Consumer complaint received 2023-04-22
Company: The CBE Group, Inc.
State: IL
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-issue: Account status incorrect

Complaint:
I purchased a new XXXX from XXXX and paid it in full at time of purchase. The employee at XXXX was to transfer my business cell phone number XXXX from XXXX XXXX XXXX to XXXX. to remove from XXXX XXXX XXXX. After 2 days I went back to the store and the XXXX Representative informed me that it takes a week to transfer a phone number. However, my employee was able to transfer his phone the same day. I was leaving for overseas travel ( which was the sole purpose for purchasing the new phone ) so after another day I went back in, and the same XXXX representative insisted again that everything was in process and that he was extremely hung over so I should come back again the following day for him to assist! 

My number was never transferred from XXXX XXXX XXXX to XXXX. To this day my cell number is still with XXXX XXXX XXXX on my old device. 
After several calls and attempts to the XXXX XXXX customer service line I was told there was no way with the new XXXX to reverse this and that I would need to delete my XXXX XXXX. I called XXXX directly per their request and deleted the XXXX XXXX associated with the new phone. I then returned to the XXXX authorized dealer 3 times during regular business hours and the store was closed. XXXX authorized dealer located at : XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, IL XXXX After that I called XXXX XXXX customer care again and after talking to several different representatives the final call was that none of the representatives knew how to handle this with the new e-sim card having just been released. That was the day I was leaving for overseas, and explained to them I could no longer move forward with any of this, and the return time would expire before I returned from travels. The representative on the phone assured me I could use the phone when connected to the internet as a tablet device but would not have cell service. As the new camera was needed for my work travel, I had to take it with me and use ONLY on internet as there was NO actual cellular data on the device. XXXX billed me for Cell service which I never received and ultimately turn it into collection. 
The XXXX representative, from customer care finally figured out that the initial XXXX representative that I dealt with had type in the wrong phone number not the actual number that was to be transferred from XXXX XXXX XXXX. I was informed they could not fix their error as this was the new device that had just been released and they didnt know how to resolve the issue due to the new e-sim and there was no way for them to correct the error. The XXXX representative assured me I would not receive a phone bill as the phone number was never transferred to the phone, and never activated. I asked for this information in writing as I would be traveling for months for work and could not access the XXXX XXXX customer care from the new device. I was informed by XXXX they could not provide me anything in writing. The XXXX XXXX XXXX representative repeatedly told me not to be concerned that due to the phone number not being transferred there would be no cellular service and since there was no service, I would not receive a bill. I was told by the XXXX representative they could not provide me anything in writing. 
When returning after several travels I received a bill for one month of service. I immediately called XXXX and was assured by the XXXX representative it was a mistake and it would take a couple months for billing to catch up and i would eventually get the documentation via US mail with a XXXX balance on the automatic generated bill. 
After returning from additional work travel, I received the same bill but now from a collection agency by the name of CBE Capital. 
I contacted XXXX, and they said yes, we see you have never had any calls or services of any kind on this phone but that they had already sent my account to collections and i would have to deal with the collection agency directly and that there was no way for them to contact the agency to correct their error. 
After 4 phone calls of not being able to communicate with the representatives at the CBE Capital, I finally agreed to pay the bill as the one-month fee was no longer worth the time I have spent trying to resolve this issue. As soon as i agreed to pay the bill the representative From CBE Capital asked for my social security number. I provided the last 4 digits of my SS # and the representative said I needed to provide the entire SS # otherwise there is no way for them to locate my account.

I immediately hung up as I know you never give out your full social security number to anyone especially over the phone.

I called back to get a different representative from the CBE Capital who in turn asked me again for my full SS #. I informed them I was not willing to provide my SS # over the phone and I was told by the collection agency again without the full ss # they could not locate my account and they would not offer another solution to resolve this. 
Not only did I purchase a phone I can not use, but their incompetence has also caused my XXXX credit score to drop by approximately 100 points. I had entered a purchase contract for a new home and due to the collection showing on my credit, it causes me to have to take a higher interest rate for my mortgage. It increased the interest rate by .50 percent. I have disputed this collection with XXXX on XX/XX/2023 but have not receive any communication. I understand it can take up to 30 days to get a response from XXXX and since my purchase contract requires me to close before 30 days, I will be forced to take the higher interest on the mortgage for the purchase of the property. 

Please let me know what my rights are involving this case, and if there is anything we can do to resolve this quickly. I dont believe without the help of the CFPB that this will get resolved with XXXX XXXX XXXX or CBE Capital. 

I am thankful to have agency like the CFPB to help resolve this.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation