Dealing With Collection Agencies - CBCS

Companies usually entrust their collectibles to collection agencies to save them the bother of going after debtors themselves.

One of the nation's leading collection agencies, based in Columbus, Ohio, is CBCS National or CBCS. Its website lists health care collections as its specialization, although it is known to collect for telecommunication companies such as MCI WorldCom and Bell South.

Despite its stature as an industry leader, the agency is reputedly carrying out illegal collection activities on accounts that are beyond the statute of limitations. Added to which, mix-ups are purported to be frequent occurrences, revealing a lack of thorough knowledge of customer's profile. It is not surprising that CBCS agents make erroneous calls to a person who has never owed the company on whose behalf they are collecting. More often, as part of their brusque collection tactics, they send out demand letters, and make phone calls meant to harass or intimidate customers into paying immediately.

If such a call is received, it is best to immediately tell the agent to cease calling and conduct their business through mail, and demand for written details of the account. Also, it is advisable never to give out personal information such as names, telephone numbers and workplaces, including that of family members.

Dealing with collection agencies like CBCS necessitates knowledge of consumer rights, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The FCRA delineates the state's debt collection laws. The FDCPA on the other hand, provides the guidelines and sanctions on abusive and unlawful debt collection practices, as well as gives the consumer the right to ensure the validity and accuracy of the account details, which can be used to dispute the credit report.