Stafford Group and Associates has been named in several federal lawsuits alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, though the publicly available records reviewed show no finding of liability against the company in any of them. The California collection agency has also drawn 183 Better Business Bureau complaints over three years, and consumers contacted by the firm have specific rights under federal law to demand validation of the debt, dispute it, and stop further contact.
Who Stafford Group and Associates Is
Stafford Group and Associates is a debt collection agency incorporated in California on February 19, 2018, and based at 1111 E. Katella Ave., Suite 270, in Orange, California.1BBB. Stafford Group and Associates BBB Business Profile Francisco Arellano serves as president, and the company also operates under the names “SG & Associates” and “United Acquisitions LLC.” United Acquisitions, a related debt-buying entity registered one day later at the same address, lists Arellano as manager and chief executive officer.2BizProfile.net. United Acquisitions LLC Business Profile
The Federal Lawsuits
Pate v. Stafford Group and Associates
The most recent case, Pate v. Stafford Group and Associates (Case No. 1:26-cv-00037), was filed January 5, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and assigned to Judge Eleanor Louise Ross.3CourtListener. Pate v. Stafford Group and Associates As of the last docket entry on January 6, 2026, the case was in its earliest stages, with no substantive rulings on record.
Cowley-Davis v. National Credit Adjusters, LLC et al.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (Case No. 1:22-cv-00292), this case named Stafford Group Associates alongside National Credit Adjusters, CBM Service Inc., and Starmark Financial LLC. Plaintiffs Lisa L. Cowley-Davis and Jonathan H. Davis alleged that a $742 debt attributed to “Speedy Cash” was fraudulent and that they had filed identity theft reports with police. Stafford Group Associates and CBM Service Inc. were terminated from the action before the court issued its April 2023 recommendations on the remaining defendants, and the record does not reflect a substantive ruling against Stafford Group in the case.4GovInfo. Cowley-Davis v. National Credit Adjusters, LLC et al.
Sellers v. Northstar Location Services, LLC et al.
Stafford Group Associates was named as a defendant in this federal action but was later terminated from the case. Court records describe the termination as procedural history rather than a finding of liability.5Consumer Law Firm Center. Stafford Group and Associates Debt Collection Harassment
Reaves v. Arellano
A case captioned Reaves v. Arellano named Francisco Arellano doing business as Stafford Group & Associates, with claims under the FDCPA.5Consumer Law Firm Center. Stafford Group and Associates Debt Collection Harassment The specific court, docket number, and outcome do not appear in the public records reviewed and would need to be confirmed through a direct court records search.
Consumer Complaints on Record
The Better Business Bureau assigns Stafford Group and Associates an “F” rating. Over the past three years, consumers filed 183 complaints against the company, 41 of them in the most recent twelve months.6BBB. Stafford Group and Associates BBB Complaints Of those, the company responded to 107, left 65 unanswered, and resolved 10.1BBB. Stafford Group and Associates BBB Business Profile
The complaints commonly allege threats of jail time or property seizure, refusal to provide original contract documentation, aggressive or unprofessional conduct by staff, and disputes over whether the consumer owed anything at all. In its BBB responses between October 2024 and January 2025, the company denied misconduct, said it complies with the FDCPA and other state and federal rules, and asserted it legally owns the debts it collects, citing accounts originally held by creditors such as SmartPay Leasing and Kornerstone Credit. In some responses, the company offered to mark accounts as disputed and cease communication on request.
Your Rights If Stafford Group Contacts You
Federal law gives you specific tools the first time a debt collector reaches out. The collector must provide validation information either during the initial communication or within five days, including the creditor’s name, the amount owed, and how to dispute the debt.7CFPB. What Should I Do When a Debt Collector Contacts Me You have 30 days from that first contact to dispute the debt in writing or ask for more information. Sending the dispute by certified mail with a return receipt gives you a paper trail if the matter escalates.
If the collector keeps pursuing collection during the verification period without responding, or fails to send validation at all, that conduct may itself violate the FDCPA. The statute also prohibits calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., contact at work after you’ve told the collector to stop, threatening or obscene language, and false claims of being an attorney or law enforcement officer. A consumer who proves a violation can recover up to $1,000 in statutory damages per lawsuit, plus actual damages and attorney’s fees.
If a collection account is showing up on your credit report and you believe it’s inaccurate, you can dispute it directly with Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. Free credit reports are available at annualcreditreport.com. California residents get an additional layer: the state’s Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act applies the same conduct rules to original creditors, not only to third-party collectors.5Consumer Law Firm Center. Stafford Group and Associates Debt Collection Harassment
Where to File a Complaint
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accepts complaints about debt collector conduct and publishes sample letter templates for disputing a debt, requesting more information, telling a collector to stop contacting you, and routing all communication through an attorney.7CFPB. What Should I Do When a Debt Collector Contacts Me In California, the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation licenses debt collectors under the Debt Collection Licensing Act and takes consumer complaints through its website.8DFPI. California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation
The Threat Test
A third-party debt collector cannot garnish your wages, levy your bank account, or place a lien on your property without first obtaining a court judgment. If a collector threatens any of those actions without a judgment already in hand, the threat itself may violate federal law. Ask for the court name, the case number, and the filing date, and verify the claim through the court’s own records before taking anything the collector says at face value.