Sarma Collections Inc. is a San Antonio, Texas collection agency connected with the San Antonio Retail Merchants Association, which also offers credit reports and background screening. It collects for banks, healthcare providers, landlords, retailers, utilities and other businesses.
- Type
- Collection agency
- Also known as
- Sarma; SARMA; Sarma Collections Inc.; SCI; Sarma Services; San Antonio Retail Merchants Association
- Headquarters
- San Antonio, TX
- Collects
- financial institution accounts, medical bills, real estate and rental balances, retail accounts, telecommunications bills, utility bills, municipal accounts
- Phone numbers it lists
- (800) 955-5238
- Website
- sarma.com
32 debt collection complaints were sent to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about Sarma 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 Sarma Collections?
Sarma is a San Antonio, Texas business based at 555 East Ramsey. Its website says "SARMA is a dba of San Antonio Retail Merchants Association," and its debt collection page names the collecting entity as Sarma Collections Inc., doing business as SCI, Sarma and Sarma Services. The site says Sarma was established in 1907. Besides collections, it offers mortgage credit reports, background screening, skip tracing and related data services.
Sarma's collections page lists NMLS #1008832 and a Nevada compliance manager certificate, and the site also shows private investigator license #A14388. It describes its staff as bilingual.
Why Sarma Collections May Be Contacting You
Sarma says it provides early-out and bad-debt collection for local and national customers, and that its collection clients include financial institutions, health care organizations, municipalities, real estate businesses, retail, telecommunications and utilities. So a Sarma letter or call could concern a San Antonio-area hospital or clinic bill, a balance with a landlord or property manager, a phone or utility bill, a retail account, or a loan or card balance with a bank or credit union.
"Early-out" work means Sarma may contact you about a bill that is only recently past due, on behalf of the provider, before it is treated as bad debt. Sarma's main number is (800) 955-5238, and it offers an online payer portal and a dispute form.
Because Sarma also sells credit reports to mortgage lenders and screens tenants and employees, its name can also appear on your credit file as an inquiry that has nothing to do with collections.
How to Check a Debt Sarma Collections Says You Owe
- Read the validation notice. It must name the creditor and itemize the amount since a set date (15 U.S.C. § 1692g; 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34). If the creditor is a local clinic or utility you used, match the account and service address.
- Dispute in writing within the validation period. Sarma must stop collecting until it sends verification. Use writing even if you also use its online form, and keep a copy.
- Ask about ownership. Ask whether the original business still owns the account.
- Compare against your records. Rental balances often include cleaning, repair and fee charges; medical bills may be missing insurance payments.
- Know the Texas time limit. Most Texas debt suits must be filed within four years (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004). A debt buyer cannot sue on time-barred consumer debt in Texas (Tex. Fin. Code § 392.307; see our HB 996 update). Other states differ.
What Sarma Collections Can and Can't Do
As a third-party agency, Sarma is a "debt collector" under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6) when it collects consumer debts, and it must also follow the Texas Debt Collection Act. In practice:
- For a Texas health care facility's bill, an itemized bill generally must come first. See our Texas SB 490 update.
- It may not threaten wage garnishment for an ordinary consumer debt, since Texas does not allow it.
- It may not call more than seven times in seven days about one debt, presumptively (12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)(2)).
- If you dispute, any credit reporting must show the debt as disputed (15 U.S.C. § 1692e(8)).
We did not find a CFPB enforcement action against Sarma. Our San Antonio FDCPA attorneys page explains how we review collection conduct.
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 Sarma Collections 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
- Sarma: home page
- Sarma: Debt collections
- BBB business profile: SARMA (facts only)
- CFPB enforcement actions list
- CFPB Consumer Complaint Database: Sarma, debt collection
This profile is general information compiled from public sources, not legal advice, and it does not state or imply that Sarma Collections has violated any law. Company details change; tell us if something here is out of date.