Generally yes. When a vehicle owner hires your shop for personal-use vehicle repairs, that unpaid bill is consumer debt subject to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and CFPB Regulation F. That means strict rules apply around how, when, and how often we can contact the person who owes. Our agents are trained on those requirements and we follow them on every account we work.
AUTO REPAIR COLLECTIONS
AUTO REPAIR COLLECTIONS
Your auto repair shop keeps vehicles on the road. You diagnose the problem, order the parts, put in the hours, and hand the keys back. When a customer drives off without paying, that work does not pay for itself. Unpaid repair invoices pile up fast, and chasing them yourself pulls your technicians and service advisors away from the bay. Southwest Recovery Services handles collection for auto repair shops across Texas and beyond. We have been doing this for nearly 20 years. We know how to recover what you are owed and how to do it the right way.

Why In-House Collections Stall Out
Most shops try to collect on their own first. The service advisor calls. The manager sends a letter. The customer promises to come by Friday and never does. The account ages past 90 days, then 180, and the odds of full recovery drop sharply at every milestone. The longer a delinquent account sits, the harder it is to collect. In-house collection also takes your people off the work that actually generates revenue. Every hour a service advisor spends chasing a bad debt is an hour not spent writing repair orders for paying customers. And doing it right means learning the rules. Consumer debt collection is governed by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and CFPB Regulation F. Violations carry real consequences. Training your own staff on those requirements is a project most shops are not equipped to take on.
What Federal Law Requires
Consumer auto repair collections fall under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and CFPB Regulation F. That means every person who owes on a repair bill has validation rights, dispute rights, and protections around how and when they can be contacted. Our agents are trained on FDCPA requirements, Regulation F communication rules, and proper validation notice procedures. We carry appropriate licensing and bonding in the states where we operate. We do not collect consumer debt in California, Oregon, or Washington. Everywhere else we work, our process is built to keep your shop and our agency on the right side of federal and state law. Compliance is not a liability for you when you work with us. It is a built-in protection.

Our Full Range of Recovery Tools
We do not send one letter and call it done. We use every legitimate tool available to locate and reach delinquent accounts. Our agents run skip traces when contact information goes stale. We reach out through multiple channels at legally permitted times. We negotiate payment arrangements when a lump-sum recovery is not realistic. We handle oral and written communication, apply customer service standards on every contact, and use proven negotiation techniques to work toward a resolution. For shops that want ongoing AR oversight rather than one-off placements, we also offer accounts receivable management to keep future delinquencies from building up in the first place.
Protecting Your Reputation on Every Call
Auto repair is a reputation business. Customers talk. A heavy-handed collection call can undo years of goodwill in a single conversation. Our agents are trained to be firm, professional, and respectful on every contact. We do not use tactics that humiliate or pressure people into situations they cannot actually resolve. We represent your shop on every call. We act like it. A consumer who feels treated fairly is more likely to pay, more likely to return for future repairs, and less likely to post a bad review. We recover your money without burning the relationship.
No Recovery, No Fee
We work on contingency. You pay nothing to place accounts with us. Our fee comes only from what we actually recover, which means our goals and yours are the same. If we do not collect, you do not owe us anything. There is no financial risk in placing accounts. For shops carrying a backlog of aged receivables, the contingency model makes it straightforward to start clearing that debt without committing budget upfront. Call us at 866-558-3328 or reach out online and we will walk you through the process.
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Put Your Auto Repair Receivables to Work
We have collected delinquent auto repair accounts for nearly 20 years. Tell us about your past-due balances and we will tell you exactly how we can help recover them.


