RSIEH on Your Credit Report: Your Options Explained

RSIEH is not a standard collection agency. It is a debt collection law firm, which means it can file lawsuits against you directly without retaining outside counsel. That distinction changes your timeline and your risk profile significantly.

The firm has been a defendant in over 40 federal cases and has a documented 2017 federal court loss for filing suit in small claims court before providing debt validation, a specific FDCPA violation the court refused to excuse.

This guide covers who Rausch Sturm collects for, the documented court record, complaint patterns, and how to respond before the firm escalates to litigation.

Who Is RSIEH / Rausch Sturm, LLP?

Rausch, Sturm, Israel, Enerson & Hornik, LLC was founded in 1997 and incorporated in 2008. The firm now operates as Rausch Sturm, LLP and is headquartered in Brookfield, Wisconsin, with agents operating across multiple states.

The BBB rates the firm at A with 85 complaints filed in the most recent three-year window and a customer satisfaction score under 2 out of 5 stars. The CFPB has logged 165 complaints against the firm. Rausch Sturm both represents creditors in litigation and purchases old debt outright, acting as a debt buyer on some accounts.

Who Does Rausch Sturm Collect For?

Rausch Sturm works across a broad range of consumer financial industries. The firm represents original creditors and also acquires charged-off debt secondhand.

Confirmed client categories include:

• Auto lenders: Deficiency balances after vehicle repossession and unpaid auto loan accounts.
• Banks and credit unions: Personal loan defaults, overdraft balances, and deposit account charge-offs.
• Credit card issuers: Charged-off consumer credit card balances referred for litigation.
• Debt buyers: Rausch Sturm represents other debt buyers who have purchased portfolios of charged-off accounts.
• Student loan servicers, telecom companies, and utilities: Consumer accounts across these categories round out the firm’s caseload.

Documented 2017 Federal Court Loss

In April 2017, a federal judge in the Western District of Wisconsin issued an opinion finding Rausch Sturm had violated FDCPA Section 1692g(b), which requires a collector to cease all collection activity after receiving a written dispute and provide validation before resuming.

The consumer had sent a certified dispute letter within the 30-day window. Rausch Sturm’s mailroom logged receipt of the letter. Despite that, the firm filed a small claims court action before providing any validation documentation. Rausch Sturm argued the violation was a bona fide error, claiming it had reasonable procedures in place. The court rejected that defense and found the violation had occurred.

This case matters because it documents a systemic failure in how Rausch Sturm processes validation requests, not an isolated incident by a single agent.

Common Rausch Sturm Complaint Patterns

BBB and CFPB records reveal consistent recurring issues specific to this firm.

• Failing to halt garnishments after full payment: A documented BBB complaint describes a consumer paying a balance in full after garnishment papers were served, then being unable to get Rausch Sturm to confirm payment or release the garnishment. Daily calls produced conflicting account statuses and broken promises to send written confirmation.
• Impersonating attorneys or government officials: CFPB complaints document allegations that Rausch Sturm representatives misrepresented their authority during collection calls.
• Pursuing debts the consumer does not recognize: Multiple CFPB complaints describe consumers being sued by Rausch Sturm on behalf of creditors they had no prior contact with, with no prior written notice of the debt.
• Lack of chain of ownership on purchased debt: Because Rausch Sturm buys old debt portfolios, the firm sometimes cannot produce a clean chain of assignment from the original creditor through each subsequent owner to the firm.

What Rausch Sturm Cannot Do Under Federal Law

• File suit before providing validation: The 2017 federal court ruling confirmed that filing in small claims court before responding to a certified dispute letter violates Section 1692g(b). That ruling applies directly to any account where you have sent a timely validation request.
• Misrepresent attorney involvement: Implying that an attorney has personally reviewed your account when one has not violates Section 1692e(3) of the FDCPA.
• Pursue time-barred debts through litigation: Filing suit on a debt past the applicable statute of limitations may constitute an unfair collection practice under the FDCPA.
• Continue collection after a written validation request: All collection activity must pause until the firm produces documentation, as confirmed by the 2017 ruling.
• Contact outside legal hours: Calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. local time violate federal law regardless of the balance owed.

Verify Before Paying Rausch Sturm

Because Rausch Sturm operates as both a creditor representative and a debt buyer, the documentation you need varies depending on which role applies to your account.

Send a certified validation letter demanding the original signed credit agreement bearing your signature, the complete payment history showing how the balance was calculated, and the full chain of assignment from the original creditor through every subsequent owner to Rausch Sturm. On purchased debt accounts, that chain is often incomplete. If the firm cannot produce a clean chain of ownership, it may lack legal standing to pursue the debt.

How to Check Your Credit Report

Pull all three reports at AnnualCreditReport.com and search for both RSIEH and Rausch Sturm as furnishers. Confirm the original creditor, balance, and date of first delinquency.

If the account is already paid and Rausch Sturm has not updated the entry, gather your payment confirmation and file disputes with all three bureaus simultaneously.

How Long Can Rausch Sturm Legally Pursue the Debt?

Wisconsin allows six years on most written contracts. The state governing your original credit agreement controls the statute, not where Rausch Sturm is based.

Statutes of limitations vary widely by debt type and state. Auto loan deficiencies, credit card accounts, and utility balances each may carry different windows depending on the state where you signed the original agreement. Any payment made after the statute has expired can restart the clock in many states.

Your Options for Resolving the Account

• Respond to any lawsuit immediately: As a law firm, Rausch Sturm files lawsuits directly. Ignoring a summons results in a default judgment, which can lead to wage garnishment and bank levies.
• Demand the full chain of assignment in writing: Purchased debt accounts often lack complete ownership documentation. Force the firm to produce it before acknowledging any balance.
• Cite the 2017 ruling if your validation request was ignored: If Rausch Sturm continued collection after receiving your certified dispute letter, that is a documented pattern the court has already addressed.
• Get garnishment release confirmation in writing: The BBB record shows the firm has failed to follow through on releasing garnishments after full payment. Demand written confirmation before considering any account resolved.

How to Contact RSIEH / Rausch Sturm

Handle all communication in writing. Send disputes by certified mail with return receipt requested:

• Address: Rausch Sturm, LLP, 250 N Sunny Slope Road, Suite 300, Brookfield, WI 53005
• Phone: (866) 456-3744

Bottom Line

Rausch Sturm is a law firm with direct litigation authority, which makes ignoring its notices far more dangerous than ignoring a standard collection agency. The 2017 federal ruling documenting the firm’s failure to pause collection after a certified dispute letter is the most important precedent to know before responding to any notice.

Never assume a Rausch Sturm account is resolved until you have written confirmation. The BBB record shows the firm has left consumers unable to confirm payment status even after accounts were paid in full and garnishments were already served.

If a Rausch Sturm entry is on your credit file, the right move depends on the original creditor, whether the debt was purchased, and whether the statute of limitations has run in the state governing your original agreement.