CBE Group collection agency - How do consumers perceive this company?

So I get daily calls every half hour or so from the following number:

(515) 453-2972

It comes up on the caller ID as "IOWA CALL"

So I get numerous recorded messages on my machine to call back "Timothy" at:

800-665-5315

When I googled that number, it came up with YMCA. LoL

I live nowhere near Iowa, and I'm positive it's a CA calling, but I don't know which one, and I'll be darned if I'm going to talk to them on the phone. If I can figure out who it is, I will send them a DV letter.

Thanks!

Jenna

It's CBE Group, who are a collection agency based out of Waterloo, Iowa.

Check out this forum thread for more info.

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com...about8938.html

They are a collection Company out of IA.

CBE Group address:
CBE Group Waterloo office (Corporate Office and Operational Center)
131 Tower Park Drive, Suite 100
Waterloo, IA 50701

CBE Group Phone number: (800) 925-6686

Branch Operational Center
1031 Office Park Road, Suite 6
West Des Moines, IA 50265

It shows on my caller id as the CBE Group Inc. and they never leave a message.

I posted this somewhere else, and I thought it would be fitting here.

I used to work there. It's CBE Group Inc., a collection agency. They collect medical debt and some credit card debt. They can't tell you why they are calling because it's against the law. Trust me, I understand your frustrations but it's their job and the employees get hounded constantly about being more aggressive and not removing numbers unless people say it a certain way and etc. Just keep telling them the person they are looking for doesn't live there and you have no idea who they are. The nicer you are, the more likely they will listen. Even though they have to remove your number if it's wrong, if you're rude most of them won't remove it. Calling in and saying "stop calling me!" and hanging up will get you no where because they don't know who you are or what number they're calling unless you tell them. And the automated calls are terribly annoying, I know. I hated them too. I hated the job and the company. But just understand that it's a job and just like everyone else working there, I did it because I needed a job! The only number I remember is for the medical department because that's where I worked. So if they're calling you and it's a wrong number, call them at 888-887-5430 and tell them the number they are calling and that you don't know who the person is. Even if you know the person they are calling for, but they don't live with you and you don't want to give out any info, then lie and say you don't know them or they will never leave you alone. If they are calling for you because you owe a bill that you can't or won't pay, then you just gotta deal with the calls. You can, however, send them a Cease & Desist letter, and by law they will have to stop calling you. Make sure you include your account number, phone number, first and last name, etc so they can find your account easily. And keep a copy of the letter, date you sent it and the address you sent it to just in case. If I could remember the address, I'd tell ya but it's been so long I don't know. Just call the 888 number I gave you and tell them you want a correspondence address and they will have to give it to you. Hope this is helpful for everyone who comes here!! And just remember, they're people too. If they're nice, be nice back, even if it's the 10th call you've gotten that day from that damned Timothy that keeps calling. If they're being an a*shole, then feel free to be one back. I always hated when other collectors were jerks for no reason.

And I'm not meaning to sound rude or anything, but one thing I hated as a collector was the debtors who thought they knew every state law. As a collection agency, they HAVE to know the collection laws front and back. Continuously calling you is not against the law. Check into it more. There are a lot of privacy laws they have to follow, that's why they ask you to verify a date of birth, address, last 4 of ssn. they have to confirm they are talking to John Doe so they don't accidentally tell Joe Schmo that John owes citibank $4,000. Collections is a hard job. People like to play little games with them, call them every name in the book, and belittle them when they're just trying to do their job. Trust me. Some of them deserve to be called **** and hung up on. But some of them are just trying to make a living.

and a tip - if they call, answer, confirm whatever is it they want to confirm, and just say "I'm sorry, I just can't pay this right now, I'll let you know when I can." That won't be good enough for them, but it'll at least stop the calls for the day. They can only make contact with you once a day, unless of course you request a call back.

And as far as the financial info goes that they request, it's a tactic they use just to see what you're spending money on. If you have cable, they'll tell you to cancel it and pay your bill. If you have $200 of extra money showing up every month, they'll offer you a payment plan of around $284 a month because they think everyone lies about it. The best thing to do it give outrageous amounts so it shows you're negative every month. Then just say "hey, you can see plain as day that I'm broke. See ya!"

I'm speaking as a former collector, and a current debtor. Ironic huh?

****Adult term removed - Jason

A lot of Phone calls and continuos ringing constitutes harassment according to the fdcpa.

I would answer the phone. Verify that you are indeed the person they are looking for, verify your mailing address and tell them you expect something in writing w/in 5 days. Then end the call. When you receive their dunning letter, immediately DV.

Hello all,

Read "Former Employee's" post carefully. Now ignore everything he said about hating people who knew the law. You are within your rights to defend yourself; if a collection employee cannot handle it or doesn't like it if you defend yourself under the letter of the law, then that's their problem, not yours. It is unconstitutional to be asked to sit there and take a verbal whipping and be asked not to defend yourself because a collection agent "doesn't like it". Again, that's THEIR problem, if they couldn't get their act together and get a proper education and a real job then it's not your fault.

Furthermore, many states' debt collection acts mirror the federal act in disallowing continuous ringing of the phone. Legally, you can argue that calling you more than ONCE constitutes repeated ringing of the phone with intent to harass. Even more importantly, many states' collection statutes are Deceptive Trade Practices Act tie-in statutes. Meaning? That you can sue ANYONE, not just the collection company, but the agent acting for the collection company, as well as the organization for which they are attempting to collect. That may not sound spectacular but it puts fear into an agent to hear that you can sue them PERSONALLY, and collect from them PERSONALLY, and there's no guarantee any collection agency has to indemnify them--that's their own lawsuit to worry about.

Be sure you mention this to them; unless they're psychotic or argumentative bullies they tend to back off. Violation of the Collection Acts, federal and state, is strict liability, and the DTPA, in addition to expanding the liability from the entity (the collection company and the company you owe to) to the agent also allows for treble damages under the proper circumstances, including economic and mental anguish.

Furthermore, the entity to whom you owe money can disclaim liability if they "have no knowledge" of the violations of the debt collection acts on the part of their collectors. So I suggest informing the company in writing, e-mail or otherwise, and making it clear that they are "placed on express notice" with your letter of the violation, and detailing the behavior violative of the acts. They tend to have attorneys who can affirm this, and even if they don't, you will have a record they were put on notice (so don't delete your e-mail outbox and keep a photocopy of any post-letters for your files).

Finally, don't assume these thugs know the acts "inside and out". These are people with low job skills and even less employability, and are not hired because of their countless advanced degrees. Whereas "former employee" may have been trained properly, there is no assurance anyone else working for any of these agencies has. Avoid hostility but do make it clear that you will not tolerate being harassed, and underscore the fact that any call exceeding ONE can be construed as harassment. You may owe money but under no circumstances have you committed a crime owing money, especially in today's economy. You cannot have a judgment or criminal charges assessed against you without being informed, and in particular owing money is not a crime, unless you meet several other criminal elements, which is not likely in the typical case.

I hope this helps some of you who are suffering at the hands of ruthless collection agencies. They cannot harass you, period. You have every right to research the law and defend yourself under the letter of the law, despite the fact that that irritates collection agents--of course it does, it makes their jobs harder when you don't willingly curl up and die.

Good luck to anyone needing this information reading it, I hope it helps.

Attorney, Thanks for all the information.

Yes, thanks!!

Did anyone ever think that if no one paid Collections, they would go out of business? So what if your credit is tarnished, live with it, they can't take 75,000 people to court!

LOL!!

I,just wish they'd check out the phone numbers they call. They keep calling me,then ask for my son's ex wife of 10 yrs.ago.She as remarried has had 2 kids lives 2 hours away.They even asked for her by her new married name dena menz

Do not make assumptions. At the agency I worked at, every time an account came up, so did all the state laws. We were also tested on our knowledge monthly. This forum deals with the bad agencies....there are a hell of a lot of good agencies out there doing there jobs without breaking the laws.

Low job skills and employability?? Again,the company I worked at required some college and preferred a degree. We had many people with advanced degrees. I myself was a lawyer in Canada prior to my move to the US. We had people from all walks of life and all fields. We would interview 10 people for every position available. Why you ask?? We made damn good money, worked hard and we had fun. Over 60% of my agency made incomes in the 6 figures. We did this without breaking the law and knowing our skills.

What the former collector of CBE made a lot of sense. We had a lot of people who called in who thought the knew the law....usually they didnt. We would have to deal with offensive and abusive debtors everyday....it was part of the job.

I refuse to answer the phone if my caller ID comes up no name, unavailable or a private name private number. If people cannot identify themselves then I have nothing to say to them! I had one person late at night and wouldn't identify himself or did he state his business. I told him that if he couldn't identify himself and where he was calling from and what his business was then I refuse totalk to him and I told him not to call again. That is just so rude how collection agency's do that! Try that next time it works!!!

It is NOT being rude!!! By law they cannot give that information. Do yourself a favor ....answer the phone and find out if they even have the right person or phone. Plus telling them on the phone wont get them to stop either!!