Fair Collections & Outsourcing (FCO) is a national debt collector with a strong focus on rental housing, and it reports accounts to the credit bureaus.
Why this company appears here
It's one of the most visible apartment and rental-housing collectors in the country, so renters with a balance often see its name.
Common account types
- Apartment balances
- Single-family rental balances
- HOA and condo accounts
- Commercial and small-business receivables
Check the company before you click or pay.
Match these details to the validation notice, credit report entry, and payment page before sharing account or bank information.
- Legal name
- Fair Collections & Outsourcing Inc.
- Known aliases
- FCO
- Official website
- https://fco.com/
- Consumer portal
- https://pay.fco.com/
- Phone - Collections department
- 877.324.7959
- Mailing address
- 14400 Sweitzer Ln #235, Laurel, MD 20707
- Last reviewed
- June 11, 2026
A matching caller ID does not authenticate a caller: numbers can be spoofed. Find contact details independently through the official company website or your original creditor before responding. Separately verify the debt and any payment instructions in writing.
- FCO payment portal contact — Fair Collections & Outsourcing
- FCO about — Fair Collections & Outsourcing
Find out who actually owns the account.
A collector, servicer, and debt owner are not always the same company. That affects what proof you should ask for.
Possible role: Third-party multi-unit housing collector and consumer-reporting furnisher
FCO describes itself as a national collection agency that collects accounts and reports them to the credit bureaus. The CFPB has said FCO collected on behalf of large apartment complexes, student and military housing, and assisted-living facilities — so it generally collects for the housing provider rather than owning the debt.
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Do not assume FCO owns the debt; ask it to identify the current creditor or property client and the original creditor if different.
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Ask for validation and itemization of lease charges, move-out charges, fees, interest, payments, credits, and the property or client that placed the account.
- FCO about — Fair Collections & Outsourcing
- FCO services — Fair Collections & Outsourcing
- CFPB Fair Collections & Outsourcing complaint — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- CFPB validation notice rules — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
What official records say.
Each note below comes from a dated government, regulator, court, or SEC record. Use it as background, not as proof about your specific account.
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The Connecticut Banking Commissioner entered a consent order alleging FCO acted as a Connecticut consumer collection agency without a license between at least 2015 and December 31, 2024; respondents consented to cease-and-desist terms, paid a $10,000 civil penalty, and FCO paid $2,000 in back licensing fees.
Source- Connecticut FCO consent order — Connecticut Department of Banking
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The CFPB enforcement action was resolved by a settlement judgment requiring the defendants to pay an $850,000 civil money penalty and implement policies and procedures to prevent future violations.
Source- CFPB FCO enforcement action — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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The Massachusetts Division of Banks entered a consent order with Fair Collections & Outsourcing of New England; without admitting violations, FCONE agreed to trust-account controls, contact-frequency controls, postdated-payment procedures, trade-name identification controls, anti-misleading-statement controls, quarterly progress reports, and a $2,500 administrative penalty.
Source- Massachusetts FCO consent order — Massachusetts Division of Banks
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The CFPB filed a federal lawsuit against FCO entities and owner Michael E. Sobota alleging credit-reporting, dispute-investigation, and debt-collection misrepresentation violations.
Source- CFPB FCO enforcement action — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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A D.C. Superior Court consent judgment resolved the District's case against FCO; FCO denied violating the law but agreed to restrictions on debt verification, voicemail/privacy practices, and collecting court fees absent a court award, plus restitution and up to $45,000 in District costs.
Source- D.C. FCO consent judgment — Superior Court of the District of Columbia / D.C. OAG
Start with the facts you can check.
- Rental-housing debts should be reviewed against the lease, move-out inspection, deposit accounting, and state notice rules.
- If you are applying for housing, ask whether the creditor can recall, update, or document the account status after resolution.
Confirm the account first.
Even a real collector can have the wrong person, wrong amount, old debt, duplicate placement, or incomplete records.
- The collector name, mailing address, phone number, and website on the letter you received.
- Who the original creditor was, who owns or placed the account now, the account number, balance, and date of last payment.
- Whether the debt may be too old for a lawsuit in your state before you pay or promise to pay.
- Whether the account appears on your official credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com.
- The final rent ledger, damage invoices, deposit accounting, and any move-out notices.
- Whether this looks like the kind of account Fair Collections & Outsourcing commonly handles: Apartment balances, Single-family rental balances, HOA and condo accounts, Commercial and small-business receivables.
- FCO about — Fair Collections & Outsourcing
- CFPB validation notice rules — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- CFPB debt dispute rights — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Questions people ask about Fair Collections & Outsourcing.
Use these answers to sort out roles, names, portals, and account details before responding.
Why is FCO contacting me about an apartment or rental balance?
Fair Collections & Outsourcing says it is a national rental-housing debt collection agency. If FCO contacts you, the account may relate to unpaid rent, lease charges, move-out charges, utilities, fees, or another balance referred by a landlord or property manager.
- FCO about — Fair Collections & Outsourcing
Does FCO own the debt, or is it collecting for my former landlord?
Do not assume either way from the name alone. FCO identifies itself as a debt collection agency and refers to clients and property managers, so the validation notice should identify the current creditor and original creditor if different.
- FCO payment portal contact — Fair Collections & Outsourcing
- CFPB validation notice rules — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
What should I ask for if the balance is from a final ledger, security deposit, or move-out charges?
Ask for validation showing the creditor, account number, current amount, and itemization of interest, fees, payments, and credits. For rental accounts, also request the lease, final ledger, security-deposit accounting, invoices, photos, and explanation of each move-out charge.
- CFPB validation notice rules — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- CFPB tenant debt collection rights — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
How do I contact FCO or verify the official payment portal?
FCO's contact page links online payments to its official payment portal and provides collection department contact information. Keep records of calls, letters, account numbers, and payment confirmations.
- FCO payment portal contact — Fair Collections & Outsourcing
How do I dispute or request validation from FCO?
Debt collectors generally must provide validation information. Send or otherwise submit a written dispute on or before the validation-period end date printed on the notice. When it receives that timely dispute, the collector generally must cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion of the debt, until it sends verification or a copy of a judgment. If it reasonably determines that a repeat dispute is duplicative—substantially the same as one it already answered, with no new and material information—it may instead send a notice explaining why and referring to its response to the earlier dispute. Send copies, not originals, and keep proof of timely submission plus any delivery or receipt record.
- CFPB debt dispute rights — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- CFPB validation notice rules — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- Regulation F § 1006.38 dispute and original-creditor request rules — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- Regulation F Small Entity Compliance Guide § 12.3 (submission and receipt timing) — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Is there CFPB enforcement history involving FCO?
Yes. The CFPB's FCO enforcement page says a 2021 stipulated final judgment required an $850,000 civil money penalty and policy changes after allegations involving credit reporting accuracy, dispute investigations, identity-theft-related furnishing, and representing debts without a reasonable basis. That history does not prove your account is wrong, but it supports checking documents carefully.
- CFPB FCO enforcement action — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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