If you're seeing this page, then you're probably getting calls from 877-326-5674. You might be wondering what that phone number is and who's calling.
The answer is simple: 877-326-5674 is a phone number for DCM Services, a collection agency that's calling you because they think someone related to you (spouse, parent, etc.) passed away owing a debt and they need to talk to you about it.
The "DCM" in DCM Services stands for Deceased Case Management. That's the entire business model of this debt collection agency: To collect debts from people who've already died. DCM Services uses proprietary technology to match death records with debt records, and then they reach out to the family members to see if they can file a claim against the estate.
Who is DCM Services?
Debt collection agency name: DCM Services, LLC (Deceased Case Management)
Type of debt collector: Third-party debt collector who specializes in collecting debts from the estates of deceased individuals
Primary industries they serve: Healthcare (this is their primary industry, but they also collect debts for financial services, auto, telecom, utilities, etc.)
Headquarters address: 1550 American Blvd E, Suite 200 Bloomington, MN 55425
Date founded: 1998 (the company was founded as Balogh Becker, Ltd. by James Balogh and Gary Becker)
Estimated number of employees: 260-325 employees Estimated annual revenue: $117.6 million Parent company: Aldaron Partners and True Wind Capital (DCM Services was acquired by these companies in March 2025)
BBB rating: A+ (accredited since 2007); Consumer reviews: 1/5
Some of their notable clients: More than 45 of the top 50 health systems in the U.S., American Express, Capital One, etc.
You're not alone
We've received reports of 3,888 calls from 877-326-5674 on our site from 45 different users, and if you go through other consumer complaint websites, you'll see the same types of complaints.
In 2010, the FTC investigated DCM Services for potential FDCPA violations. The potential violations the FTC was investigating were related to the way that DCM Services contacts the family members of deceased individuals and whether or not they misrepresent whether or not someone is personally responsible for the debts of a decedent.
The FTC closed the case without taking any action, but they noted the following: "The closing of this matter does not constitute a determination that no violation occurred."
Since that time, DCM Services has faced several federal lawsuits for alleged FDCPA violations, including one class-action lawsuit filed by the widow of a man who claimed that DCM Services' letters to her implied that she was personally responsible for paying her deceased husband's medical bills.
That lawsuit was settled and dismissed in December 2017. The complaints continue to roll in, and nothing seems to have changed.
Why is DCM Services calling me?
They collect debts from dead people
DCM Services works with hospitals, health systems, banks, credit card companies, and other creditors to collect debts from the estates of consumers who've died. If someone dies with debts outstanding, those debts become debts that the estate owes, not debts that the surviving family members owe.
So, if someone in your family has recently passed away, DCM Services may be calling you to try to find the person who's handling their estate so they can file a claim against it before the deadline to do so passes.
DCM Services uses something called Probate Finder, which is a database of more than 10.2 million probated estate records from over 3,400 courts around the country. They also operate something called DOD Finder, which is a database of 120 million date-of-death records.
These databases help DCM Services identify people who've recently died and track down their family members to contact them about collecting debts from their estates.
How they find you
Many of the complaints that people have filed against DCM Services say that the company contacts family members of deceased individuals within weeks of their deaths, sometimes even before the family has received a bill from the original creditor.
For example, here's what one consumer wrote on the consumer complaint website 800notes: "I could tell by the caller that all the information they had was obtained from the obituary in the newspaper. They couldn't even tell me the name of the hospital my deceased husband was taken to and they called a couple weeks after he deceased."
Between scouring obituaries, contacting funeral homes, searching death certificates, and using their database of 120 million date-of-death records, DCM Services has devised a system to track down family members of deceased individuals and contact them as quickly as possible. That in itself is a giant red flag.
Red flags that something is wrong with this collection
Debt that was already paid
Perhaps the most concerning red flag we've seen in complaints against DCM Services is the frequency with which the company apparently attempts to collect debts that have already been paid.
For example, a consumer named Joseph M. posted this review on the Better Business Bureau's website: "14 days after DCM cashed 3 checks for hospital costs of deceased daughter, they resubmitted the same bills for payment again."
Here's what another consumer wrote on 800notes: "Claim my mother owes hospital bills. That is what the letter stated. I checked with the hospital, my mom's balance is zero."
If there's a collection account on your credit report for a debt that you know you've already paid or that was covered by insurance (and thus written off), that's the perfect reason to file a credit report dispute.
Credit reporting agencies prioritize adding as many accounts to your credit report as possible in as short amount of time as possible. The faster they add new accounts, the more money they make. As a result, a lot of mistakes get made, and collection accounts for debts that you don't owe may end up on your credit report.
In this case, if you know the debt that DCM Services is trying to collect has already been paid (or was covered by insurance and written off), it's worth pulling all three of your credit reports to see if the collection account is listed. You have the right to one free credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies every 12 months, so go to AnnualCreditReport.com to request them.
When you get your credit reports, comb through them carefully to see if you find the collection account from DCM Services. If you do, look carefully to make sure all the information is correct. If any of it is not, you should file a dispute.
Missing or suspicious account details
In addition to looking for collection accounts for debts that you know you don't owe, you should also be on the lookout for suspicious account details.
For example, if you pull your credit reports and find the collection account from DCM Services but the account number is not familiar, the date is wrong, or the balance is different from what the original creditor says you owe, something fishy may be going on.
Keep in mind that debt collection agencies don't publish client lists, and the agencies' relationships with the original creditors are subject to change at any time. If you find a DCM Services collection account on your credit report but you can't verify the underlying debt with the original creditor, that's a red flag.
What DCM Services doesn't want you to know
They're relying on confusion and urgency
A number of consumers have reported that when representatives from DCM Services contact them, the reps won't give their names or explain why they're calling until the consumers confirm that they're handling the decedent's estate.
Here's what one consumer wrote about her experience on 800notes: "She said she had to hear me say yes before she could answer my questions. I politely told her where to go and hung up."
Here's a similar account from someone who posted on Spokeo: "The caller would not provide the name of the company or what they were calling about until I confirmed I was the person taking care of the estate. The caller would not provide any information until I confirmed who I was."
In both cases, the strategy is the same. By refusing to provide information until the consumers confirmed who they were, the representatives from DCM Services were trying to create a sense of confusion or information asymmetry that worked to their advantage. The representatives wanted the consumers to provide information before they had a chance to understand the context of the call.
At the same time, they were relying on the sense of urgency that people often feel when dealing with the estate of someone who has passed away. They were hoping to catch the consumers off guard and elicit the response they were looking for.
You don't have to play along
If you're getting calls from 877-326-5674, you don't have to answer them. In fact, you don't have to engage with DCM Services at all. Under federal law, if you ask a debt collector to stop contacting you, they have to stop. You don't have to answer their questions, confirm that you're the representative of the estate, or give them any information about yourself.
You also don't have to talk directly with DCM Services. Having a credit repair professional contact them on your behalf to verify the information about a collection account on your credit report doesn't make the situation any worse. In fact, it's the opposite.
When you file a dispute about a collection account, you're not just asking the credit reporting agency to remove the account. You're requiring them (and the collection agency) to verify the information in the account and ensure it's accurate.
If they can't verify it, the account gets removed.
The credit report dispute strategy
Why disputes are better than direct contact
If you see a collection account from DCM Services on your credit report, your first instinct may be to call the company and try to straighten things out. That's exactly what they're hoping for.
It's always better to file a dispute through the credit reporting agencies because it forces DCM Services to verify the account. If they can't do that (and given the number of consumers who say the company has attempted to collect debts that were already paid, it seems there may be a good chance they can't), the account will be deleted.
Under federal law, credit reporting agencies have 30 days to investigate any disputed information on a credit report. If they can't verify it, they have to delete it.
As a third-party debt collector that works for more than 250 healthcare organizations to process thousands of estate claims, DCM Services likely has plenty of documentation issues. That works to your advantage when you're disputing a collection account on your credit report.
What the pros look for
When a credit repair professional evaluates a collection account from DCM Services, they'll be looking for all the red flags we've outlined above, from balance discrepancies to missing information about the original creditor to date and documentation issues. They know how to craft disputes in a way that puts the burden of proof on the debt collector and the credit reporting agency.
As one consumer warned others in a review she posted on the BBB website: "Watch out for these people if your loved one has passed away. They will try to collect on hospital bills that have already been paid. In fact, they started bothering us before we even got the bill."
In many cases, the fact that DCM Services may be bothering people before they even get a bill from the hospital or healthcare provider suggests that their documentation may not be in order, and that's something you can use to your advantage if you find one of their collection accounts on your credit report.
Conclusion
Take matters into your own hands
DCM Services has built a $117 million business by contacting grieving families as quickly as possible and trying to get them to pay debts before they ask too many questions.
The company has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau but an average of one-star reviews from consumers. It was investigated by the Federal Trade Commission in 2010 and has faced several federal lawsuits since then for alleged violations of federal debt collection laws.
You don't have to put up with unwanted calls from 877-326-5674, and you don't have to take DCM Services' word for it that you owe a debt. If you find a DCM Services collection account on your credit report, your best bet is to challenge it and make the company verify that it's yours.
At FightCollections.com, we specialize in helping consumers get erroneous collection accounts removed from their credit reports.
If you're getting calls from 877-326-5674 or if you've found a DCM Services collection account on your credit report, contact us to learn how we can help. We'll collect all three of your credit reports and evaluate them to identify any potential errors you can dispute.
We'll help you build a solid dispute strategy and communicate with the credit reporting agencies and debt collectors on your behalf to protect your rights and ensure you're being treated fairly.
