Stop Retrieval Masters Credit Bureau Debt Harassment

Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau, Inc. (RMCB) is a medical debt collection agency founded in 1977 and based in Elmsford, New York, that collects for hospitals, labs, and physician groups under its trade name American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA).

The company has been named in multiple FDCPA class actions and was at the center of a 2019 data breach that exposed the personal and financial data of more than 11 million patients. If RMCB or AMCA is contacting you, call +1-844-638-1122 for a free case review with The Wood Firm PLLC.

Key Facts About Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau

Who Is Retrieval Masters Creditors Bureau

Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau, Inc., a third-party medical debt collector, has operated under the trade name American Medical Collection Agency since 1977. The company specializes in collecting small-balance medical accounts, primarily for clinical laboratories, and is based in Westchester County, New York.

RMCB is the same entity that operated the AMCA payment portal involved in the 2019 data breach. If you received a notice about the breach, or if a collection entry from “American Medical Collection Agency” appears on your credit report, you are dealing with Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau.

In our practice, clients who contact us about RMCB most frequently describe a collection entry appearing on their credit report for a medical service they do not recognize, or calls about a lab balance they were never separately billed for by the original provider. Both situations are exactly what the FDCPA’s validation and dispute rights were designed to address.

Why Is Retrieval Masters Creditors Bureau Calling Me

RMCB is calling you because a medical provider placed an unpaid account with them for collection. The most common underlying creditors are clinical laboratories, meaning the debt may relate to bloodwork or diagnostic testing billed separately from your doctor’s visit.

Based on the pattern of FDCPA lawsuits filed against RMCB, consumers have alleged the following conduct:

• Collecting debts that do not exist: In Schnur v. Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau Inc., the complaint alleged the company attempted to collect on services the consumer never authorized or received.
• Overshadowing your 30-day dispute right: In Rafferty v. Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau, Inc., the complaint alleged that demand letters demanding “immediate” payment overshadowed the consumer’s federally protected 30-day right to dispute the debt, a violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1692g.
• Contradictory creditor identification: In Hoffman v. Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau, Inc., consumers alleged the company sent letters listing different creditors in the same notice, making it impossible to identify who the debt was actually owed to.
• Charging unauthorized convenience fees: In Jairam v. Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau, Inc., a class action alleged RMCB charged consumers a $4.95 fee for online payments without any contractual or statutory basis to do so.
• Restricting oral disputes: In Marchan v. Retrieval-Masters Creditor’s Bureau, Inc., consumers alleged the agency illegally required disputes to be submitted in writing, when the FDCPA permits oral disputes.

Each of these alleged tactics targets a different provision of the FDCPA. Any one of them, if proven, carries up to $1,000 in statutory damages per violation.

Has Retrieval Masters Creditors Bureau Been Sued

Yes, RMCB has been named in numerous federal lawsuits, including class actions, alleging systemic FDCPA violations and a catastrophic data security failure that exposed millions of patients to identity-theft risk.

Key federal cases include:

• Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Case No. 17-1731 (2018) — a federal appellate decision addressing FDCPA claims against Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau.
• Arroyo v. Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau — a class action alleging FDCPA violations by RMCB.
• Schnur v. Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau Inc. — alleged the company attempted to collect debt for services never authorized or received.
• Jairam v. Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau, Inc. — class action alleging an unauthorized $4.95 convenience fee charged for online payments without a contractual basis.
• Rafferty v. Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau, Inc. — alleged demand letters overshadowed consumers’ 30-day FDCPA dispute rights by demanding “immediate” payment.
• Hoffman v. Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau, Inc. — alleged confusing letters identified different creditors in the same notice, violating the FDCPA’s creditor identification requirements.
• Marchan v. Retrieval-Masters Creditor’s Bureau, Inc. — alleged the company illegally restricted consumers to written-only dispute submissions.

The 2019 AMCA data breach resulted in a multi-state Attorney General settlement after it was alleged that RMCB knew of the breach earlier than disclosed, exposing 11.9 million patients’ Social Security numbers and payment card data without adequate notification.

Is Retrieval Masters Creditors Bureau a Scam or a Legitimate Company

Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau is a legitimate, licensed debt collection agency that has operated since 1977, not a scam. But the volume and variety of FDCPA class actions filed against it, combined with the 2019 data breach settlement, make clear that legitimacy and legal compliance are not the same thing at this company.

What distinguishes RMCB from many collectors is the nature of the alleged violations. The lawsuits against this company do not just allege aggressive calling. They allege structural deception: letters designed to obscure your right to dispute, fees charged without authority, and attempts to collect debts that consumers say were never owed. Those are the patterns our firm looks for first in any RMCB case.

How to Identify Calls from Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau

If you receive calls from 914-892-0055, 800-666-8097, 844-505-3328, or 914-345-7136, you may be hearing from RMCB. Mail from “American Medical Collection Agency” or “AMCA” is the same company.

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FTC), RMCB is required to identify itself as a debt collector in every communication and disclose that information obtained will be used to collect a debt. A voicemail that skips this disclosure may itself be a violation. Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (FCC), any automated call to your cell phone without prior express consent carries $500 to $1,500 in statutory damages per call.

How to Respond to Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau

The most important first step is to create a paper trail immediately, before you do anything else, because every written exchange becomes potential evidence in a federal claim.

1. Document every contact. Log the date, time, number, caller name if given, and exactly what was said. If a letter demands “immediate” payment, keep the original envelope and postmark.
2. Send a written validation request. Mail it via certified mail within 30 days of first contact. RMCB must stop all collection activity until they provide documentation of the amount owed, the original creditor’s identity, and evidence the debt belongs to you. Given the litigation history around non-existent debts and contradictory creditor identification, this step is especially important with this collector.
3. Do not pay any convenience fee. RMCB has faced class action litigation alleging it charged a $4.95 online payment fee without legal authority. Any fee not expressly authorized by your original account agreement may itself be an FDCPA violation.
4. Send a cease-and-desist if the calls continue. Certified mail, return receipt requested. After receipt, RMCB may only confirm receipt or notify you of a specific legal action they intend to take.
5. Contact an attorney before making any payment. If the debt is for a service you do not recognize, or if the letter is unclear about who the original creditor is, these are not minor details. They are the exact fact patterns that have supported FDCPA lawsuits against this company.

How to Remove Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau from Your Credit Report

RMCB reports collection accounts to the major credit bureaus, and given the company’s documented history of collecting unverified medical debts, disputes under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) are a common and viable path to removal.

Common grounds for disputing an RMCB entry include:

• The underlying medical service was covered by insurance and the balance should be zero
• You never received a bill from the original provider and were not notified of any balance before the account was sent to collections
• The entry is for services you did not authorize or receive
• The account belongs to someone else with a similar name or the same address
• Your information may have been compromised in the 2019 AMCA data breach, making the reporting accuracy unverifiable

As of January 2025, medical collection debts under $500 cannot be reported to credit bureaus under updated CFPB rules. If an RMCB entry on your report is for a small-balance medical account under that threshold, it should not be there, and you have grounds to dispute it immediately.

What Our Clients Say

How The Wood Firm PLLC Fights Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau

We Know Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau’s Specific Playbook

RMCB’s litigation history is unusually specific, and that specificity tells us exactly where to look first. This is not a collector whose cases are primarily about excessive calling. This is a collector whose cases center on the content of the written notice itself.

When clients bring us RMCB cases, we look immediately at:

• Whether the validation notice demanded “immediate” payment in a way that overshadowed the 30-day dispute window
• Whether the letter clearly identified the correct original creditor, or listed conflicting creditors in the same notice
• Whether any convenience fee was charged and whether any contractual basis for it exists
• Whether the collector restricted dispute submissions to written-only format
• Whether the underlying medical account can actually be verified or whether the original creditor has any documentation connecting you to the service
• Whether any automated calls were placed to a cell phone without prior express consent

We Stop the Calls Within 48 Hours

The moment The Wood Firm PLLC sends RMCB a notice of representation, federal law prohibits them from contacting you again directly. Clients consistently report the calls and letters stop within 48 hours of our engagement. All further communication goes through our firm.

We Handle FDCPA, FCRA, and TCPA Claims

Our practice is built around the three federal statutes most likely to apply when RMCB targets you:

• FDCPA — covers collection letter content, validation rights, dispute procedure restrictions, and unauthorized fees. RMCB has faced class actions under each of these provisions.
• FCRA — governs what RMCB can report to credit bureaus and your right to dispute inaccurate medical debt entries, including the post-2025 rules on small-balance medical debt reporting.
• TCPA — applies if RMCB called your cell phone using automated dialing without your prior express consent. Each call is $500 to $1,500 in damages, and violations stack per call.

You Pay Nothing Unless We Win

The Wood Firm PLLC handles every consumer protection case on a contingency basis. No upfront fees, no retainer, and no hourly billing. The FDCPA requires RMCB to pay your attorney fees if you win, so the financial barrier to holding this collector accountable is effectively zero.

Learn more about why consumers choose The Wood Firm PLLC for debt collection cases.

About Attorney Jeff Wood

Jeff Wood founded The Wood Firm PLLC because he saw how many consumers were being harmed by collectors who counted on them not knowing their rights, and he wanted to build a firm where the cost of fighting back would never fall on the consumer.

He has spent more than 15 years exclusively on the consumer side of these cases and has never represented a debt collector or creditor, which means when he reviews an RMCB collection letter, he reads it the same way a federal court does: looking for every provision the collector may have violated.

Jeff is admitted to federal courts in Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, the Southern District of Indiana, the Eastern District of Michigan, the Eastern District of Missouri, the Western District of Tennessee, and the Western District of Wisconsin.

The Wood Firm PLLC also maintains Of Counsel relationships with attorneys licensed in Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas state courts, Washington, and West Virginia.

This article was reviewed for legal accuracy by Attorney Jeff Wood, Esq., founding attorney of The Wood Firm PLLC. Last reviewed: April 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions About Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau

Is Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau the same as American Medical Collection Agency

Yes. Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau, Inc. (RMCB) is the legal entity behind the American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA) trade name. They are the same company operating at the same address in Elmsford, New York. If mail or a credit entry references AMCA, it is from RMCB.

Why is Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau on my credit report

RMCB appears on your credit report because a medical provider, typically a clinical lab, placed an unpaid account with them for collection. If you do not recognize the debt, send a written validation request immediately. Given RMCB’s documented history of collecting non-existent debts and reporting inaccurate accounts, you have especially strong grounds to demand full verification before taking any action.

Can Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau charge me a convenience fee

RMCB cannot charge a convenience fee unless your original account agreement with the medical provider expressly authorized it. A class action lawsuit alleged that RMCB charged consumers a $4.95 online payment fee without any contractual or statutory basis. If you are being asked to pay a fee on top of the principal balance, document it and contact an attorney before paying anything.

Was my data exposed in the AMCA data breach

If you were a patient of Quest Diagnostics, LabCorp, or certain other medical providers between 2018 and 2019, your information may have been exposed in the AMCA data breach that affected 11.9 million patients. Social Security numbers, payment card data, and personal information were compromised. A multi-state Attorney General settlement followed. If a collection entry appeared on your report after that period for an account you do not recognize, the data breach is a relevant factor in assessing whether the reporting is accurate.

How do I stop Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau from calling me

Send a written cease-and-desist letter via certified mail with return receipt requested. After RMCB receives it, federal law restricts all further contact to confirming receipt or notifying you of a specific legal action they intend to take. Having The Wood Firm PLLC send a notice of representation typically stops contact within 48 hours, and from that point all communication goes through the firm.

Can Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau garnish my wages

RMCB cannot garnish your wages without first filing a lawsuit and obtaining a court judgment. Any threat of garnishment before a judgment exists is a potential FDCPA violation carrying up to $1,000 in statutory damages. If you receive a threat like this, document the date, time, and exact language used before doing anything else.

The Wood Firm PLLC has spent more than 15 years enforcing the FDCPA, FCRA, and TCPA against medical debt collectors like Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau, and every case is handled on a pure contingency basis. When clients bring us RMCB cases, we look first at the collection letter itself, whether the validation notice was compliant, whether any unauthorized fee was charged, and whether the underlying medical account can actually be verified. Those are the fact patterns that have supported federal claims against this company across multiple class actions. Call +1-844-638-1122 for a free case review today.