The CBE Group Sued Over 'Abusive' Debt Collection Tactics

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The CBE Group, Inc. is the defendant in a proposed class action lawsuit that claims the debt collector sent consumers “confusing” and “misleading” collection letters in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The plaintiffs allege that CBE sent them collection letters stating: “You now have the opportunity to pay this account in full or we may report the debt to one or more of the three national credit bureaus after the fortieth (40^th) day from the date of this letter.” Also included in the letters was the required disclosure informing the recipients that they had 30 days to dispute the alleged debt, the complaint claims. The plaintiffs argue that the two deadlines are confusing because the letter fails to explain how they fit together. If the plaintiffs decide to dispute the debts within the 30-day validation period, they would have less than 10 days to receive verification from CBE and pay the alleged debts, according to the suit.

One of the plaintiffs also claims she had previously received another letter in the same format from CBE and that the debt collector had not reported the debt to the aforementioned credit reporting agencies after 40 days had passed. The suit argues that the defendant’s threat of negative actions it had no intention of taking was illegal and meant to intimidate the unsophisticated consumer into paying off his or her debt as soon as possible.