If you are seeing this page, you have received calls from this phone number. That likely means Jefferson Capital Systems believes you owe them money.
They bought that debt from someone else and are now calling to collect it. The debt may or may not be legitimate, but either way, you need to know why those debts are popping up on your credit report. If they are calling you, you're not alone. There are hundreds of complaints about 866-677-2706 to the FTC, the Better Business Bureau and other consumer reporting sites.
What Is Jefferson Capital Systems?
Before we go any further, here is what you need to know about the company calling you:
Company Name: Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC
Company Type: Debt buyer (charged-off consumer accounts)
Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Founded: 2002; approximately 1,205 employees
2024 Revenue: Over $433 million
Industry Verticals: Credit cards, telecommunications, auto finance, retail loans, utilities, healthcare, private student loans
Better Business Bureau Rating: A+ (accredited since 2009), but an average consumer review rating of 1.02 out of 5 stars
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Complaints: More than 1,700
Better Business Bureau Complaints: More than 1,400 in the past three years
Their History Should Raise Some Red Flags
Jefferson Capital Systems has been sued by the Federal Trade Commission over calling practices in the past.
In 2008, the FTC sued Jefferson Capital and its parent company, CompuCredit Corporation, alleging it called consumers more than 20 times per day, called consumers before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m. and called consumers on Sundays. The result was a settlement that required at least $114 million in consumer redress.
That case was almost 20 years ago, but complaints about 866-677-2706 persist. RoboKiller has tracked more than 185,000 calls from that number. If the calls feel incessant, that's because they are. And if you don't recognize the debt, that's understandable too. That's because Jefferson Capital Systems is a debt buyer.
Why Are You Getting Calls from 866-677-2706?
Jefferson Capital Systems Bought a Debt with Your Name on It
Jefferson Capital Systems is a debt buyer. It doesn't make loans or issue credit cards. It doesn't provide a service. It buys portfolios of delinquent debt from banks and credit unions, telecom providers and retailers for pennies on the dollar. It collects debts for companies such as Verizon, Comenity Bank, T-Mobile and OneMain Financial.
The original creditor charged off that debt. It took the loss on its taxes. It scrubbed the debt from its books. It moved on. Jefferson Capital bought that charged-off debt as part of a bundle. Sometimes those bundles contain tens of thousands of debts. It bought that debt for a tiny fraction of what it's trying to collect from you.
But That Doesn't Necessarily Mean You Owe the Debt
This is where things get fishy. Debt details get lost in the transfer. Account numbers get mixed up. Balances get inflated. Debts meant for one person get assigned to another. Debt collection companies don't make public who they buy debt from and those sources change all the time.
There's no way to know for sure what you owe. Fifty-five percent of the complaints registered against Jefferson Capital Systems with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are for "debt not owed," which is the largest single complaint category. This description matches the complaints registered against this phone number.
Warning Signs That There Is Something Wrong with This Debt
Unrecognized Account Information and Lack of Documentation
The very first thing you should do is ask yourself if you recognize this debt. If a debt collector calls you about an account you have never heard of from a company you have never heard of, that is not your memory playing tricks on you. That is a warning sign.
A caller who was contacted by 866-677-2706 reported that the debt collector mentioned an "account with Single Heart Shopping." She continued: "I tried looking up the shopping site online and there isn't such a place. Scam for sure."
Another caller reported: "No stars. I have no idea as to who the original debtor is."
When you pull your credit report and find an entry from Jefferson Capital Systems, take a closer look. Is there an original creditor listed? Does the balance match something you recognize? If the answer to either of those questions is "no," you may have an error on your hands that you should dispute.
Fishy Dates and Re-Aging
Debt has an expiration date. Every state has a statute of limitations, which is the amount of time during which a collector can sue you over a debt. There is also a credit-reporting time limit; after seven years from the date of first delinquency, a debt should disappear from your credit report.
One caller who got a call from 866-677-2706 described this scenario: "I received a call from Jefferson Capital requesting that I pay a collections bill for $77.08 from Verizon that is from 2013. I told the guy the bill is more than 7 years old and it can no longer be collected."
A very common warning sign is a collection account with suspicious dates. If the "date opened" on your credit report is recent, but the debt itself is several years old, it may be a re-aged account. Re-aging is a practice in which a debt collector reports an old debt with a new "date opened." This resets the clock and makes the debt appear more recent than it is, which means it can continue to damage your credit longer than it should.
This is a reporting error that you can and should dispute.
Why You're Entitled to Block These Calls
Don't Just Sit There
There is a myth that it is irresponsible to ignore a debt collector's phone calls. In fact, the opposite is true. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you have the right to tell a debt collector to stop calling you, and once you do, they are legally obligated to stop.
Blocking communication is a right, not rude; it is exercising a legal protection against harassment. What you should not do is start negotiating with the debt collector over the phone. There is no recording of these calls that will be made in your favor, and anything you say may be used to restart the clock on the statute of limitations or interpreted as admitting that you owe the debt. (Even if you don't.)
A caller who was contacted by 866-677-2706 reported: "I have asked Jefferson Capital Systems to stop contacting me via phone several times. I requested to only be contacted by mail; however they repeatedly call. They talk over me and try to make me feel small."
Written Documentation Trumps Verbal Claims
In the world of debt collection, everything should be in writing. If a collector makes a claim on the phone, it's worthless without documentation to support it. If they say you owe a certain amount, they must send you written validation of that debt if you request it. The paper trail is your safety net. It's also what reveals their mistakes.
What Consumers Are Saying About 866-677-2706
Calls That Never Stop
The sheer number of complaints about this phone number tells a story.
A 800notes user summed up the experience like this: "This phone number calls my phone number every 30 minutes all day every single day. I've told them a dozen times they have the wrong number please remove my number from their call list but to no avail. Calls are at a prank call rate now. Just relentless."
Others say standard call-blocking measures don't work. The FTC has received 626 consumer complaints about this number from 36 states, with 46 percent labeling the calls as robocalls or pre-recorded messages.
Debts That Make No Sense
Beyond the frequency of calls, the content of calls is raising alarms. Consumers say they're being contacted about debts they've never heard of, debts that belong to ex-spouses, and even debts in the names of deceased family members.
One consumer wrote: "Very threatening. I've been telling them the debt they are calling about isn't mine for 10 years now. They won't stop calling. I reported them to the FTC." These aren't one-off incidents. They are patterns that emerge when a company buys millions of accounts at a time and relies on outdated records.
The question is: Are those same mistakes sitting on your credit report right now?
How to Protect Your Credit Report
Disputing Errors Is Consumer Advocacy
If Jefferson Capital Systems has made a collection notation on your credit report, you don't have to take it lying down. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have the right to dispute any notation you believe is inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable. The credit bureau must investigate and the collector must provide proof that the debt is valid and yours.
Many consumers are reluctant to dispute notations because they're afraid of making things worse. You won't. Having a professional review your credit report and pinpoint errors is consumer advocacy in action. Multiple inquiries about the same debt don't compound the damage to your credit report.
What does cause damage is allowing an inaccurate collection notation to sit unchallenged, dragging down your credit score month after month.
Take Action Today
If you're fielding unwanted calls from 866-677-2706 and suspect that Jefferson Capital Systems has made an incorrect notation on your credit report, don't delay. The longer the error sits on your report, the more damage it does.
FightCollections.com is dedicated to helping consumers dispute erroneous collection notations and hold debt collectors to task. Our team will review your credit report, flag potential problems and file disputes in your behalf, using the full force of the FCRA and FDCPA.
