Who is this calling me?
The number 888-894-1196 is used by Central Portfolio Control Inc. This is why they called you: Central Portfolio Control, or CPC, claims you owe a debt they're collecting on behalf of another company, or one they purchased the right to collect on. But is that debt really yours?
What is Central Portfolio Control?
Central Portfolio Control is a debt collection agency, debt buyer, and business process outsourcing company in Minnesota. They collect in all verticals, from medical debt and credit card debt to auto loans and student loans. And even government debt. There are thousands of people getting calls from this number, so you're not alone.
Overview of Central Portfolio Control Inc.
Company Name: Central Portfolio Control Inc (CPC)
What type of company is this? Third-party debt collector, debt buyer, and BPO provider
Date founded: November 2, 1998
Headquarters: 10249 Yellow Circle Dr, Suite 200, Minnetonka, MN 55343
Other offices: Clearwater, MN and Nashville, TN
Number of Employees: 63
Industry verticals: Medical, credit card, auto, student loan, payday loan, utility, HOA, government
Licensed in: All 50 states
Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating: B (accredited since April 2020)
Known clients: U.S. Department of Education, Advance America, Westlake Financial, Velocity Investments LLC
You're not the first person to complain about this phone number. Thousands of people have already reported this phone number to various platforms.
On 800Notes alone, complaints about 888-894-1196 include unsolicited texts, wrong-person contacts, and CPC representatives asking for personal info before they will say who they are or why they're calling.
Here's an example:
"When I called the number back to find out who was calling me, they asked for my address before they would tell me anything about the call. I asked the woman to identify who was calling before I would give her my address. She said that she couldn't tell me who was calling until I verified some information. I hung up."
CPC faces regulatory issues in multiple states.
In 2013, the Minnesota Department of Commerce fined the company for trying to collect on illegal payday loan debt. In 2017, the Connecticut Department of Banking issued a consent order because CPC operated without a valid license in the state. And they've been named in about 16 federal lawsuits alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
Why is Central Portfolio Control calling me?
Did you recently find an account on your credit report you don't recognize? The most common reason CPC calls consumers is because they purchased the right to collect a debt or were hired to collect a debt on behalf of another company. We know they work with the following original creditors:
Advance America, Westlake Financial, Velocity Investments LLC, Various hospitals and credit unions
But collection agencies don't make their client lists public, and those relationships are always changing. That means you might get a call about a debt you've never heard of, from a company you've never heard of, on behalf of an original creditor you've never heard of. That's not uncommon. That's just how debt collection works.
Could this be someone else's debt?
Wrong-person contacts are one of the top complaints about CPC. On the BBB, one man said he's been getting calls for years despite telling them they have the wrong person. He wrote:
"I have told them on numerous occasions that this isn't me, that they would need to stop calling me, etc. They still call. I find this to be abusive."
On WalletHub, another man said he's been contacted for over a decade about someone else's debt. If the calls are about someone you don't know, or a debt you don't recognize, that's a giant red flag. It deserves your immediate attention.
What are they allowed to do under federal law?
Are they following the rules when they call? Under the FDCPA, collectors have to identify themselves and their purpose for calling. But multiple consumers have said CPC representatives demand personal info before they'll say who they are or why they're calling.
One man who left a review on CallFilter.app said he answered the call, but the caller just hung up. That's a classic dead air robocall, which may be a TCPA violation.
The FDCPA also says collectors have to send a written validation notice within five days of the initial contact. But consumers have said on the BBB that CPC placed items on their credit report without ever contacting them first. In one complaint, the man called it a "blatant violation of federal law." He wrote:
"A collection account has been placed on my credit report for a debt I have never been contacted about, nor have I received any type of validation letter in the mail."
Should you question whether you actually owe this debt?
Consumers have the right to demand debt validation. But the truth is, debt validity is always in question until it's proven. Especially when the debt has changed hands multiple times.
CPC operates as both a third-party collector and a debt buyer. That means they may have purchased your alleged debt from the original creditor for pennies on the dollar. When debts change hands, the documentation rarely follows. Records get lost. Balances get inflated. And debts get assigned to the wrong people.
Since so many debts can't be validated when consumers challenge them, it appears collectors frequently buy and report debts without verifying them first. You have every right to question what you owe.
What does CPC's track record tell you?
How many other consumers are complaining about this company? There are a lot of complaints about CPC. In the last year alone, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) received over 1,100 complaints about the company. That's a 12x increase from 2021, when 92 complaints were filed.
On the BBB, over 300 complaints have been filed in the last three years. Only about 11 percent were resolved to the consumer's satisfaction. Over 3,500 consumer reviews have been posted on WalletHub. And there's a years-long thread on ComplaintsBoard.com called "Central Portfolio Control: Harassment."
One woman said CPC called her father and yelled at him when he tried to give them the number for her bankruptcy attorney. She said the representative demanded to speak directly to her instead.
What do the lawsuits say?
CPC has been named in about 16 federal lawsuits in at least eight states. One of the most significant is Norton v. Central Portfolio Control Inc. It's a class-action lawsuit filed in Wisconsin that alleges the company's collection letters falsely identified the original creditors.
And there are active lawsuits as recently as August 2025, so their exposure is ongoing. The suits allege violations including harassment, false representations, failure to validate debts, collection of time-barred debts, unauthorized robocalls, and inaccurate credit reporting.
This isn't a company with one or two isolated incidents. This is a documented pattern that goes back years.
How can you protect your credit report?
Is there already a collection account on your report? If CPC has already placed an account on your credit report, the damage may already be done. The account may be affecting your ability to qualify for loans, housing, and even jobs.
Collection accounts can stay on your credit report for up to seven years from the original delinquency date. And they can drag down your score the entire time.
But you don't have to accept that. Credit report disputes are one of the most powerful tools consumers have. In some cases, simply disputing the item is enough to get it removed, especially if the collector can't provide the documentation to support the account.
Why is it so important to act now?
The sooner you act, the less likely the situation is to escalate. The longer a collection account sits on your credit report without a challenge, the more entrenched it becomes.
Disputes filed sooner rather than later catch documentation errors when they're fresh, before the collector has time to rebuild the records.
A professional credit repair company can file disputes on your behalf with any of the three major credit bureaus, targeting the specific documentation deficiencies the collector has. You don't have to gather any evidence. The burden of proof is on the collector. And when they can't meet it, the account gets removed.
What should you do right now?
What steps can you take today? Don't call 888-894-1196 back. Don't respond to their texts. Don't give them any information. Every time you interact with a collection agency, you're giving them more ammunition. You're giving them more data they can use to link you to the account they're trying to collect.
Instead, request your credit reports from all three bureaus and see if CPC has placed any accounts on your file. Keep a record of every call, text, and voicemail you get from this number, including the dates and times. This can help strengthen any future dispute or complaint you might file.
How can FightCollections.com help?
FightCollections.com is a resource for consumers dealing with collection agencies like Central Portfolio Control Inc. Our team files targeted credit report disputes that force collectors to prove they have the right to report your account. And when they can't provide the documentation, the account gets removed.
You don't have to deal with this on your own. And you don't have to keep answering the phone.
Contact FightCollections.com today for a free consultation. Let us deal with Central Portfolio Control so you can stop worrying about who's calling you, and start taking back control of your credit.
