Consumer complaint received 2015-08-07
Product: Debt collection — Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.)
Issue: Disclosure verification of debt — Right to dispute notice not received
Company: Collection Bureau Services, Inc. (MT)

This is a story of a {$6.00} check and bad and deceptive business practices. 

I wrote a {$6.00} check to a burger joint that refuses to accept electronic payments. I rarely use checks because, today, they seem dated and arcane, but the restaurant only accepts cash or check, and I had no cash on me. I forgot about the XXXX dollar check and opened a new bank account and transferred all my money from the drawn account. The day the check was dishonored, XXXX/XXXX/15, I noticed it because I check my bank statement religiously. I pleaded with the XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, to let me cover the check and any service charge they may have been charged. At least XXXX times, I called and stopped by the restaurant to try to discuss the issue with someone with authority there. I even left my business card. I was never contacted, nor had my calls returned. This constitutes awful business practices and unprofessionalism. Eventually, because they kept ignoring me and my efforts, I thought that the restaurant was just going to eat the loss, so I stopped contacting them. 

Two months later, in the middle of the homebuying process, I check my credit report and see that there is a collection action on my account. I was shocked because no one had contacted me about any debt. I had to XXXX the collection agency 's name, Credit Bureau Services, found on my credit report, and called them to inquire what the hell this collection action was all about. They responded that it was in regards to the aforementioned {$6.00} check that I had long forgotten about. The extortionists at this agency did not even bother contacting the bank or my phone number on the check. Instead, they considered it sufficient to send a couple notices to wrong or old addresses - hence the deceptive business practices. They admitted that they sent a notice to the wrong city, even though they had the right street address. I called these dishonorable thugs and told them I 'd gladly pay the check and charges if they 'd remove the collection action from my credit reports. They said no, even though such practice is common for debts less than {$500.00}. I mentioned to them that I had reached out to the Payee several times in attempts to settle the debt, and told them that the check said it was n't valid for less than {$200.00}. This was still not convincing to them. 

I 'm very active in the community and there are several ways of reaching me. I also have several online public profiles. But no notice of this {$6.00} debt was sent to any one of those places. I 'm of belief that they seek to provide as little notice as possible, which I am sure their procedure violates some law ( s ), so they can say they " provided notice of the debt ''. They do this in order to extort people into paying several times the face amount of the debt ( in my case XXXX times the amount of the debt ), using the damage to one 's credit score as leverage. 

To this day, I have still not received anything in writing from this agency. I was not notified of my right to dispute the debt or the agency 's procedures. And, as far as I can tell, my credit report does not reflect the fact that the debt was paid.