Who's calling me from 866-602-5998?
Northland Group 866-602-5998 may be calling you to collect a debt that you do or do not owe. In some cases, it is just a wrong number. 866-602-5998 belongs to Northland Group, one of the largest third-party debt collection companies in the U.S.
In this article, we will give you an overview of who Northland Group is, why they are calling you, and most importantly, what steps you can take to make them stop calling and prevent them from reporting to your credit report.
Who Is Northland Group?
Northland Group, Inc. (Doing business as Radius Global Solutions LLC)
Type: Third-party debt collection agency
Date Founded: 1982
Location: 7831 Glenroy Road, Suite 250, Edina, MN 55439
Parent Company: Radius Global Solutions LLC
Date of Merger: November 2016
Number of Employees: More than 4,000
Locations: 14
Industry Sectors: Credit card, auto loan, student loan, telecom, and utility debts
Major Clients: Citibank, Capital One, HSBC, Discover, TD Bank, and GE Capital Retail Bank
Better Business Bureau (BBB) Rating: A+
Accredited Since: 1994
Other than calls from this number, Northland Group has been a subject of numerous complaints filed with BBB, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and other consumer protection agencies.
Are You Getting Calls From 866-602-5998? You're Not Alone
Calls from 866-602-5998 have been reported by over 19,000 consumers as of this writing. The number has been identified as a robocall number by Nomorobo since December 2014. On RoboKiller, it has a 100% negative user rating.
In the case of Buchanan v. Northland Group, Inc., the Sixth Circuit ruled that Northland's practice of offering to settle a time-barred debt without informing consumers that the debt is past the statute of limitations could violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed an amicus brief in support of the consumer in the case.
As of this writing, Northland Group has had more than 440 complaints filed against it with the CFPB in its name and over 1,200 in the name of Radius Global Solutions. The majority of the complaints are about the company's attempts to collect debt that consumers do not owe and its failure to validate debt.
Why Is Northland Group Calling You?
Reasons for the Calls
Northland Group is calling you because it believes you owe a debt that has been assigned to it for collection or you have a phone number that used to belong to someone who owes the debt. The debt could be several years old.
In fact, some of the consumers who reported calls from this number said that the debt Northland Group is trying to collect from them is past the statute of limitations, meaning the company cannot sue them over the debt. However, it can still call them.
They Have the Wrong Number
Some consumers said that they have been receiving calls from this number because Northland Group has the wrong number. One of them said that he was asked by the caller if his daughter was home. When he told the caller that no one by that name lives with him, the caller hung up the phone.
Another consumer posted a complaint on ComplaintWire that he has been receiving calls from this number at least once every day since 2007. According to him, the caller is asking for someone he does not know. The company, he added, does not believe that the person it is trying to reach does not live with him and therefore continues to call him.
If you are in a similar situation, the steps we will outline below can help.
What to Do When You Get a Call from 866-602-5998
Step 1: Start Keeping a Record
Why You Should Keep a Record
The first thing you should do when you start getting calls from this number is to begin keeping a record. Every time your phone rings and 866-602-5998 appears on the caller ID, make a note of the date and time of the call. Also, indicate whether a voicemail was left or not. You should also screenshot the recent calls list on your phone.
Keeping a record is the most important thing you can do when you are being called by a debt collection agency. The record will come in handy when you need to file a complaint with the CFPB or dispute the debt on your credit report.
Debt collectors are expecting consumers not to keep a record of calls. When you do, you are changing the game.
What Consumers Are Saying
Consumers who have answered calls from this number are saying that their experience has been the same.
One of them, who posted a review on 800notes, said that when he answered a call from this number, he was played an automated message that told him to hold. When the representative got on the phone, he asked the consumer for his address and then pushed him to disclose who the call was about. According to the consumer, the caller pushed pretty hard on who the call was about and what it was in reference to but would not divulge any information.
Another consumer, who posted a review on CallFilter, said that he has been receiving calls from this number twice every day. The calls, according to him, are about a car that was repossessed seven years ago.
A CallFilter.app user reported in July 2024 that he has been receiving several calls from this number for months but no voicemail has been left.
Step 2: Get Your Credit Reports
Why You Should Get the Reports
After you begin keeping a record of calls from this number, you should get your credit reports from the three credit reporting bureaus namely Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
Once you have the reports, go through them to see if there is any collection account from Northland Group or Radius Global Solutions. If you find any such account, note the balance and the original creditor as well as the date of first delinquency.
Consumers are not aware of this, but when a debt collector is reporting a collection account on your credit report, it does not have to prove that the debt is yours. The credit reporting system assumes that a reported collection account is valid. Therefore, the burden of challenging it lies with you.
Look for Inconsistencies
Go through the account information you found on your credit report and compare it with what you have in your records.
Does the balance on the credit report match what you are aware of?
Is the original creditor the same as the one you are familiar with?
Does the date of first delinquency match what you have in your records?
If you find any inconsistency, that could be the basis for your dispute.
What If You Do Not Find the Account on Your Report?
If you do not find any collection account from Northland Group or Radius Global Solutions on your credit report, that is okay. It could be that the company has not yet reported the debt to the credit bureaus or it has already reported and the account is no longer on your report because it is several years old. It could also be that the debt the company is calling you about is not yours.
Why You Should Dispute the Account through the Credit Report
The 30-Day Investigation Period
If you find a collection account from Northland Group or Radius Global Solutions on your credit report and you dispute it through the credit report, the credit bureau will investigate it within 30 days. As part of the investigation, the bureau will contact the debt collector and ask it to verify the account.
If the collector is unable to respond with the requisite documentation within the stipulated period, the bureau will have no choice but to delete the account from your report.
This is one of the most effective ways consumers can challenge debts on their credit reports. Many debt collection agencies cannot respond with documentation to verify debts they are collecting because, for example, the debts are so old or they no longer have the documentation.
Credit repair is simply the enforcement of the law by consumers to ensure the information on their credit reports is accurate and verifiable.
The Best Strategy
When you dispute a debt through the credit report and you are represented by a consumer advocacy company like ours, you are telling the collector that you will enforce your rights. Debt collectors decide whether to respond to disputes based on their potential costs and benefits.
When a consumer is represented by an advocacy company, the potential costs of responding to the dispute are higher while the benefits are lower.
Debt collectors are used to consumers who do not respond to their letters and calls and eventually pay. When consumers respond through an advocacy company, they are changing the game.
What Northland Group Does Not Want You to Know
The Calls Are Intended to Intimidate You
According to consumers who have answered calls from this number, when you answer and ask the caller why they called, they will not tell you. Instead, they will ask you to confirm your identity.
One consumer reported that when he answered a call from this number, the caller asked him to verify his personal info before they could tell him why they called. When he declined to do so, the caller would not give him a call back number.
The tactic is intended to intimidate you to give the caller the information they want. Knowing that it is a tactic will help you respond appropriately.
You Do Not Have to Pay to Remove It
Many consumers believe that if they pay a collection account, the collector will remove it from their credit reports.
That is not necessarily true. If you dispute a collection account through the credit report and the collector is unable to verify it, the credit bureau will remove it. And once an account is removed from the credit report, it cannot be reported again. Therefore, disputing a debt through the credit report is both a defensive and offensive strategy.
Under the FDCPA and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you have the right to ask a debt collector to verify a debt. If they cannot verify, the credit reporting bureaus have to remove it from your report.
Everything about debt collection is based on the paper trail. Any oral promise a debt collector makes to you is not worth anything. Therefore, always insist on a paper trail.
You Have the Power
When you are getting calls from 866-602-5998, you may feel helpless. But that should not be the case. You have the power to make the calls stop. You have the power to prevent the caller from reporting the debt to your credit report or remove it if it is already reported. Here is what you should do.
Keep a record of calls from this number. Pull your credit reports and go through them to see if there is any collection account from Northland Group or Radius Global Solutions. If you find any such account, dispute it through the credit report.
This is not just about calls from this number or the collection account you are being called about. This is about you exercising your rights and refusing to allow a debt collector to determine your creditworthiness based on an unverified debt. You have the right to accurate credit reports. Exercising that right is one of the most powerful financial decisions you can make.
What to Do Next
If Northland Group or Radius Global Solutions is calling you or is on your credit report, you do not have to deal with them alone. At FightCollections.com, we specialize in helping consumers like you to dispute collection accounts and other negative items on their credit reports.
Contact us today to book your free consultation. Our team of experts will review your credit reports, identify the items from Northland Group, and develop a dispute strategy for you. The caller may have made the first move, but the next move is yours.
