You’re reading this article because you’re getting harassing phone calls from 866-324-3120.
The caller is IC System, and they’re almost certainly calling about a debt that they think you owe, that they think is associated with your phone number, or both. IC System is one of the largest debt collection agencies in North America.
If you’re getting multiple calls from this number, you’re in good company. RoboKiller reports over 32,000 calls from 866-324-3120, and 148 user reports. Nomorobo classifies 866-324-3120 as a high volume robocall number that has been flagged continuously since December 2014.
But you don’t have to put up with calls from this number. This article will walk you through an exact step-by-step playbook to follow to stop the calls and protect yourself, based on a federal consumer protection law that you can use as a weapon.
Who is IC System?
IC System’s full legal name is I.C. System, Inc.
IC System is a third-party debt collection agency that operates on a contingency basis (meaning they don’t own the debts they’re collecting, but instead act as middlemen for the original creditor in exchange for a fee). They are not a debt buyer, which means that they didn’t buy your debt, but they might be calling you to try to collect on it.
IC System’s headquarters is located at 444 East Highway 96, Vadnais Heights, Minnesota 55127. IC System was founded in 1938, making them a third-generation family-owned business (the Erickson family). IC System’s estimated annual revenue is around $258 million.
IC System is licensed and/or bonded in all 50 states, as well as Guam and Puerto Rico. IC System’s primary clients are in the healthcare/medical, telecom, utilities, government, and financial services industries.
Some of IC System’s most notable clients include over 6,500 healthcare providers and Verizon Wireless and Alliant Energy. IC System has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has been accredited since December 15, 1992. IC System is also a certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE).
A history you should be concerned about
Despite IC System’s professional appearance, the company paid a $3.35 million settlement in a federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class action lawsuit (Reid v. IC System, Inc.) after they were sued for using automatic dialing systems to call consumers without their consent and for continuing to call consumers even after they had explicitly asked IC System to stop calling.
Over 370 federal lawsuits have been filed against IC System, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has received more than 1,100 complaints about the company. IC System has received 1,558 complaints on the BBB in the last three years alone. The remainder of this article will show you exactly what to do about it.
Why is IC System calling me?
The business model behind the calls
IC System doesn’t own any of the debts they collect. Instead, they operate as a middleman between the original creditor (like a hospital, phone service provider, or utility company) and the consumer.
In exchange for IC System’s collection efforts, the original creditor pays IC System a percentage of the recovered debt. This means that for every dollar IC System collects, they keep some of it as revenue.
This is why IC System is so aggressive in calling people. Because they don’t actually own any of the debts they’re collecting, the more they call, the more money they make. Since IC System has over 6,500 healthcare provider clients alone, there’s a good chance that if you’re getting a call from 866-324-3120, it’s about a medical debt.
Medical debts are particularly tricky because errors in billing are very common, insurance processing issues can cause an account to be sent to collections before the insurance company has finished processing the claim, and often, people don’t even know that they owe a medical debt until they start getting calls from a debt collector.
Wrong number, wrong person, wrong debt
Many of the complaints about 866-324-3120 are from people who don’t owe the debt that IC System is calling about. One user reported: “I’ve been called by these people about a debt that I don’t owe, and the debt is owed by a person who has a name similar to mine. When I insist that it’s not me, they call me a liar.”
Do not provide any information about yourself to a debt collector. Everything you say can and will be used against you, and in this case, it sounds like IC System has the wrong guy.
What IC System is counting on
The pressure campaign is the product
Users on 800notes report getting six to eight calls a day from 866-324-3120.
One user reported: “I am receiving calls from this number six or 8 times a day. It is very, very frustrating.” A user on ComplaintsBoard reported: “This company calls every day, five or six times a day, beginning at 8:15am or so, and continuing until 9:00pm at night.”
IC System is calling that frequently because they’re counting on wearing you down and hoping you pay them just to get them to leave you alone. They’re counting on you not knowing your rights and paying whatever they demand without questioning whether you actually owe the debt or whether the debt is even legally valid.
Settlement amounts are arbitrary
If a debt collector offers to settle a debt with you for less than you supposedly owe, it means that the amount they’re claiming you owe isn’t fixed. It’s a negotiation.
In fact, IC System’s website explicitly states that consumers can settle debts for less than the full amount. This means that the amount listed on a collection notice is just an opening bid. It might not even be the real amount you owe.
For this reason, it’s almost never a good idea to pay a debt collector the amount they’re demanding without first challenging the debt by disputing it on your credit report. If you do, you’ll never know whether you paid the right amount, and you might have paid for a debt you didn’t even owe.
Your step-by-step playbook
Step 1: Don’t engage directly
The most important thing you can do when dealing with a debt collector is not to call them back. Any time you have a conversation with a debt collector, it’s an opportunity for them to gather more information about you.
Consumers report that when they answer calls from 866-324-3120, the caller demands their personal information before they even identify themselves.
When you talk to a debt collector, you risk confirming information about yourself, resetting the statute of limitations on a debt, or making promises you can’t or don’t intend to keep. The statute of limitations on debt collection is a powerful tool that works in your favor the longer a debt gets. Don’t call 866-324-3120.
Step 2: Get your credit reports
Go to AnnualCreditReport.com and get a copy of your credit report from Equifax, Experian, and Transunion.
Look to see if there’s an account on your credit report from IC System or from the original creditor. If there is, make a note of the balance, date of first delinquency, and account number.
If you don’t see an account from IC System on your credit report, you might be getting calls from 866-324-3120 because it’s the wrong number or wrong person, or it might be an early-stage collection effort.
Either way, if there’s no account from IC System on your credit report, you’re in an even better position.
Step 3: Dispute the account on your credit report
Disputing the account on your credit report is the most powerful thing you can do in this situation. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the credit bureau has 30 days to investigate your dispute.
Once the credit bureau investigates your dispute, IC System has to verify that the debt is legitimate by providing documentation. If they can’t verify the debt, the account has to be deleted from your credit report entirely.
This is not a rare outcome. Collection agencies like IC System collect so many debts that often, they can’t keep track of the documentation for each individual account, especially when those accounts were referred by a medical provider a year or two ago.
Red flag radar: How to recognize IC System’s tactics
Silent calls and robocall automation
Consumers report that when they pick up calls from 866-324-3120, there’s only dead air or an automated voice on the other end.
Nomorobo captured a recording of a call from 866-324-3120, which went like this: “This call is being recorded. Am I speaking to [name]? Am I speaking to [name]? Hello. Are you there? Releasing this call due to no [response].”
This is the same kind of automated robocall that led to the $3.35 million TCPA class action settlement against IC System.
If you’re getting silent calls or automated robocalls from 866-324-3120, make a note of the date, time, and duration of each call. This is evidence if your TCPA rights have been violated.
Targeting vulnerable consumers
Some of the most disturbing reports about 866-324-3120 are calls to elderly family members.
One consumer reported: “IC System keeps calling my 90-year-old mother. They are asking for someone she has never heard of. She has asked them to quit calling. What else can she do?”
If IC System is calling an elderly person in your household who has nothing to do with the debt they’re calling about, that might be a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which says debt collectors can’t contact third parties for any purpose other than to acquire location information about the consumer.
Why professional representation makes a difference
Signaling that you’re serious
When a consumer advocacy firm like ours gets involved, everything changes. IC System’s entire business model relies on very high volume and very low resistance.
When a professional advocate gets involved and signals to IC System that you know your rights and won’t be pushed around, they become much less aggressive.
Using the law as a weapon
The FCRA, FDCPA, and TCPA weren’t written to be just defenses. They were written to be offensive weapons for consumers to use against debt collectors.
A consumer advocacy firm knows how to use the law to file a dispute about the debt and force IC System to prove that they have the documentation to back it up. And they know what to do when IC System has violated your rights.
The goal isn’t just to get the phone calls from 866-324-3120 to stop. The goal is to get a complete deletion of the collection account from your credit report if it’s inaccurate.
Conclusion
The phone calls will only stop if you make them
IC System has been calling consumers from 866-324-3120 for over 14 years. The complaints about the number span every major consumer advocacy platform, and IC System has already paid millions of dollars in legal settlements for the way they use automated dialers to make calls.
You don’t have to answer the phone calls. You don’t have to negotiate with IC System. And you certainly don’t have to pay them a dime on a debt you don’t owe or hasn’t been verified.
Here’s the playbook again: don’t engage directly with IC System. Get a copy of your credit reports. Dispute the IC System account.
Take the first step today
FightCollections.com is a consumer advocacy firm that specializes in fighting debt collectors like IC System.
Our team knows the ins-and-outs of the dispute process, including how common it is for collection agencies to lack documentation on the debts they’re trying to collect. And we know how to use federal consumer protection law as a weapon to hold debt collectors accountable for their actions.
If you’re getting calls from 866-324-3120, don’t let them push you around. Let us deal with them so you never have to hear from them again.
