most likely reason for a MARS letter is a balance an apartment community says you owed after moving out: unpaid rent, a lease-break or reletting charge, or cleaning and repair charges deducted from (or exceeding) your security deposit. The company also lists commercial, retail, medical, government, telecommunications and subrogation accounts, and says it uses internet-based tools to locate people whose contact information is out of date, so a letter can reach you years after a move.
How to Check a Debt M.A.R.S., Inc. Says You Owe
Apartment move-out balances are among the most frequently disputed debts, so build your own file before you talk numbers.
- Read the validation notice (15 U.S.C. § 1692g; 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34). It should name the property or management company and itemize the balance.
- Ask for the lease, the move-out inspection, the itemized list of deductions from your deposit, and any reletting records. If a new tenant moved in soon after you left, rent for those months shouldn't be charged to you.
- In Texas, a landlord must give a written description and itemized list of deductions when it keeps any part of a deposit, and has a duty to try to re-rent after a tenant leaves early (Tex. Prop. Code §§ 92.104, 91.006). Compare those rules with what you're being charged.
- Send a written dispute with your move-out photos, forwarding-address letter and receipts within the validation period.
- Check the date. Texas generally allows four years to sue on a lease debt (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004), and debt buyers can't sue on time-barred consumer debt there (Tex. Fin. Code § 392.307). Oklahoma and other states use their own periods.
What M.A.R.S., Inc. Can and Can't Do
MARS collects for landlords and other creditors, so it is a "debt collector" under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6), and residential rent counts as a consumer debt under the FDCPA. Points that matter for rental debts:
- It may not collect charges the lease doesn't authorize or the law doesn't permit (15 U.S.C. § 1692f(1)).
- It may not report the balance to a credit bureau before communicating with you about it (12 C.F.R. § 1006.30(a)), and it must report a dispute as disputed once it knows (15 U.S.C. § 1692e(8)).
- When it tracks you down, it may contact third parties only to get your location, and may not tell them you owe a debt (15 U.S.C. § 1692b).
- More than seven calls in seven days about one debt is presumed to be harassment (12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)(2)).
If a landlord's collector has pursued you unfairly, contact our FDCPA attorneys. If you've been sued over a lease, see our debt lawsuit questions.
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 M.A.R.S., Inc. 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
- MARS Collection Agency: Home
- MARS Collection Agency: About
- CFPB enforcement actions search
- CFPB Consumer Complaint Database: M.A.R.S., Inc., debt collection
This profile is general information compiled from public sources, not legal advice, and it does not state or imply that M.A.R.S., Inc. has violated any law. Company details change; tell us if something here is out of date.