Professional Bureau of Collections of Maryland Inc or PBCM is a third-party debt collection agency based in Colorado. PBCM has received complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), including improper contact or sharing of information and attempts to collect debts not owed. If you have been contacted by Professional Bureau of Collections of Maryland, make sure you understand your rights before responding.
The harassing company pays our fees.
They’re legit. According to the BBB, Professional Bureau of Collections of Maryland, Inc. is a legitimate collection agency founded in 2000. The BBB established PBCM’s profile page in 2004. PBCM is listed as a collection agency. Buzzfile estimates PBCM’s annual revenue at $13.2 million and the size of its headquarters staff at 45 employees, with an estimated total of 160 employees at all locations.
According to its website, Professional Bureau of Collections of Maryland “is a full-service national accounts receivable management (ARM) company that focuses in 1st party collections (pre-charge off), 3rd party collections, and servicing of performing portfolios.” PBCM was founded in Northern California and “through… their commitment to compliance and advanced use of recovery management software, … has grown to serve clients in all 50 U.S. states, including Hawaii, and even Puerto Rico.”
As a full-service accounts receivables management company, Professional Bureau of Collections of Maryland offers a full range of accounting services for companies in many industries. PBCM’s 1st party collections division employs “account specialists…to…maintain seamless processes and maximize client returns…using a professional customer service-based approach in contacting customers and reminding them of their obligations to their overdue accounts.” PBCM’s 3rd party collections division helps both small and large businesses “recover lost revenue from delinquent accounts” using “techniques such as skip tracing tools, collection letters, credit reporting, and more.” In addition, PBCM offers ARM and portfolio management services, including account acknowledgement, client statement production, inventory services, and actuarial performance reports.
Professional Bureau of Collections of Maryland accepts accounts from a wide range of businesses, including banks and credit unions; consumer and auto finance; healthcare; property and service contracts; communications and utilities; municipalities; and educational institutes.
Professional Bureau of Collections of Maryland indicates that it “places great emphasis on maintaining state and federal compliance regulations.” PBCM has an in-house compliance department and its “accounts receivable staff is educated on all applicable regulations regarding 1st party collections, 3rd party collections, and servicing of performing portfolios.” However, PBCM’s client-facing website does not include a consumer resources page.
Who are we? We are Lemberg Law, a Consumer Law Firm
Lemberg Law is a consumer law firm helping victims of collection harassment and abuse. We are ranked A+ by the BBB. We’ve helped more than 15,000 consumers stop harassment and recover money from debt collectors. Harassed? Abused? Misled by a collector? Call our Helpline today! There is no charge unless we win.
The BBB has closed 31 complaints against Professional Bureau of Collections of Maryland in the past three years, with 13 complaints closed in the past 12 months. Most of those complaints alleged problems with billing and collections. Since June 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has closed 36 complaints against PBCM. Justia lists at least 12 cases of civil litigation involving Professional Bureau of Collections of Maryland.
Professional Bureau of Collections of Maryland, Inc.
5295 DTC Parkway
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
Telephone: 800-270-9685
Website: https://www.pbccorp.com/
It is illegal for a debt collector to make empty threats to sue you or garnish your wages. It is also unlikely Professional Bureau of Collections of Maryland would sue you for a debt you may not owe or they cannot validate. However, debt collection agencies are known to have summoned debtors to court and garnish wages after a default judgement. Contacting an attorney BEFORE this could possibly happen would be a smart move. We’ve helped thousands of consumers fight back against unscrupulous debt collection harassers. Find out if we can help you too today!
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Unlawful Debt Harassment? Learn the Law & Sue the Collector.
Absolutely. You can sue a debt collector. Here are some Sample Cases
In July 2013, in United States District Court for the District of Utah, Central Division, a judge issued a Memorandum and Order in a case alleging several violations of financial laws, including the FDCPA. In this case, the plaintiff acquired a loan in December 2006 from First Community Bank (FCB) for $576,000. The purpose of the loan was to finance the construction of a home. He completed the construction project and made installment payments on the loan between 2006 and 2009. In 2009, the home was “short sold” for $340,000, and the plaintiff allegedly renegotiated his loan with FCB. Under the new loan agreement, FCB agreed to write off the $230,000 balance of the original loan in exchange for the issuance of a $25,000 personal loan.
The plaintiff allegedly made payments as agreed on the new loan through 2012, when it was sold to US Bank. When US Bank acquired the loan, they allegedly “contracted with… Professional Bureau of Collections of Maryland…for collection of the $230,000 balance remaining on the original 2006 construction loan.” As a result, the plaintiff claimed that US bank “committed a breach of contract, a breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and a violation of the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act (UCSPA) by attempting to collect the construction loan deficiency balance, through the efforts of the co-defendant PBCM, in violation of the ‘New Loan’ agreement.” In addition, he claimed that PBCM violated the FDCPA’s prohibition against the use of unfair or unconscionable means to collect a debt.
At the July 2013 hearing, both US Bank and Professional Bureau of Collections of Maryland had entered motions to dismiss, and the hearing was held to determine whether the complaint would be allowed to move forward. US Bank argued that the plaintiff’s claims were subject to dismissal because he failed “to plead facts necessary to state these claims and that he…failed to plead reasonable and plausible factual detail to support these claims.” The court disagreed, indicating that US bank was arguing that they did not agree that the facts of the plaintiff’s case were enough to prove a violation; whereas, to grant a motion to dismiss based on failure to state a claim, they would have to show that the plaintiff’s complaint itself was insufficient for consideration. Specifically, PBCM’s motion to dismiss was based on their argument that only the collection of debts “contracted by consumers for personal, family, or household purposes” are regulated by the FDCPA; therefore, because the debt in question was a construction loan, the plaintiff could not bring charges under this law. The court disagreed, indicating that “whether the loan was for personal or commercial purposes… is a question that will need to be explored during discovery,” and that “the dispute cannot be resolved on a Motion to Dismiss, where the court must accept a plaintiff’s allegations as true.”
As a result, both US Bank’s and Professional Bureau of Collections of Maryland Motions to Dismiss were denied, and the plaintiff was allowed to proceed with his complaint.
Federal laws protect you. The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) regulates the behavior of collection agencies by prohibiting actions such as the use of abusive or threatening language; harassment; or the use of false or misleading information to collect a debt. The FCRA regulates how collection agencies and creditors report delinquent debts to credit reporting agencies. Additional consumer protection laws include the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA).
Yes. If you want to enforce your rights, or recover money for violations — you need to sue. Federal laws provide individuals like you with a means to seek monetary damages in court. For example, the FDCPA allows consumers who have been violated to recover damages of up to $1,000, plus attorney fees and court costs.
You may have a case, if…
“As we discussed on the phone earlier today, this settlement is perfectly okay to me. I need to thank you and all of your cohorts at Lemberg Law to get a project handled so professionally. Please allow Amy, the first person who contacted me from Lemberg, know how much I appreciate her efforts, kindness, and professionalism.”
“I won’t be afraid to contact you or recommend your services to others for applicable legal issues. Please keep up the outstanding work you do, and again, thank you for helping me through this challenging time. I’m most grateful. I can not say thank you enough!”
“I received outstanding professionalism from the own staff. I had a horrible experience when trying to solve a debt. 1 debt collector associate said she would speak to the prosecutor’s office and another representative told me that when I called the office back he would call the police and have me arrested. I had been insulted, mocked, and threatened, and feared that the police would appear at my door any given moment.”
“I just wanted to let you know we received the check from your office on now and I wanted to take some time to inform you that we really appreciate all of your efforts in this matter.”
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Sergei Lemberg is an attorney focusing on consumer law, class actions related to automotive issues, and personal injury litigation. With nearly two decades of experience, his areas of practice include Lemon Law (vehicle defects), Debt Collection Harassment, TCPA (illegal robocalls and texts), Fair Credit Reporting Act, Overtime claims, Personal Injury cases, and Class Actions. He has consistently been recognized as the nation's "most active consumer attorney." In 2020, Mr. Lemberg represented Noah Duguid before the United States Supreme Court in the landmark case Duguid v. Facebook. He is also the author of "Defanging Debt Collectors," a guide that empowers consumers to fight back against debt collectors and prevail, as well as "Lemon Law 101: The Laws That Lemon Dealers Don't Want You to Know."
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Pcb collection agency has been calling and harassing me over a debt that i do not have.
Professional Bureau of Maryland. Inc called me today about my defaulted student loans in an attempt for a rehabilitation plan. The first thing I told her is that I have a brain injury, and she needs to slow down. I became disabled in 2007 due to domestic violence, and SSDI started in 2010, but my doctors told me that they do not know how to complete a Total Permanent Disability form, and so far Social Security evaluates my case every 3 years. I stopped the phone call before providing the payment information or agreeing to a contract with the company. The caller had my name, address, phone number, and she said that the information came from The Dept. of Treasury. I hope that conversation does not cause me headaches and financial problems.
This has got to be the most unorganized company ever. They have ONE fax number for millions of people to send in documents. The efile cabinet they give you to attempt to upload documents doesn’t work. I have been trying to upload for a month and nothing. Fax is always, always busy, which is expected being that it’s only one number. But yet I get told my wages will be garnished if I don’t get the documents in. The DOE chose the worst company ever to “collect their debt”
PCBM started calling me in May about a student loan that they said I had defaulted on. I had no knowledge that I had defaulted on a student loan, and I told the person who called me that my loans were all in repayment with Fed Loan Servicing and that I had no loans in default. I told the person I had to check into it before I would agree to pay. About a day later, PCBM called my employer and told them I had a defaulted student loan and that they wanted to garnish my wages. I have contact an attorney and the student loan oversight people about this, and they both told me that PCBM did nothing wrong since they are under contract with the US Dept. of Education.
I had to call the office of defaulted loans at the US Dept. of Education about the loan that they said I had defaulted on. They said that I hadn’t made payments on it since 2013. I thought loans went into default if they hadn’t made payments for 9 months. So, my loan went into default and they just got around to contacting me about it in 2019? Really? Also, nobody ever reported this supposed default to the credit reporting agencies, so how could I have known that it was in default? I never got a letter or any communication from the US Dept. of Education saying I had a defaulted student loan.
I have had to deal with PCBM calling me constantly asking about the “necessary documents.” It took me forever to get my documents to them because the people who work there couldn’t tell me where to send them. I originally agreed to pay $80 a month, but once they found out my income level, then they wanted $120 a month (and I don’t make THAT much money). I told them I was already paying $262 in student loans to FedLoan and that I couldn’t afford that. Then I had to upload another document proving that I had those loans, and nobody could tell me where to send them.
Then, this stupid girl from PCBM called my employer AGAIN and told them I had a defaulted student loan and they were trying to verify employment. I had already given them a copy of my W2! There was no apology, nothing. They simply do not care. So, they have called my employer twice. I spoke to a lawyer and he told me that they were totally justified in doing that since, like I said, they are under contract with the U.S. Dept. of Education. The lawyer even said they were probably going to garnish my wages, even though I was paying. I asked him if they could garnish even though I had been paying, and he said he didn’t know. Worthless!
Then to top it all off, a few days after I sent the documentation to them, they called me and said that they changed their system around and that I had to upload all my documents again. This is ridiculous. They call me all the time and leave the same stupid message.
I started paying them in May and they stopped withdrawing payments in November. I hadn’t even realized they had stopped withdrawing payments until I checked my accounts. I have checked with US Dept. of Ed and they said that the account is with them.
I am afraid to file my tax return because I am afraid that these PCBM people told the government that I stopped making my payments and they will steal my tax return again or that they haven’t reported to them that I have made payments. They are the dumbest, most disorganized people I have ever had to deal with. The only thing I can think of to do is to call the default department at the US Dept. of Ed, but they have the rudest, stupidest people working at that department. It seems everyone who works in collections is a low IQ jerk who loves to sit on the phone and argue with people.
The worst thing to happen the student loan debtors. This company is run by absolute fraudsters. They dont report to US Dept of Education for repayment after entering into repayment, so your loans will never get out of default. Ive lost many nights sleep because of this company. Horrendous. We will see in a few years about how they ripped off students and the US Dept of Education in a few years. Just wait and see.
They are terrible. They refuse to take money out then say I missed payments. Go to anywhere else. Dont take out loans here
I believe them to be scammers. “This call will be recorded, verify your name, DOB, last 4 of your SSN. First they asked for me, then on the 2nd call, they asked for my husband. I will keep telling them they are scammers and hang up.
PBCM has placed a collection account on my credit file in the past. I contacted them for verification of debt and although I heard nothing back, it was removed from my credit report. In June of this year, they placed the collection on again. I contacted them again for verification of debt, I’ve gotten no response and the file still remains on my credit report. Can you help me get this collection removed?