Are You Being Called By Credit Bureau of Carbon County?*

Are you being called by Credit Bureau of Carbon County?* Here’s what you need to know.

If you fall behind on your monthly bill payments, debt collectors will eventually start calling and sending letters. Their goal is to get you to pay the debt in its entirety or make acceptable payment arrangements, even if you can’t afford to do so. While collecting a debt is legal, harassing and threatening you in the process is not.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, prohibits third-party debt collectors from employing tactics like those below while collecting or attempting to collect a debt:

• Shouting and using profanities
• Telling you that you can be imprisoned if you don’t pay
• Demanding amounts that exceed the original debt total
• Calling at inconvenient times and unreasonable times
• Contacting your at work after learning that the employer does not permit such calls
• Reporting false information to the credit bureaus

Company Profile: Credit Bureau of Carbon County

If you are being called by Credit Bureau of Carbon County, information about the company is below.

Credit Bureau of Carbon County, which also does business as CollectionCenter, Inc., is a debt collection company located in Rawlins, Wyoming. It was established in 1919, has approximately 55 employees, and is managed by its CEO, Dan Russell. Files archived at the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website suggest that many consumers who believed they were being deceived or harassed by Credit Bureau of Carbon County dealt with the situation by filing lawsuits.

Alleged Violations against Credit Bureau of Carbon County

According to PACER, on or about January 15, 2014, Credit Bureau of Carbon County mailed a collection letter to a Colorado resident regarding an alleged medical debt. The communication, sent by and through its attorneys Edmonds & Russell P.C., allegedly threatened to sue him if he didn’t pay the $408.71 demanded.

When he called Credit Bureau of Carbon County, the party who answered allegedly told him that the total amount due was now $458.71, thanks to a $50 charge for the attorney to sign the letter.

When the company offered to settle the debt for less than $458.71, he accepted and made the payment over the phone. He believed that it was for a medical debt he had incurred within the last three years, but when he received a receipt, he discovered that Credit Bureau of Carbon County applied his payment to an account that was allegedly incurred in 1997, and was therefore barred by the applicable statute of limitations.

Feeling harassed by Credit Bureau of Carbon County, he hired a consumer attorney and sued the agency for allegedly violating the FDCPA in the following ways:

• Using false, deceptive and misleading means to collect a debt
• Misrepresenting the character, amount, or legal status of the debt
• Threatening to take action that cannot legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken
• Demanding an amount not supported by law or the original creditor agreement

The matter was later settled.

Hire an Attorney

The phone numbers for this collection agency are:

• 1-307-324-3466
• 1-800-338-8395

If you see either one on your caller ID when the phone rings, be aware that you are being called by Credit Bureau of Carbon County. If they use deception to persuade you to re-age a debt, hire a consumer attorney immediately. Tricking you in this manner is illegal under the FDCPA, and If you file a claim against Credit Bureau of Carbon County, you could potentially win $1,000 per violation plus costs. Lack of transparency can cost an agency in the long run.

*Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is Case 1:14-cv-00882-KMT from the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.

Disclaimer: The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be constructed as legal advice. If you file a claim against Credit Bureau of Carbon County, or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.