Collection Bureau Services Phone Harassment?

Is Collection Bureau Services calling you, or worse, did they just freeze your bank account? This Missoula, Montana agency is not a typical call-and-mail collector. It runs an in-house litigation department, and consumers report that it sues, takes judgments, and garnishes wages and bank accounts, sometimes over small balances. That aggressive, lawsuit-driven style is exactly why knowing your rights matters here. Even a collector willing to go to court has to follow the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and Montana law puts real limits on what it can take from you.

Consumer Rights Law Firm PLLC has been stopping debt collector harassment since 2010. A+ BBB rated. Call (877) 700-5790 or visit our website for a free case review. You pay nothing up front. If Collection Bureau Services broke the law, they pay our fees, not you.

Are the Calls From Collection Bureau Services Legal?

Collection Bureau Services is allowed to contact you about a debt it is collecting. Because it is a third-party collection agency, the entire Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) applies to everything they do, and Montana law adds its own protections. So the calls themselves are usually legal, but the way a collector behaves, and how it uses the courts, has firm limits.

Here are the situations where the conduct may cross the line:

• Garnishing your wages or bank account without a valid, current court judgment.
• Taking more than the judgment allows, or seizing money that is legally exempt.
• Calls before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. in your time zone.
• More than seven calls in any seven-day period about the same debt.
• Refusing to send written validation of the debt after you ask for it.
• Rude, abusive, or threatening language on the phone.
• Automated or prerecorded calls to your cell phone without your consent, which triggers the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

When clients come to us about Collection Bureau Services, our attorneys look hard at the court paperwork. A collector with a litigation department can turn a phone call into a lawsuit quickly, and a garnishment based on a defective or vacated judgment is exactly the kind of thing worth challenging.

Who Is Collection Bureau Services and Why Are They Calling You?

Collection Bureau Services is a debt collection agency based on East Spruce Street in Missoula, Montana, with a second office in Billings. It has operated since 1976, is managed by Michael J. Moore, and by outside estimates employs around 26 people with roughly $7 million in annual revenue. It describes itself as a full-service collection operation and, by its own account, aims to be the leading collector in Montana.

As a third-party collector, CBS is usually contacting you about a debt that started with another business and was placed with or assigned to them. According to consumer-attorney research, CBS collects for healthcare providers such as hospitals and clinics, government agencies at the state, county, and municipal level, utilities, banks and credit unions, attorneys and CPAs, and property management companies. In several documented disputes, the account had already been reduced to a court judgment and then assigned to CBS, which changes how the collection works. The way to know exactly what the debt is and whether it is valid is to demand validation in writing.

The Lawsuit and Garnishment Angle

CBS advertises an in-house litigation department, which means it does not just call and send letters, it files lawsuits, obtains judgments, and then enforces them through wage garnishment and bank levies. Once a debt becomes a court judgment, the collector gains powerful tools, and in Montana a judgment can be enforced for ten years and renewed.

We frequently see two problems with this model. First, a garnishment or levy that goes forward on a judgment that was defective, vacated, or never properly served. Second, a seizure that takes exempt funds or more than the judgment allows. One thing consumers often misunderstand is that even after a judgment, Montana law protects a large amount of your property, and a levy that ignores those exemptions can be challenged. If CBS has frozen your account or garnished your pay, get the court file and talk to a lawyer quickly, because deadlines to object can be short.

Is Collection Bureau Services a Scam or a Legitimate Company?

Collection Bureau Services is a legitimate, long-established company, not a phantom scam. It has operated in Montana since 1976, holds an A+ BBB rating, and its stated mission is to collect in a way that preserves the dignity and self-respect of Montana consumers. So the calls are not a spoofing scam.

Legitimate does not mean every practice is proper, though. CBS has drawn consumer complaints alleging billing and garnishment problems, and, most notably, the Montana Supreme Court has already upheld a finding that the company violated the FDCPA, as described below. Consumer complaints frequently mention rude phone conduct and aggressive levies. Treat the contact seriously, confirm the debt and any judgment, and know that a strong BBB grade does not waive your federal rights.

Collection Bureau Services BBB Complaints: What Consumers Report

Source: Better Business Bureau

The BBB profile for Collection Bureau Services shows 4 complaints over the past three years, all of which the company answered. The number is small, but the substance is striking, because the complaints cluster around lawsuits, judgments, and garnishment rather than simple phone calls. Here are examples from the live BBB page, presented as the consumer’s allegation and the company’s response.

The most serious, dated September 30, 2025, involved a garnishment dispute. The consumer wrote that after a summons, a court letter later said the service was invalid for lack of a judicial signature, yet CBS still garnished a savings account and tried to garnish a paycheck.

“without any further notice or valid court order, the company garnished my savings account, taking more than the amount owed. They also attempted to garnish my paycheck for the same amount on my birthday.”

The consumer added that a court later set aside the default judgment as void for lack of jurisdiction. In its response, CBS stated that the court had entered judgment on July 21, 2025, that the levy occurred after that, and that the seized funds were refunded on October 8 at the court’s direction, while maintaining the debt remains unpaid. The dispute shows how quickly a judgment-based collection can escalate into a levy, and why the validity of the underlying judgment matters so much.

Two other complaints, from April 2025 and February 2024, followed a similar pattern: the consumer said they had no contract with CBS and had not received the original agreement, and CBS responded that the account had already been reduced to a court judgment and assigned to it, so no contract was needed to collect. A fourth complaint, from November 2023, appears to have been a case of mistaken identity, with CBS responding that it could not locate the consumer in its system. What our clients tell us matches this picture: with CBS, the fight is usually about a judgment and a garnishment, not just a ringing phone.

Federal and State Lawsuits Involving Collection Bureau Services

Collection Bureau Services has a documented litigation history as both a plaintiff, when it sues consumers, and a defendant. The most important case for consumers is one it lost.

Collection Bureau Services, Inc. v. Morrow

Source: FindLaw, Montana Supreme Court

In this Montana Supreme Court case decided in 2004, a consumer had written eight small bad checks, ranging from $10.20 to $25.00, to merchants including Pizza Hut, totaling $148.96. CBS sent eight letters, each demanding the face value plus a $30 collection fee, and later sued for the balance plus statutory damages of $100 per check under Montana’s bad-check statute. The lower court found that by accepting partial payments, CBS had waived its right to those statutory damages, and that pursuing them anyway violated the FDCPA. The consumer was awarded $40 in actual damages, $1,000 in statutory FDCPA damages, court costs, and $17,000 in attorney fees. On appeal, the Montana Supreme Court rejected CBS’s bona fide error defense and upheld the judgment against the company.

The takeaway is not that every CBS case ends this way, because each case turns on its own facts. The takeaway is that a court has already found this company liable under the FDCPA, and that a collector adding fees or damages it is not entitled to is a recognized violation. Consumer-attorney research also notes additional civil litigation involving CBS and multiple CFPB complaints, and federal filings against any collector can be searched through PACER, though full documents require a PACER account.

Your Legal Rights When Collection Bureau Services Is Calling You

• FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act): Applies in full because CBS is a third-party collector. It bans harassment, abusive language, false statements, and collecting amounts you do not owe, and gives you the right to demand written validation and to send a cease-and-desist. Statutory damages can reach $1,000 per lawsuit, plus actual damages and attorney fees, as the Morrow case shows.
• Montana Statute of Limitations: In Montana, the limitations period is generally eight years on a written contract and five years on an oral contract, while a court judgment can be enforced for ten years and renewed. Knowing which clock applies to your debt can change your options.
• Montana Garnishment and Exemption Rules: Montana caps wage garnishment at 25% of disposable earnings and protects a range of property, including a homestead exemption of $364,000 when a Homestead Declaration is filed, vehicle equity, and fully exempt funds such as Social Security, veterans and disability benefits, retirement accounts, and child support. A levy that takes exempt money can be challenged.
• TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act): Restricts automated and prerecorded calls to your cell phone without consent, which you can revoke at any time. Violations run $500 to $1,500 per call.
• FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act): Protects you from inaccurate credit reporting, including a wrong amount, a wrong date, or a debt reported after it was paid. Furnishers must investigate disputes within 30 days.
• Montana Consumer Protection Act: Montana consumers may have additional remedies under the state’s unfair-and-deceptive-practices law for improper collection conduct.

Collection Bureau Services FDCPA and Montana Law Violations

How to Stop Collection Bureau Services Phone Calls?

Step 1: Get the court file and start a log. If CBS has sued you or garnished you, pull the court paperwork immediately, because the validity of the judgment is often the whole case. Also log every call with the date, time, number, whether it was a person or a recording, and what was said, and save voicemails and letters. If any call was automated to your cell phone, the count matters, because TCPA damages run per call.

Step 2: Demand written validation of the debt. Send Collection Bureau Services a debt validation letter by certified mail to 212 E Spruce Street, Missoula, MT 59802-4502, demanding the name of the original creditor, the amount, and proof the debt is yours. If they claim a judgment, ask for the case number and a copy of it. Collection must pause until they validate. See our debt validation letter guide.

Step 3: Protect exempt money and challenge improper garnishment. If CBS levied your bank account or garnished your wages, identify any exempt funds, such as Social Security or disability, and act fast to claim the exemption in court. A garnishment on a vacated or defective judgment may be reversible, and exempt money may be recoverable.

Step 4: Send a cease-and-desist if the calls are excessive. Under FDCPA §805(c), once CBS confirms receipt of your written request, they may only contact you to confirm they are stopping or to notify you of specific legal action. Every contact after that is an individual, documentable violation. Send it certified mail and keep the receipt. See our cease-and-desist letter guide.

Step 5: File complaints and call a consumer attorney. File with the FTC, the CFPB, the Montana Attorney General, and, for robocalls, the FCC. Then call Consumer Rights Law Firm PLLC at (877) 700-5790 or request a free case review. If Collection Bureau Services violated federal or Montana law, the statutes shift the attorney fees onto the collector. You pay nothing.

Consumer Rights Law Firm PLLC

Consumer Rights Law Firm PLLC is a law firm that specializes in helping clients who are facing harassment from debt collectors in any form, including telephone communication. Rather than suffer alone, contact our office to begin the process to stop the harassment. Our office has been assisting consumers since 2010. We have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

If you are interested in learning more about how to safeguard yourself and prevent harassment from Collection Bureau Services call us at (877)700-5790 for immediate assistance or visit our website.

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