Debt Collector Agrees to Pay Over $1 Million in Fines

The Columbus Ohio collection agency “Credit Bureau Collection Services” (CBCS) signed a Consent to Judgment and will pay $1.1 million in civil penalties for failing to follow Federal debt collection laws and for defrauding consumers around the country. According to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) complaint Credit Bureau Collection Services continued collection activities on invalid debts and also reported those invalid debts to credit reporting agencies without conveying that the debts were disputed. Even if CBCS received information that the alleged debt was paid off, did not belong to that individual, or that the alleged debt was otherwise invalid, CBCS continued to attempt to collect the debt from that consumer. These actions are in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act as well as the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

“Credit Bureau Collection Services has voluntarily entered into a consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission to settle a civil lawsuit, which contained allegations concerning its collection and credit reporting activities that took place several years ago, from 2005 to 2007,” the company said in its statement.” Additionally, CBCS states they have done nothing wrong but that their decision to settle was simply a business decision.

If you believe the law has been violated by CBCS, you may wish to contact an attorney to pursue any claims you may have against them. It hardly seems reasonable that a company that has done nothing wrong would agree to pay over one million dollars in fines to the Federal Trade Commission.