CFPB Consumer Complaint Profile
Southern Management Systems Inc.
Consumers have filed 782 complaints with the CFPB against this company, a record that maps out how disputes over credit, billing and collections tend to unfold.
Data updated 2026-08-14
- 782
- Total complaints
- Among the highest
- 189
- Last 12 months
- 100%
- Timely response
- Top decile
- 35
- States affected
The verdict
Southern Management Systems Inc. ranks #388 of 3,843 financial companies by CFPB complaint volume, with 782 complaints on record. Its on-time response rate is 100%, the 86th percentile among companies with 100+ complaints.
- #388
- of 3,843 companies by volume
- 100%
- on time (86th pctile)
- Debt collection
- most-complained product
- 35
- states with complaints
Based on this company's own CFPB response record -- timely response, dispute rate, and relief rate, each benchmarked against every tracked company with 10+ complaints. Not a measure of product quality, pricing, or company size.
Southern Management Systems Inc. vs. all companies by on-time response rate
Every company with 100+ CFPB complaints on file (1,335 total)
100% Top 14% higher than 86% of 1,335 companies
companies with 100+ CFPB complaints, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more companies. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Complaint Database · 2026-08-14
What changed
CFPB Consumer Complaint Database 2024 to 2025 complete years
- Annual CFPB complaint volume moved from 98 in 2024 to 177 in 2025 (2024 → 2025).
Percent of CFPB complaints answered within the regulator's expected window. Industry benchmark sits at 95%.
Reading this profile
Complaints by Product
Top Issues
Complaints by Year
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 6 |
| 2014 | 31 |
| 2015 | 44 |
| 2016 | 26 |
| 2017 | 38 |
| 2018 | 39 |
| 2019 | 44 |
| 2020 | 52 |
| 2021 | 54 |
| 2022 | 69 |
| 2023 | 61 |
| 2024 | 98 |
| 2025 | 177 |
| 2026year in progress | 43 |
Complaints by State (Top 15)
Company Responses
What the CFPB Complaint Record Shows for Southern Management Systems Inc.
Southern Management Systems Inc. carries 782 complaints in the CFPB's database, 189 of them filed within the past 12 months. Consumers spanning 35 states and territories have weighed in, giving this a multi-regional footprint. "Debt collection" tops the product-level breakdown by a clear margin, marking it as the area of greatest consumer friction. Within that category, the most frequently cited specific issue is "Attempts to collect debt not owed" - a useful starting point for anyone trying to understand what goes wrong most often in the company's consumer interactions.
Within the Bureau's 15-day response window, Southern Management Systems Inc. posts a 100% reply rate on forwarded complaints. That clears the industry benchmark, pointing to intake and escalation processes that are working as intended. The company's response carried a 44.2% formal-dispute rate on resolved cases, indicating how frequently the initial fix fell short. Resolved complaints closed with monetary or non-monetary relief for the consumer at a 0% rate.
How to read complaint counts
Complaint counts alone do not tell the full story: larger institutions with more customers will naturally generate more complaints in absolute terms. The more informative signals are the direction of the yearly trend shown above, the state-level concentration, and the ratio of monetary-relief closures to closed-without-relief outcomes. Together, these fields provide context for reading the published CFPB record; they do not establish wrongdoing or resolve an individual dispute.
Educational data summary, not financial or legal advice. Individual complaint outcomes vary. Consumers should consult a qualified attorney or financial advisor for guidance on a specific dispute.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many CFPB complaints does Southern Management Systems Inc. have?
782 complaints have been filed against Southern Management Systems Inc. with the CFPB overall - 189 of them in the past year.
Does Southern Management Systems Inc. respond to complaints on time?
CFPB complaints against Southern Management Systems Inc. draw a 100% timely-response rate inside the expected window. This is considered excellent.
What product generates the most complaints for Southern Management Systems Inc.?
Among all products tied to Southern Management Systems Inc., "Debt collection" accounts for the largest share of complaints (full breakdown above).
What is the most common complaint issue with Southern Management Systems Inc.?
Consumers most often cite "Attempts to collect debt not owed" when complaining about Southern Management Systems Inc.; the full issue list with counts is above.
How do I file a complaint against Southern Management Systems Inc.?
You can file a complaint against Southern Management Systems Inc. directly with the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. The CFPB will forward your complaint to the company and work to get you a response, typically within 15 days.
In how many states have consumers complained about Southern Management Systems Inc.?
The CFPB has recorded complaints against Southern Management Systems Inc. from 35 separate states and territories, including jurisdictions beyond the 52 with a dedicated state page here - Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and APO/FPO military postal codes among them.
Nationwide companies with similar complaint volume or dispute rates
Two CFPB peer sets for Southern Management Systems Inc.: nearest financial companies by total complaint volume and by the share of complaints consumers mark as disputed. These are cross-firm neighborhoods, not the product-category list below.
Similar dispute rates
Nearest companies by share of complaints marked disputed (44.2% here).
Also handles Debt collection
Other companies with the same primary CFPB product category on file.
Source: CFPB Consumer Complaint Database Data through March 2026
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.