Gatestone & Co Harassment: How to Stop the Calls, Verify the Debt, and Document Violations

Is Gatestone & Co. International calling your cell, or asking your spouse or relatives about a debt? Did a caller refuse to say what the call was about, leaving only a vague voicemail? Did a letter tell you to dispute the debt “in writing only,” as if that were your only option? Are you unsure the debt is even yours, or that the amount is right? If this matches your experience, you have strong footing, because these exact practices have already been challenged against Gatestone in federal court.

Gatestone & Co. International Inc. is a large third-party collection agency, headquartered in Phoenix and formerly known as Collectcorp, that collects on behalf of creditors nationwide. Consumers have taken it to federal court more than once over how it identifies itself on calls and how it describes your right to dispute a debt. Knowing those recurring problems, and your rights, is the fastest route to stopping the contact.

Consumer Rights Law Firm PLLC has represented consumers against collection abuse since 2010 and holds an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. Call (877) 700-5790 or open a free case review. We work on contingency, so a collector that breaks the law pays our fees, not you.

Quick Facts About Gatestone & Co. International Inc.

Source: Better Business Bureau, Gatestone & Co. International Inc.

Who Is Gatestone & Co and Why Are They Contacting You?

Gatestone & Co. International Inc. is a third-party collection agency and business-process outsourcer, incorporated in the 1990s and operating from a Phoenix headquarters with additional offices in Buffalo, Wilmington, Omaha, and Fredericksburg. It previously went by Collectcorp, and it also appears in records as Collection Corp and CC Corporation. Its chief compliance officer is listed as Durea Falkner.

You are hearing from Gatestone because a creditor placed your account with it, or it is collecting a balance on a creditor’s behalf. Because it is a large operation handling many portfolios, consumers sometimes report being contacted about debts they do not recognize, which is why confirming the original creditor and the amount comes first. Our overview of the types of debts we handle explains how placed accounts are collected.

Are the Calls From Gatestone & Co Legal?

They are lawful only if Gatestone follows the FDCPA and the licensing and consumer rules of the states where it collects, and its litigation history shows the boundaries. As a third-party collector, Gatestone must obey the FDCPA’s bans on harassment, false or misleading statements, and unfair tactics, must identify itself as a debt collector, and must accurately describe your dispute rights. In Arizona, where it is headquartered, collection agencies fall under the oversight of the Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions.

Conduct that can break the law includes:

• Leaving voicemails that fail to disclose the call is from a debt collector.
• Telling you a debt can be disputed only in writing, when the FDCPA also allows oral disputes.
• Contacting your spouse, relatives, or others about your debt.
• Refusing to say what a call is about while pressing for personal information.
• Placing repeated calls meant to harass or pressure you.
• Failing to send or honor written validation of the debt.
• Continuing to contact you after a written demand to stop.

Several of these, particularly the voicemail and dispute-rights problems, are the precise claims consumers have litigated against Gatestone, as the case section details.

Is This Harassment, and How Often Can Gatestone & Co Call?

Yes, and the pattern consumers describe, calls to cell phones, calls seeking relatives, and refusals to explain the purpose, is exactly what the law scrutinizes. Under the CFPB’s Regulation F, more than seven calls in seven days about one account, or a follow-up within a week of speaking with you, is presumptively harassing, and the FDCPA bars any contact meant to annoy or abuse.

A recent BBB reviewer, Kathleen F, described the experience this way: “I received a call on my cell phone from someone asking for my husband, when I ask what it was regarding she would not tell me.” A caller who withholds the purpose while probing for information raises exactly the identification and third-party-contact concerns the FDCPA addresses. We recommend saving voicemails, logging each call with its date, time, and number, and noting whether the caller identified itself, since those details drive the strongest claims against this company.

Gatestone also may not disclose your debt to third parties beyond limited location contact, or keep calling your workplace after being told your employer prohibits it.

Is Gatestone & Co a Scam, and How Do You Verify the Debt?

No, it is a real, long-operating collection agency rather than a scam, but its record means you should verify carefully and insist on your rights. Take these steps:

• Demand written validation. You may dispute the debt within 30 days, and the FDCPA lets you dispute orally or in writing, despite any instruction to the contrary. Use our debt validation letter guide.
• Identify the original creditor. Require the creditor’s name and account history, especially if you do not recognize the debt.
• Watch the dispute instructions. If a letter says you must dispute only in writing, note it, because misstating that right has been challenged in court against Gatestone.
• Confirm the caller. Verify you are dealing with Gatestone at its listed numbers, including (800) 900-4238, and get a mailing address. Demands for gift cards or wire transfers are fraud signals.
• Check licensing. In Arizona, you can confirm collection-agency status through the Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions, and your own state may license collectors too.
• Review your credit. If Gatestone reports the account inaccurately, dispute it under the Fair Credit Reporting Act using our credit dispute guide.

Has Gatestone & Co Been Sued? What the Court Record Shows

Yes, repeatedly, and the dockets are specific. Federal court records show a series of FDCPA suits against Gatestone & Co. International Inc. over how it communicates. In Basch v. Gatestone & Co. International, Inc., No. 1:16-cv-06277 (E.D.N.Y.), the consumer challenged voicemail messages that allegedly failed to disclose the call came from a debt collector, a meaningful-disclosure problem under the FDCPA. In Pickles v. Gatestone & Co. International Inc., No. 2:17-cv-14433 (S.D. Fla.), the claims centered on a collection letter that allegedly miscommunicated the consumer’s dispute rights.

The same theme recurs in Dykes v. Gatestone & Co. International Inc., No. 1:18-cv-00154 (E.D. Va.), where a Virginia consumer alleged that Gatestone’s notice told her to dispute only in writing, even though the FDCPA also permits oral disputes, thereby overshadowing her statutory rights. More recently, Khizgilov v. Gatestone & Co. International Inc., No. 1:21-cv-04636 (E.D.N.Y.), continued the pattern of FDCPA litigation against the company. These are filed federal matters, each decided on its own facts, but together they document exactly the practices consumers report.

What Do the BBB and Public Records Show About Gatestone & Co?

They show a company with a strong letter grade but a steady stream of consumer grievances. The Better Business Bureau lists Gatestone with an A+ rating even though it is not accredited, and its file and reviews describe calls that do not identify the collector, contact aimed at relatives, and confusion over disputed debts. The BBB review from Kathleen F, quoted above, reflects the identification concern directly.

Beyond the BBB, the CFPB public complaint database records consumer complaints about Gatestone, including improper contact with family members about a debt. Because this article relies only on official and governmental sources, the most reliable channels to check the company and to file a grievance are the BBB, the CFPB, the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions, and your state attorney general. The evidence that helps you is written validation, a saved voicemail, and your call log, not a star rating, and you should confirm you are dealing with this company and not a similarly named business.

Sources: Better Business Bureau, Gatestone & Co. International Inc.

Your Legal Rights When Gatestone & Co Contacts You

• FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act): Requires collectors to identify themselves, bars harassment and false statements, and protects your right to dispute a debt orally or in writing, with damages up to $1,000 plus actual damages and attorney fees. See our FDCPA page.
• Meaningful disclosure rule: Under FDCPA §1692e(11) and §1692d(6), a collector must disclose in communications, including voicemails, that it is attempting to collect a debt.
• Anti-overshadowing rule: Under FDCPA §1692g, a collector may not contradict or obscure your 30-day dispute and validation rights, the issue raised in the Dykes and Pickles cases.
• Arizona collection licensing: Collection agencies are overseen by the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions, and your own state may license collectors as well.
• TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act): Restricts automated or recorded calls to your cell without consent, at $500 to $1,500 per call. See our TCPA page.

Gatestone & Co Violation Comparison

Can You Sue Gatestone & Co for Harassment?

Yes, and the string of federal suits shows consumers doing exactly that. Under the FDCPA you can recover up to $1,000 in statutory damages plus your actual losses, with Gatestone paying your attorney fees, and the voicemail-disclosure and dispute-rights theories litigated in Basch, Pickles, and Dykes are recognized bases for a claim. Each illegal robocall to your cell can add $500 to $1,500 under the TCPA, and inaccurate credit reporting can support an FCRA claim.

You do not need a large balance to have a claim. A voicemail that hides the collector’s identity, a letter that misstates how to dispute, contact with your relatives, a refusal to validate, or an unconsented robocall can each stand on its own. Because these laws shift fees to the collector when it loses, we handle these matters at no upfront cost to you.

How To Stop Gatestone & Co: 5 Steps

• Step 1: Document and save messages. Log every call and keep voicemails, especially any that fail to identify Gatestone as a debt collector.
• Step 2: Demand written validation and the creditor. Send a debt validation letter requiring proof of the debt and the original creditor before you pay.
• Step 3: Assert your full dispute rights. Remember you may dispute orally or in writing; do not let a “writing only” instruction limit you, and note it if it appears.
• Step 4: Send a cease-and-desist if calls persist. Mail a cease-and-desist letter by certified mail; continued contact afterward can be a separate violation.
• Step 5: Report it and call a consumer attorney. File with the CFPB, the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions or your state regulator, and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, then call Consumer Rights Law Firm PLLC at (877) 700-5790 or request a free case review. If Gatestone broke the law, it pays the fees, so you pay nothing.

Consumer Rights Law Firm PLLC

Consumer Rights Law Firm PLLC helps consumers stop harassment from national collectors like Gatestone & Co. International, especially where calls fail to identify the collector or letters misstate your dispute rights. Rather than field one more vague call or pay a debt you cannot confirm, let our office demand proof, protect your dispute rights, and enforce the FDCPA on your behalf. We have represented consumers since 2010 and hold an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

To learn how to stop Gatestone & Co, call (877) 700-5790 or visit our website.

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