CBE Group Collections Complaints.Stop the annoying debt collection calls!

In this day and age, the average American is more likely to be swamped in debt since jobs pay extremely less and people have to rely on loans. However, that can become a pain if you are unable to pay off your debt. Your creditors will hire debt collectors, such as CBE Group, to get their money back or the debt collectors may even buy your debt from the creditor.

Are You Being Called By CBE Group? Here’s what you need to know

Many people tend to panic when they see calls from debt collection agency. They do not know the right response but they do not want to feel pressured either. Debt collection companies can get extremely rude and threatening if you do not pay off your debt. However, if only consumers knew their rights, they would know that these agencies have no right to engage with consumers in this way.

What is CBE Group?

CBE Group was established in 1985 with headquarters in Cedar Valley, Iowa. The owner of the company is Thomas R. Penaluna. It is a subsidiary of CBE Companies, offering debt collection services to customers from several industries. The CBE Companies was founded in 1933 as a global call center outsourcing company providing collections services.

The company was formerly known as Credit Bureau Enterprises, Inc. It was in 1998 the company changed its name to CBE Group. It works as accounts receivable management and credit information company. They provide a wide range of debt collecting services including first-party and third-party services. Some of the services they offer include:

  • Insurance follow-up
  • Primary, secondary, and tertiary bad debt collection
  • Default aversion
  • Early-out self-pay recovery
  • Payment monitoring
  • Pre-charge off
  • Litigation support
  • Pre-disconnect

It is a large collections agency with 1,600 employees and call centers in Waterloo, New Braunfels, Overland Park, and Manila, Philippines. CBE Group makes millions of dollars by debt collecting calls across the US. They don’t specialize in any one type of industry and provide services to colleges, universities, financial institutions, telecommunication companies, healthcare agencies, utilities, and government organizations.

There are many consumers who are not happy with the services of this company. Many consumers have complaints regarding their services. Some of the customers had made the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) complaints and some accused the company of harassment. So far, no judgments have been made against the company.

Complaints of Customers

Here are some of the complaints made by customers.

Pretending to Be Someone Else

One customer revealed that CBE Group representatives were calling them claiming to be employees of other organizations. According to FDCPA, pretending to be someone else when calling clients is against the rules.

Not Telling What the Call Was About

According to one user, CBE Group representative called them and continuously asked for social security number. When the taxpayer asked about the company, they failed to answer and did not tell what the purpose was of calling except that it was a business matter. The taxpayer was reluctant to provide social security number thinking it might be a fraud.

Frightening Calls

According to one customer, they have been receiving frightening and annoying calls from the representatives of CBE Group. The taxpayer stated that he received harassing phone calls and was asked to verify social security number. The representatives did not tell who they were and didn’t even leave last names. This is a violation of FDCPA; the debt collectors must tell who they are.

Kept Calling

The CBE Group representatives kept on calling the use even after they told them not to call. The representative called the customer in sneaky, vicious, and predatory manner.

How to Know if the Debt Collection Agency Calling You is Scam?

When you get a call from CBE Group, do not panic and remain very calm. Do not lose your wits as debt collectors very much count on that. To tell whether a debt collector is legitimate, follow these few tricks:


  • Instead of the so-called debt collector asking you questions, make sure you start asking them questions as well. Ask for more information, which company they belong to, what their company name and logo is, etc. Make sure not to confirm any information like your bank account number or where you live. Ask them what the debt is about and which company has issued it and what the basis for the debt is. If they cannot provide you with any reasons or do not provide you with their company name or number, that should set off some red flags.
  • As soon as you receive your first call from the CBE Group, you should receive a written confirmation of the debt from them. The letter should include the debt collection agency name, it should have a few of your rights listed, a mailing address, etc.
  • Do your research. There are times when the debt collecting agency may be legitimate but not your debt. They tend to make mistakes. Search on Google for the company and verify whether it is an actual debt collection agency. Check your state attorney general’s office to check whether this agency is verified and is licensed. You may also find the number of complaints filed against this debt collection agency. Moreover, once you know that the debt collecting agency is legitimate, contact them, because sometimes some people may pretend to be working with the collection agency.
  • Check your credit report. You will get a quick view of the debts you owe, to whom you owe, how much you owe and the like. If someone calls you out of the blue to tell you that you have some unpaid debt and it is not mentioned on the credit report, chances are that it is a scam.
  • Check the statute of limitations. If it has expired, the CBE Group cannot ask you to pay stale debt. Do not reaffirm anything verbally which may lead you to restart the stale debt.

Harassing phone numbers

  • 9802443969
  • 5014434980
  • 9163303872
  • 4014142943
  • 4014142913
  • 4014143066

Contact Information

CBE Group
1309 Technology Parkway
Cedar Falls, IA 50613
Phone Number: 800-925-6686

Understand Your Debt Collection Rights and Fight CBE Group

When CBE Group comes knocking at your door, the first thing to do is to search for your rights in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 1977. This statute was specifically enacted to protect consumers from illegal actions taken by debt collection agencies such as harassment, threatening to sue, threatening family members, coming to your home in disguise, etc. The key provisions of the FDCPA 1977 are:

  • Protection against harassment: abusive phone calls, excessive phone calls, threats, violence.
  • You have the right to sue either the whole debt collecting company or just the individual
  • You can ask for proof of debt
  • You can ban debt collectors from calling you at inconvenient times or at work. You can even ban them altogether.
  • They CANNOT blab about your debt to other people. The debt should remain between you and the debt collection agency.

When CBE Group contacts a consumer for the first time, they have to give them a ‘mini-Miranda’ which is basically a full disclosure. In the ‘mini-Miranda’ the consumer must be told of their right to dispute the debt, the name of the company, the amount and the right of the consumer to ask for verification of the debt. They have to send you all of this information in writing 5 days after the call.

If a consumer decides to dispute the debt, they have to make sure to send a letter in writing to the CBE Group collection agency. The letter must be sent within 30 days of the call. Till then the calls and messages from the collectors must halt. Once your debt is verified, the company will continue the collection of the amount. If not, they must cease to collect the amount.

If the company badgers you with constant calls at inconvenient times or at work, you can send them a cease communication letter. They cannot contact you during the specified time you mention, can only contact through letters or you can ask them to stop contacting at all. If they have to contact, it will only be to tell you whether the debt has been finished or whether the creditor is filing a law suit against the consumer.

If CBE Group uses abusive or threatening language or harm the consumer in any way, it is illegal under federal law. They cannot call you to abuse you, use profane or offensive language, threaten you or your property or your family. They are not allowed to call the consumer or their family from different numbers, silent phone calls or anything of the like is also illegal.

If anyone from debt collection agency shows up to your home in the uniform of a police officer or claim to be an attorney of the creditor, that is completely illegal. Moreover any kinds of threats to seize the consumer’s property or other assets or have them thrown to jail is also illegal.

Avoid sending personal checks. This may give debt collectors your routing number and account number, allowing them to take out money as they please.

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It is important to know your rights.

What you have to remember about debt collecting companies

The reason why debt collectors are hired is because they are persuasive, almost to the point where it starts counting as harassment and threatening. Since many people do not know of their rights against debt collecting agencies, they feel pressured to pay off the debt and become broke or depressed.

Something which you need to know is that it is in the debt collector’s best interests that they pressure you enough to crack you and get you to pay money. This is because your creditor who hires them pays them on commission basis. The earlier they get the money out of you, the higher the commission they get. If you do not pay your debt, your creditor may fire them. Which is why at times debt collectors may even accept a small amount just so they can get their commission quickly.