My husband recently tried to remortgage. Strangely, a blackmark against his credit showed up - a telus bill from 2007 that went to CBV collentions. We aways kept up on our bills, so couldn't understand what was going on, so we contacted telus. They asked for the last 3 digits of my husbands drivers license, and determined that they do not match the account that CBV is coming after us for. Same name, different person, different city, different phone number.

So.. my husband contacted CBV to straighten it out. They assured him that the error would be fixed and that they would email him a letter that same day stating that we did not owe them anything. Well, that was last thursday...and still no email. To top it off, they don't seem to want to return our calls now.

My sister was just in a serious accident and is laying in a hospital with a broken spine. I live the closest, and was to be going to stay in the city she is in.

My husband and I recently separated. I recieve my share when he remortgages. All the paperwork is done and we are in full agreement. All that is holding up the settlement is getting the banks ok... and what is holding that up is CBV's mistake. I can't afford to move to the city where my sister is and be with her untill CBV corrects their error. They've caused an incredible amount of stress.

This whole thing has just been way to much.

Well, even though I have to bite my tongue when talking about CBV Collection Services at least they have a website to look at, unlike many of the other collection agencies in Canada.

Here is what I found on some searches on Google.com for CBV Collection Services

Shop in Canada is promoting their services to potential corporate prospects.

texerta.com has a directory listing to some Vancouver based collection agencies.

Straight.com vancouver
Apparently "Vancouver filmmaker Michael Bishop has told the Straight that he was called a ?queer? on a phone message left by a bill collector calling from CBV Collection Services Ltd."

I'm not surprised with this as CBV Collection services has been known for some of their "creative" ways to collect. This includes calling my 11 year old daughter and intimidating her. They weren't collecting me, they were calling on behalf of one of my credit repair clients.

As with this straight.com article Bob Richards, senior vice- president of CBV Collection Services denied everything saying that their collectors are angels and only doing their job.

I did a search at BC licensing for the collection agent that called my 11 year old daughter, and it seems that he's been licensed with approximately 4 different collection agencies in the last few years. Interesting!!

Michael Bishop, if you're out there, let us know what happened with your dealings with CBV collections.

NEXT...
BBB website?
I question this because it shows up as a numbered IP address.
According to this page.

BBB Customer Experience
"Based on BBB files, this company has a satisfactory record with the Bureau. The Bureau has processed customer complaints on this company in its three-year reporting period. The number and type of complaints are not unusual for a company in this industry. A satisfactory record means a company has been in business for at least 12 months, and properly addressed matters referred by the Bureau. The company does not have an unusual volume of complaints, or any government actions involving its marketplace conduct. The Bureau understands and has no concerns about the company's products, services and type of business. "

I'm interested to know how many complaints have been filed against CBV Collection Services. The statement, "The number and type of complaints are not unusual for a company in this industry" is rather interesting.

I believe the BBB in the U.S. actually lists the amount and nature of complaints against companies.

CBV Collection Services PRIVACY COMPLAINT Law suit
"ALBERTA INFORMATION AND PRIVACY COMMISSIONER Report of an Investigation Concerning the Disclosure and Security of Personal Information July 21, 2005.
CBV Collection Services Ltd. Investigation Report P2005-IR-006 I.


Oops .. looks like CBV Collections have some privacy violations.

Canadian Student Debt Forum has a discussion here about CBV Collections. Johnny who apparently owns The Canadian Financial Wellness Group (CFWG) has posted some comments regarding CBV.

CBV Collection Resume Page where you can apply for a job at CBV.

Some of their questions here are:
? Do you currently hold a Debt Collection Licence?
? If yes, in which Province?

? If yes, how many complaints have been lodged or filed against you in the past 3 years?
It's interesting that they would want to know how many complaints have been filed against a collection agent in the last three years. It's also interesting to note that people do complain about collection agents and collection agencies.

David T.S. Fraser's Privacy Blog
I spoke to David T.S. Fraser recently and congratulated him on his blog.
This article talks about how a legal action against CBV where one of its collection agents faxed information about the debtor to the debtor's place of business. That's nasty.

I would be complaining all over the place if somebody showed my private financial information at the office. This could cause serious damage to a person's reputation.
You can read more about it in the article.

CBV's autodialling individual's to collect -PHONE SPAM
This one is priceless. This discussion forum has Kim complaining about the following:
"Is anyone else locally having problems with this? Every day like clockwork, I get calls from this automated service that begins "Hello, this is not a solicitation call"..."

Question: How exactly does an individual authorize a automated phone call to their residence from a collection agency?

This is my report for today.

If you have seen any similar articles on google or msn and would like to report them here we would be pleased to read them. As well, please do share your own stories about CBV collection services or any other collection agency on Canadian Money Advisor.

Thanks