Are you receiving annoying phone calls from CBE Group and you ignore them? You might want to pay attention.
CBE Group is a collection agency. They may be calling because they have a collection in your name. While the phone calls are annoying, it’s what they do to your credit report and credit score that is concerning.
If CBE Group reports your collection to the credit bureaus, it will stay on your credit report for 7 years. That’s 7 years of lenders seeing that you defaulted on a debt and since CBE collections for all types of creditors, it could look really bad when you try to apply for new credit.
Fortunately, you can remove CBE Group from your credit report using these steps.
Make Sure the Debt is Valid
First, make sure the CBE Group debt is valid. It may not be if they made an error or are unfairly reporting the debt.
You have 30 days from the first time they contact you via phone or letter to validate the debt, so act fast.
Write CBE a letter asking them for proof that you owe this debt. Also, ask for proof that they have the right to collect in your state and that the debt belongs to you. They could have the wrong name, account number, or account information, which would make the collection invalid.
If it’s invalid, the law requires that they remove the debt from your credit report. This is the fastest way to remove CBE Group from your credit report.
But, if you miss your 30-day opportunity, there’s another chance – you can dispute the debt.
Disputing the Debt
Disputing the debt takes a little more work and time. When you dispute it you are appealing to the credit bureau reporting the debt.
Here are the necessary steps:
- Pull your free credit reports to determine which credit bureau reported the debt (Equifax, Experian, or Trans Union)
- Look over the tradeline and look for errors in your name, account number, payment debts, the debt amount, or anything else
- Write a letter to the credit bureau reporting the debt pointing out the errors and supplying proof that they are wrong
- Follow up with the credit bureau after 30 days or pull your credit report again to see if they removed it
By law, the credit bureau has 30 days to look into the issue. If they can’t prove anything other than what you state, they must remove CBE from your credit report.
Pay the Debt and ask for a Pay-for-Delete
There’s one more step if the above didn’t work. Most people end up at this step anyway since removing the debt doesn’t mean you don’t owe it. It just removes the tradeline from your credit report. This is what’s most important, but of course, you should make good on your debt too.
Before you pay the debt, remember this.
CBE bought your debt for less than it’s worth. You can negotiate a settlement amount that’s less than what you owe. They may counteroffer your bid, so make sure you have room to increase your offer should they deny your first request.
If you were unsuccessful in removing CBE Group from your credit report using the steps above, you can also request a pay-for-delete. This means that in exchange for the agreed-upon payment, CBE will remove the tradeline from your credit report.
Since collections hurt your credit report quite a bit, this is important. Don’t agree to a settlement until they agree to do this and get the agreement in writing. If you pay the debt and they don’t delete it from your credit report, you can take the written agreement to the credit bureaus and dispute the debt as we discussed above.
Without the written proof, you’d have no leg to stand on and wouldn’t be able to dispute it.
Have a Professional Remove the Collection
Lastly, if you’re the type of person who would rather have a professional handle it and just be done with the whole thing, I suggest you check out Lexington Law Credit Repair. They’ll take care of you, and honestly they usually get negative items removed quicker than if you try to do it yourself. Give them a call at 1-844-331-6062 or Check out our review of their service.