Following National Consumer Protection Week, several state attorneys general released their annual consumer complaint data for 2025. The numbers show two consistent patterns: total complaint volume is rising in nearly every state that reported, and debt collection consistently placed in the top 3 to 5 categories consumers complained about.
For any company touching consumer debt, collections, or credit reporting, this data is a useful early signal of where state regulators are likely to focus attention next.
The Big Picture: Complaint Volume Is Climbing Almost Everywhere
Every state that released data reported either a record year or a multi-year upward trend:
- Colorado: 26,993 complaints in 2025, a new record, up from the prior record of 24,473 in 2024. Complaints have grown more than 200% since 2019.
- Missouri: Over 104,000 consumer complaints and inquiries, with no-call/telemarketing complaints alone accounting for 33,600 of them.
- Massachusetts: More than 47,000 consumer hotline calls and over 24,000 formal complaints, a record high.
- Michigan: More than 12,000 written complaints.
- Tennessee: 9,938 formal complaints.
None of these states reported a decline. If your business generates consumer contacts of any kind, from collection calls to service disputes, this is the environment regulators are watching it in.
Debt Collection's Consistent Top-5 Ranking
The headline for Roydan's audience: debt collection isn't a fringe complaint category in these reports. It shows up near the top almost everywhere state data was released.
- New York: #4 (“Debt collection and banking”) — 4,235 complaints
- Illinois: #3 (“Consumer debt”) — 1,957 complaints
- Missouri: #3 — 2,400 complaints
- Colorado: #4 — 1,227 complaints
- Tennessee: #3 — 644 complaints
That consistency across five separate state AG offices, each with independent intake systems and independent categorization schemes, suggests this isn't noise. It's a durable trend regulators are seeing on the ground, not a one-state anomaly.
What Else Is Showing Up Alongside Debt Collection
The data also shows debt collection complaints don't exist in isolation. They tend to cluster with related categories that tell a broader story about consumer financial stress:
- Identity theft ranked #4 in Illinois (1,789 complaints).
- Consumer loans ranked #6 in Colorado (915 complaints).
- Student loans ranked #3 in Massachusetts (1,101 complaints).
- Credit and financial concerns ranked #2 in Michigan.
- Health care was the #1 complaint category in Massachusetts for the third consecutive year, which matters given how often medical debt eventually flows into collections.
Taken together, this points to a consumer base that's dealing with overlapping financial pressure points, not a single isolated issue.
Why This Matters for Compliance Planning
State AG complaint data isn't just a news item. It's one of the clearest public signals of where state regulators are likely to direct examination priorities, rulemaking attention, and enforcement resources in the year ahead. A few practical takeaways:
- Expect continued state-level scrutiny of debt collection practices.
- Complaint categories cluster, so a rise in one adjacent category often signals pressure across the rest.
- Documentation and dispute-handling processes matter more, not less.
- This is a leading indicator, not a lagging one.
Complaint data typically precedes rulemaking and enforcement activity by months or years. States with sharply rising numbers, like Colorado's 200% five-year increase, are worth watching for future legislative action.
This article summarizes publicly released state attorney general data and is not legal advice. Consult counsel to assess how these trends may affect your organization's specific compliance posture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did every state report an increase in consumer complaints in 2025?
Every state that released 2025 data in this cycle reported either a record year or continued year-over-year growth. Colorado, Missouri, and Massachusetts each specifically noted record complaint totals.
Where does debt collection rank among state consumer complaints?
In the states that released detailed rankings, debt collection landed in the top 5 categories in nearly all of them, including #3 in Illinois, Missouri, and Tennessee, and #4 in New York and Colorado.
What is National Consumer Protection Week?
It's an annual, coordinated public awareness effort in which the CFPB, FTC, and state attorneys general highlight consumer protection issues. Many state AG offices use the occasion to release their prior year's consumer complaint statistics.
Does this complaint data predict future regulation?
Complaint volume is one of the signals regulators use to prioritize rulemaking and enforcement resources, though it isn't the only factor. Sustained, multi-year increases in a specific category, like debt collection across several states here, are generally treated as a meaningful indicator worth monitoring.
