Collection Bureau of Fort Walton Beach: Who They Are and Your Rights

Type

Collection agency

Also known as

Collection Bureau of Fort Walton Beach, Inc; Collection Bureau of Ft. Walton Beach FL, Inc.; Credit Business Services, Inc.; Credit Bureau of Panama City, LTD; Credit Bureau of Marianna; Southwest Collection Services

Headquarters

Fort Walton Beach, FL

Collects

past-due accounts placed by businesses, returned checks

Phone numbers it lists

(866) 292-9978

Website

paycbs.com

103 debt collection complaints were sent to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about Collection Bureau of Fort Walton Beach, Inc from November 13, 2023 to November 12, 2026. A complaint is a consumer's account, not a finding that the company broke the law. Read the complaints in the CFPB database.

Who Is Collection Bureau of Fort Walton Beach?

Collection Bureau of Fort Walton Beach (also written Collection Bureau of Ft. Walton Beach FL, Inc.) is a collection agency at 711 Eglin Parkway NE, Fort Walton Beach, Florida 32547. Its BBB business profile gives January 28, 1969 as its start date and lists alternate names including Credit Business Services, Inc., Credit Bureau of Panama City, LTD, Credit Bureau of Marianna and Southwest Collection Services, which suggests it has operated under several names across the Florida Panhandle. The same profile names Merwyn Landry Sr. as owner.

The company's payment website, paycbs.com, gives a consumer phone number of (866) 292-9978 and the email [email protected]. The site states that it is not affiliated with CBCS Collections, a different company with a similar web address.

Why Collection Bureau of Fort Walton Beach May Be Contacting You

The agency's website refers to collection accounts and returned checks placed with it by businesses, and its BBB listing also places it in the medical billing category. It does not name its clients. In practice, a letter from this agency most likely concerns a bill from a local business or provider in northwest Florida, or a check that bounced. If you lived in or visited the Fort Walton Beach or Panama City area, think back to any medical visit, service account or check written there. The creditor's name on the notice will tell you which.

How to Check a Debt Collection Bureau of Fort Walton Beach Says You Owe

For a local business or returned-check account, the supporting documents are usually simple and should be easy for the creditor to produce.

• Get the validation notice. It must name the creditor and itemize the balance (15 U.S.C. § 1692g; 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34).
• Dispute in writing within the validation period. For a returned check, ask for a copy of the check and the bank's return notice. For a medical bill, ask for the itemized statement and the insurance history.
• Confirm the owner of the debt. Ask whether the business still owns the account.
• Look closely at fees. Returned-check accounts can carry service charges; ask what law or agreement allows each one.
• Check the timeline. Texas generally gives four years to sue on a consumer debt (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004), and debt buyers may not sue on time-barred consumer debt (Tex. Fin. Code § 392.307). Florida and other states have their own limitation periods.

What Collection Bureau of Fort Walton Beach Can and Can't Do

A collection agency handling consumer debts for others is a "debt collector" under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). A bounced check written for personal or household purchases is a consumer "debt" under the FDCPA. So the agency:

• May not threaten arrest or criminal charges over a returned check unless that action is lawful and actually intended (15 U.S.C. § 1692e(4), (5)); see whether a collector can threaten arrest.
• May not add a charge unless the agreement or law expressly allows it (15 U.S.C. § 1692f(1)).
• May not deposit a postdated check early or demand one to threaten prosecution (15 U.S.C. § 1692f(2)–(4)).
• Is presumed to harass if it calls more than seven times in seven days about one debt (12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)(2)).

We did not find a CFPB enforcement action against Collection Bureau of Fort Walton Beach. Visit our FDCPA attorneys page to learn more.

We Sue Debt Collectors That Break the FDCPA

Texas Debt Law files Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lawsuits against debt collectors in federal court for consumers in Texas, California, Illinois, Georgia and Colorado. If Collection Bureau of Fort Walton Beach or anyone collecting for it harassed you, misstated what you owe, threatened action it could not take, or told others about your debt, you may have a claim. A court can order a collector that violated the FDCPA to pay your actual damages, up to $1,000 in additional statutory damages, and your attorney's fees and costs (15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a)). An FDCPA claim generally must be filed within one year of the violation (§ 1692k(d)), so keep your letters, call logs, voicemails and screenshots, and talk to us early. Texas residents may also have claims under the Texas Debt Collection Act. Learn more from our FDCPA attorneys.

Free FDCPA Case Review(214) 851-2250

Or start your free case evaluation online. No lawyer can promise a result; every claim depends on its facts and proof.

Sources

• Collection Bureau of Fort Walton Beach: payment site (paycbs.com)
• BBB business profile: Collection Bureau of Ft. Walton Beach FL, Inc. (address, start date, alternate names)
• CFPB enforcement actions search: Collection Bureau
• CFPB Consumer Complaint Database: Collection Bureau of Fort Walton Beach, Inc, debt collection

This profile is general information compiled from public sources, not legal advice, and it does not state or imply that Collection Bureau of Fort Walton Beach has violated any law. Company details change; tell us if something here is out of date.