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  1. 01

    What it is.

    Referral of an account to a licensed collection attorney in the consumer’s own jurisdiction, when a client directs it. Most accounts resolve without litigation, and referral is the exception rather than a stage every file passes through.

  2. 02

    What the law allows.

    Suit may be brought only where the consumer lives or signed the contract, and only on a debt still inside its limitation period. Threatening a suit that will not be filed, or that could not lawfully be filed, is itself a violation — which is why referral language is never used as leverage.

    15 U.S.C. § 1692i · § 1692e(5) · 12 C.F.R. § 1006.26(b)
  3. 03

    How we work inside it.

    No account is referred without the client’s explicit written direction. Before we recommend referral, the account passes a collectability and compliance review: balance reconciled, limitation period confirmed, contact history clean of any dispute or cease-contact instruction, and jurisdiction verified. The attorney represents the client; we handle documentation and accounting.

    15 U.S.C. § 1692i · 12 C.F.R. § 1006.26
  4. 04

    Why we do it.

    When litigation is genuinely warranted, it should be filed in the right court, on a verified balance, against the right person. Every one of those checks protects the client as much as the consumer, because a defective suit is a counterclaim.

01 Compliance

Compliance Controls

Referral only on the client’s explicit written direction

Client agreementContract gate

Suit filed only where the consumer resides or signed the contract

15 U.S.C. § 1692i(a)(2)Venue-verified

Time-barred accounts cannot be referred for suit

12 C.F.R. § 1006.26(b)System-enforced

Collectability and compliance review completed before referral is recommended

Internal pre-referral controlDocumented

Balance, interest and costs reconciled to client records before filing

15 U.S.C. §§ 1692e(2), 1692f(1)Reconciled

Accounts with an open dispute or unanswered validation request are not referred

15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b)System-enforced

Accounts with a cease-contact instruction, bankruptcy or fraud flag are not referred

15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c) · 11 U.S.C. § 362System-enforced

Attorneys licensed in the jurisdiction, with credentials verified and monitored

State bar licensureVerified

No lawsuit filed and no settlement accepted without the client’s approval

Client agreementClient-directed

Court costs, payments and disbursements tracked and reported per account

Client agreementReconciled

Servicemember status checked before any referral

50 U.S.C. § 3901 et seq.Checked

State-specific venue, limitation and licensing requirements applied

State venue, limitation and licensing statutesPer matrix

The framework behind these controls, and our licensing and bonding, are on our Compliance page →

02 Limits

What We Never Do

Threaten litigation that is not authorized or could not lawfully be filed

15 U.S.C. §§ 1692e(4)–(5)Never

Refer or sue on a time-barred debt

12 C.F.R. § 1006.26(b)Never

File in a venue other than where the consumer resides or signed

15 U.S.C. § 1692i(a)(2)Never

Imply that we are attorneys, or that a communication is from a lawyer

15 U.S.C. § 1692e(3)Never

Refer an account with an unanswered validation request

15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b)Never

What a consumer can ask us to do — including disputing an account — is on Consumer Rights →

Before referral is ever considered

The great majority of accounts resolve through the options a consumer can choose themselves. Every one of those is on our Consumer Rights page — including requesting validation, disputing the balance, and arranging a plan — and using any of them stops a file well before this page becomes relevant.

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