National Credit Management: Who They Are and Your Rights

Type

Collection agency

Also known as

National Collection Systems, Inc.; National Collection Systems Inc dba National Credit Management; NCM

Headquarters

St. Louis, MO

Collects

Perkins loans, tuition and institutional balances, health professions and nursing loans, private and alternative student loans, late-withdrawal, parking and room-and-board balances

Phone numbers it lists

(800) 627-2300, (314) 432-1944

Website

ncmstl.com

215 debt collection complaints were sent to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about National Collection 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 National Credit Management?

National Credit Management, usually shortened to NCM, describes itself as a third-generation, family-owned firm that has been headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri since 1960, when Bernard Fagin founded it. Its legal name is National Collection Systems, Inc.: the Texas Secretary of State's debt collector bond records list "National Collection Systems Inc dba National Credit Management" at 10845 Olive Boulevard, Suite 210, St. Louis, with an active bond filed in August 2002 and the same (314) 432-1944 number that appears on NCM's website. The company lists NMLS number 929741 and a mailing address of P.O. Box 32900, St. Louis, MO 63132. We did not find a CFPB enforcement action against National Credit Management or National Collection Systems.

Why National Credit Management May Be Contacting You

NCM works almost entirely for higher education. Its website says it has served more than 300 colleges and universities and calls its work "100% campus-based collections." The account types it lists are:

• Federal Perkins loans made by a school;
• tuition and other institutional balances owed directly to a college;
• health professions and nursing loans;
• private and alternative student loans;
• late-withdrawal charges, parking fines and room-and-board balances.

NCM also says it furnishes account data to all three national credit bureaus and runs skip tracing to locate former students. So a letter or call from NCM most likely means a school you attended has placed a balance with it, sometimes years after you left.

How to Check a Debt National Credit Management Says You Owe

• Get the validation notice and compare the school, the account type and the balance with your records (15 U.S.C. § 1692g; 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34).
• Ask for the student-account ledger. For a tuition balance, ask for an itemized statement showing charges, financial aid, refunds and any late or collection fees. Withdrawal charges often turn on dates, so check when you officially withdrew.
• For a loan, ask for the promissory note and the payment history, and ask whether the loan is a federal Perkins loan or a private loan. The rules differ.
• Dispute in writing within the validation period if anything is wrong; see how to dispute a debt.
• Know which deadline applies. Federal student loans, including Perkins loans, generally have no statute of limitations (20 U.S.C. § 1091a). A tuition balance or private loan is different: Texas generally allows four years to sue (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004), and a debt buyer may not sue on time-barred consumer debt (Tex. Fin. Code § 392.307). Other states set their own periods.

What National Credit Management Can and Can't Do

NCM collects balances owed to schools, so it is a "debt collector" under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6) and must follow the FDCPA and Regulation F, as its website acknowledges.

• It may not tell your parents, roommates or employer about the debt, other than to ask how to reach you (15 U.S.C. § 1692c(b)); see contact with family and employers.
• It may not add collection fees unless your enrollment agreement, loan note or the law allows them (15 U.S.C. § 1692f(1)); see added fees.
• A debt you dispute that it reports to the credit bureaus must be shown as disputed (15 U.S.C. § 1692e(8)).
• It may not call more than seven times in seven days about one account (12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)(2)), or at times it knows are inconvenient for you.

Problems with a school-debt collector? See our Texas 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 National Credit Management 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

• National Credit Management: home page
• National Credit Management: About us
• National Credit Management: Services
• Texas Secretary of State debt collector bond search (National Collection Systems Inc dba National Credit Management)
• CFPB enforcement actions search
• CFPB Consumer Complaint Database: National Collection Systems, Inc., debt collection

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