Are you receiving calls from 855-581-1994? ARstrat is a third-party debt collection agency that primarily focuses on collecting debts for medical services.
If you are getting calls from them, they likely believe you have an outstanding medical bill that has been placed with them for collection.
Hundreds of consumers have filed complaints that suggest ARstrat engages in harassing phone calls, making repeated calls to consumers with no intention of connecting the call. We’ll outline their tactics below and discuss what you can do to protect yourself.
Who is ARstrat?
Company type: Third-party debt collection agency
Parent company: GetixHealth, LLC, a subsidiary of H.I.G. Capital (as of April 2025)
Headquarters: Sugar Land, TX
Industry: Medical debt collection
BBB rating: F (on both their Sugar Land and Denison BBB profiles)
Known clients: Northwell Health, Apria Healthcare, Mayo Clinic, Independence Health System
Employees: Between 201 and 500 employees
Background
ARstrat has been a party to over 60 federal lawsuits, with the majority being allegations of violations of the FDCPA. There have been multiple class-action lawsuits against them for deceptive collection letters. In April 2025, the Minnesota Attorney General’s office determined that ARstrat had failed to include legally mandated charity care language on collection notices sent on behalf of the Mayo Clinic.
Over 350,000 calls from this phone number have been flagged as a robocall on RoboKiller alone. The complaints are widespread and consistent enough to identify a pattern.
Why is ARstrat calling me?
ARstrat only collects medical debt. They don’t collect credit cards, auto loans, student loans, or utility bills. If they’re calling you, it’s because a hospital, clinic, or healthcare provider has placed an account with them that they believe you owe.
The problem is, they’re calling people about debts that have already been paid, debts in the wrong person’s name, and debts for the wrong amount. Here’s one example from a consumer complaint:
“I confirmed on 3/21/25 with Apria healthcare that the only balance in my account was from rental services in February of 2025. Apria confirmed that there is no debt to my account with Apria healthcare and that Apria healthcare did not assign any debt for collection.”
A debt on your credit report doesn’t mean it’s valid. Here’s something consumers need to understand. A collection account can appear on your credit report without the collector first proving to you or the credit bureaus that the debt is valid, that it’s the right amount, or that it even belongs to you.
This means the burden is on you to dispute the account if it’s not accurate. ARstrat (or any debt collector) can report a collection account to the credit bureaus without first having to prove anything to you or the credit bureau.
ARstrat calling you isn’t about whether or not you owe money. It’s about what’s on your credit report and how long it stays there. That’s the real objective here.
How does ARstrat operate?
The Robocall Loop
When you answer a call from 855-581-1994, you’re greeted by an automated voice that asks you to hold for an important call or press 1 to connect the call. Then you wait. And wait. And wait.
Here’s how one consumer described the experience on CallFilter:
“While I was waiting a recorded voice kept stating, ‘Please hold while this important call is waiting.’ This scripted statement looped over and over with a 2 second pause before repeating the same statement again.”
A consumer on RoboKiller reported a similar experience:
“Actually picked up when the number called and was placed on hold. If it is really important maybe they should consider having a live person on the call.”
This isn’t an accident. This is a deliberate strategy to make the consumer feel like the call is important and create a sense of urgency.
The Voicemail Names Game
Consumers report receiving voicemails from “Rebecca Russell” or “Joy McTowell,” two names that pop up on every complaint board in the country. These aren’t actual people who are leaving voicemails. They’re pre-recorded messages that sound personal enough to make you call back.
When consumers do call back, the experience doesn’t get any better. Here’s what one CallFilter user experienced:
“I asked the lady what the purpose of this call was and if this was an unwarranted solicitation. The lady replied: ‘We handle Matters For People.’ I pushed further asking ‘What’s the far and wide scope of the Matters That you handle?’ She would not elaborate, I hung up.”
They’re not going to give you any information. The less they tell you on the phone, the more likely you are to give them your information trying to figure out what’s going on.
They’ll call you even when there’s nothing to collect
One of the most troubling patterns in the complaints is the frequency with which ARstrat calls consumers about debts that don’t actually exist. One BBB complainant verified with the original creditor that there was no outstanding balance:
“I confirmed on 3/21/25 with Apria healthcare that the only balance in my account was from rental services in February of 2025. Apria confirmed that there is no debt to my account with Apria healthcare and that Apria healthcare did not assign any debt for collection.”
Another consumer on the Denison BBB profile was contacted about a bill that was over two decades old:
“24 year old non-existent bill.”
When debts are this old, or this inaccurate, it suggests there may be a problem with whatever verification process ARstrat is using before they place the call.
Why you should never call them back
Paying can actually hurt you
Your first instinct when a debt collector calls may be to just pay whatever they’re asking for and make them go away. But if you make a payment on a collection account, you may be acknowledging that the debt is valid.
In some cases, paying a debt can even reset the clock on how long the account is allowed to remain on your credit report. You may also be creating legal admissions that can be used against you later.
Don’t focus on whether or not you owe the money. The objective here is what’s on your credit report and how long it’s going to stay there. That’s the war. And if you’re calling a collection agency back, you’re playing the war on their turf and by their rules.
Silence is a strategy
The best strategy here is to ignore the calls and work with a credit repair company instead. Every single time you engage with a debt collector over the phone, you risk saying something that will strengthen their position.
You risk confirming personal data. You risk acknowledging that you owe a debt. And you risk agreeing to something that’s going to come back and haunt you later.
Here’s what happened to one BBB reviewer who called them back:
“She wanted me to give her my date of birth and address on file. I asked if she was calling me she should have the information in front of her. Her response was ‘I’ll take that as a refusal’ and hung up the phone.”
Their goal when they call you is to get you to confirm something, acknowledge something, or agree to something. Your goal should be to not do any of those things.
What you should do instead
Check your credit report first
Before you do anything else, pull your credit reports from all three bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, Equifax). Look for any accounts with ARstrat’s name or the name of the original provider on them.
Make a note of the balance, the date, and the account number listed on each report. This is reconnaissance. This is the first step in organizing a dispute for any inaccurate accounts.
If you see an account on your credit report with ARstrat’s name attached to it, don’t panic. You can dispute any negative accounts on your credit reports, and collection agencies are notorious for not having complete or accurate documentation to verify accounts.
Contact a credit repair professional
A credit repair expert can help you dispute any accounts on your credit reports that are inaccurate, unverified, or questionable. They understand your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).
They also understand the procedures that a debt collector like ARstrat is required to follow. In fact, ARstrat has already shown that they have a hard time responding to consumer disputes.
As of April 2025, ARstrat has not responded to 30 out of 32 complaints filed against them on their BBB profile. A professional dispute process takes advantage of that and forces the debt collector to verify the account within a tight deadline.
Time is not on your side
Why waiting only makes things worse
The sooner you contact a credit repair company, the sooner you can prevent this situation from escalating. While it’s rare for a medical debt collector to sue, the longer a collection account remains on your credit report without a challenge, the more damage it’s going to do.
Every day you wait is another day that someone is making a decision about you based on information that may not be accurate. The most effective disputes are the ones that get filed sooner rather than later, before the collector has time to really dig their hooks into your credit report.
Your next step
If you’re getting calls from 855-581-1994, it may be a sign that your credit report needs some attention. Don’t answer the calls. Don’t call them back. And don’t try to negotiate directly with the agency.
Instead, reach out to us at FightCollections.com for a free consultation. Our team specializes in disputing collection accounts that may be inaccurate, unverified, or improperly listed.
The sooner you act, the sooner we can start working toward a cleaner credit report for you.