Are You Being Called By Credit Bureau Collections?*

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

Some debt collectors will go to unbelievable lengths to collect money from you. They’ll threaten to garnish your wages, slander you on social media, and tell you they’ll issue a warrant for your arrest. If this happens to you, contact an attorney immediately, as threatening consumers violates federal law.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, was established in 1977 to combat collection agencies that were hounding people into bankruptcy. The FDCPA makes it illegal for third-party debt collectors to use methods like the following to collect a debt.

• Threatening legal actions they cannot take, such as having your property seized
• Revealing details about the debt to anyone but you, your spouse, attorney, and co-signers.
• Telling you that you can be arrested and imprisoned if you do not pay the amount they are demanding
• Contacting you directly even after you’ve hired an attorney to represent you in the matter
• Calling at all hours of the day and night
• Using profane and obscene language

Company Profile: Credit Bureau Collections

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

Credit Bureau Collections is a debt collection company located in Blountville, Tennessee. It opened for business as Credit Bureau of the Tri-Cities in 1948, has 20 employees and is managed by its owners, Marc A. Carter and Joey O. Nichols. Its emphasis is serving businesses throughout East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. Records retained by the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website confirm that many people who felt they were being harassed by Credit Bureau Collections did not hesitate to challenge the company in court.

Alleged Violations against Credit Bureau Collections

According to PACER, in February 8, 2013, Credit Bureau Collections began trying to collect a medical debt from a Tennessee resident. She later complained that collectors called her cell phone on numerous occasions without properly identifying themselves and that many of the calls left prerecorded messages.

Feeling harassed by Credit Bureau Collections, she hired a consumer attorney and sued the company for allegedly violating the FDCPA in the following ways:

• Failing to identify itself as a debt collector in all communications
• Using an auto-dialer to contact her
• Failing to send her a debt validation letter
• Using false, deceptive and misleading means to collect a debt

The matter was later dismissed.

Hire an Attorney

The phone numbers for this debt collection agency are:

• 1-423-354-0035
• 1-423-354-0175
• 1-800-580-0035

If any of these numbers flash on your caller ID in response to an incoming call, it means that you are being called by Credit Bureau Collections. If they call you constantly and use an autodialer to use pre-recorded messages, hire a consumer attorney. Harassing consumers in this way is illegal, and if you file a claim against Credit Bureau Collections, a judge may award you $1,000 per FDCPA violation in addition to court costs and attorney fees. Owing money does not make you a target of harassment, a reality that collection agencies forget at their own risk.

*Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is Case 3:13-cv-00271-CLC-CCS from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

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 Collections, or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.