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What is CBE Group?
Founded in 1933 and incorporated in 1985, CBE Group is one of the biggest debt collection agencies in the United States. 1 2 They collect for the government and for businesses in various industries.
CBE Group currently provides the following services:
- 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
What is CBE Group inc-former?
“CBE Group inc-former” is one way that CBE Group can appear on your credit report. You might also find debt items from CBE Group listed on your credit report under the following names:
- The CBE Group inc former
- CBE Group Verizon
- CBE collections
Who does CBE Group collect for?
CBE Group collects debts on behalf of the government and companies in various industries, including healthcare, telecommunication, higher education, utility, and retail credit card companies.
CBE Group collects the following types of debt:
- Credit card debt
- Medical bills
- Utility bills (phone, cable, etc.)
- Federal loans
- Student loans
- Tax and other government-related debt
CBE Group and the IRS
CBE Group is one of three companies that have partnered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to collect overdue tax payments from US taxpayers. 3 Other companies sometimes falsely claim to be working with the IRS, so you should be on the lookout for scammers.
The following companies are the only private collection agencies currently under contract with the IRS:
- CBE Group
- ConServe
- Coast Professional, Inc.
Although one of CBE Group’s representatives will contact you for debt collection, you should always make your payment directly to the IRS, either electronically or with a check made out to the US Treasury.
Do not make any payments to a non-IRS account. Anyone asking for payment over the phone or requesting that you send money anywhere but directly to the IRS is a scammer.
To verify that your debts are real and that CBE Group is reporting the correct amount, check your records on the IRS website.
Note: Even if CBE Group is collecting taxes that you legitimately owe, your unpaid taxes won’t affect your credit score (unlike other debts that you might owe CBE Group).
CBE Group and the US Department of Education
CBE Group has also established a partnership with the US Department of Education to collect overdue payments for student loans. 4 In addition, they collect debt on behalf of universities and colleges.
Student loan debt is one of the most common forms of debt in the US, and it’s many people’s introduction to the world of debt collection. If you’re a student who owes money for a student loan, you have certain rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) that limit what CBE Group is allowed to do when they try to collect from you.
We cover the restrictions that the FDCPA places on CBE Group in more detail further down in this article.
Is CBE Group a scam?
No, CBE Group isn’t a scam. Because debt collection scams are fairly common, it’s natural to get suspicious and start reading up on CBE lies or scams when they contact you. However, the truth is that CBE Group is a legitimate company that was accredited by the Better Business Bureau in 1992. 2
However, you should always be wary of scammers pretending to be collectors from CBE Group. If you’ve been contacted by someone who says that they’re a CBE representative, visit paycbegroup.com to verify that you actually owe the debts they say you do.
VIDEO: CBE Group in 2 Minutes—Fix Your Credit Report & Know Your Rights
How to stop CBE Group from calling you
CBE Group will call, email, or mail you if they believe you have an unsettled debt. The reason debt collectors like these are calling you is simple—they want to pressure you into paying up.
Unfortunately, CBE Group representatives will keep trying to contact you unless you pay the debt, prove that it doesn’t belong to you, or reach an agreement with them (or with your original creditor).
Don’t ignore debt collectors like CBE Group—in the end, you may get sued, and you may even have your wages garnished. It’s smarter to engage with them tactically to ensure you don’t have to pay, or that you get the best deal you can.
To begin, you can get CBE Group to stop calling you—at least temporarily—by sending them something called a debt verification letter.
Send a debt verification letter
A debt verification letter is a formal request that obligates a debt collector to provide further evidence of a debt. You must send it within 30 days of them first contacting you. Note that CBE Group should have sent you a debt validation letter proving you owe the debt first, as it’s required by law.
Benefits of sending a debt verification letter
Sending a debt verification letter has three benefits:
- You’ll prevent CBE Group from calling you during this period: When you send a debt verification letter, third-party debt collection agencies like CBE Group are required by law to stop contacting you until they can provide evidence that you actually owe the debt they’re trying to collect. 5
- You’ll get more information about the debt: You should never pay a debt that you don’t recognize. Forcing CBE Group to provide documentation will help you determine whether this is a legitimate debt that you actually need to pay. It’s an easy way of figuring out if the debt collector is a scam agency.
- You may successfully disown the debt: If CBE Group can’t provide more information about the debt (which is frequently the case), then they have no choice but to delete it from your records.
Beware the statute of limitations
The verification materials that you receive may show that your debt has passed the statute of limitations. This is a legal limit that means the debt is too old for CBE Group to sue you over, at which point it’s known as time-barred debt.
If this is the case, you can send CBE Group a letter telling them to stop contacting you. Legally, they’ll have to abide by that.
The statute of limitations on most debts is between 3 and 6 years, but the exact amount of time depends on several factors, including the state you live in. The best approach is to check your state attorney general’s website and email their office if the information you’re looking for isn’t available online.
How to remove CBE Group from your credit report
If your credit score is suffering as a result of CBE Group debt, there are three ways to recover:
1. Dispute the debt with all three credit bureaus
You should immediately dispute the debt if it isn’t yours. You can also dispute debts that are older than 7 years (measured from the date of your first missed payment)—by law, they’re supposed to fall off your credit report by then.
To dispute a debt for free, send a credit dispute letter to the credit bureaus that are showing CBE Group on your credit report.
To find out which credit bureaus you need to send the letter to, request your free credit report from each of the major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) at AnnualCreditReport.com. If they don’t respond to your dispute within 30–45 days, then they’re legally obligated to remove the item in question.
2. Negotiate with CBE Group
Unfortunately, if the debt is legitimate and it’s less than 7 years old, removing CBE Group from your credit report will be very difficult (although not impossible).
Your best move at this point is to simply pay the debt. Newer credit scoring models ignore paid-off collection accounts, which means paying off your collection will boost your credit score even if you can’t remove the item.
However, when you pay, there are two negotiation strategies you can try as a last-ditch attempt to remove CBE Group from your credit report:
- Pay for delete: You might be able to convince CBE Group to remove the negative mark in exchange for paying off the debt. You can open these negotiations by sending them a pay-for-delete letter.
- Goodwill deletion: This is an alternate strategy you can try after paying your debt. Once the account is paid off, you can send CBE Group a goodwill letter asking them to empathize with your situation and remove the mark from your credit report as an act of kindness.
3. Wait 7 years for CBE Group to fall off of your credit report
Unfortunately, most collection accounts will stay on your credit report for 7 years after your first missed payment. Even if you pay off your debt to CBE Group, it will remain on your credit report.
Learn more about CBE Group’s impact on your credit score:
- How many points will my credit score increase after I pay off collections?
- How to rebuild your credit after having a debt sent to collections
How to deal with CBE Group harassment
Unless you tell them not to, CBE Group will keep contacting you until you pay off or settle your debt. However, there are restrictions on how they can go about doing this.
Restrictions on CBE Group
When attempting to collect payments from you, CBE Group must adhere to the regulations specified in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This is a federal law that prevents debt collectors from engaging in harassment or predatory behavior, such as lying to you or calling you incessantly or at unreasonable hours.
CBE Group representatives also need to follow the rules set out in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with these laws so that you can take action against CBE Group if they do something illegal.
Can I sue CBE Group for harassment?
Yes, you can sue CBE Group for harassment. If you can show that they’ve violated your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, then you can collect $1,000 in statutory damages for each violation as well as payment for any damages that you’ve sustained as a result of their violation. CBE Group will also have to pay your attorney fees and court costs.
How to file a complaint against CBE Group
If a debt collector violates your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or does something illegal, then you can report them to the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or your state attorney general. From there, you’ll be able to find out whether you can also sue CBE Group.
Another option is filing a complaint on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website, but this might not have the outcome you’re hoping for. Bear in mind that the BBB is actually a private organization that has no affiliation with the US government. They’ll forward your complaint to CBE Group, but there’s no guarantee that the agency will address it in a satisfactory manner. What’s more, if your dispute is sent to an arbitrator, then you may give up your right to take CBE Group to court.
Should you pay CBE Group?
You should only pay a collection agency like CBE Group if you’re certain the debt is yours and you owe it. If you’re struggling financially and can’t afford to pay this debt collector, you can get help from a non-profit credit counselor.
