If you suspect you’re getting multiple calls a week (or day) from a Tennessee area code, you’re not going crazy. RoboKiller has registered over 28,000 calls from that single phone number, and dozens of consumers across various complaint forums have been reporting the same phenomenon for years.
So who exactly is calling you from 423-354-0175?
CBC, LLC is a third-party debt collection agency based in Blountville, Tennessee. Here are the essential details you need to know about this company:
Full legal name: CBC, LLC
Formerly known as: Credit Bureau Collections (est. 1942)
Type of company: Third-party debt collector and first-party account servicer
Industry specialty: Medical debt and healthcare receivables
Address: 2016 Highway 75, Suite 6, Blountville, TN 37617
Company structure: Privately held
Estimated employees: 20–50
Estimated annual revenue: Less than $5 million
Service area: Over 800 clients in 18 states
Tennessee Collection License: #618
Alternate business names: Mar-Joe Enterprises, Credit Bureau Services Inc., Credit Bureau of Kingsport, Credit Bureau of Tri-Cities
CBC was founded in 2003 or 2004, the result of consolidating five regional collection agencies in the Kingsport and Johnson City, Tennessee area. Despite its small size, the company claims it handles over 2 million patient calls every year.
You’re not the only one who’s wondered who’s calling from 423-354-0175
Formal enforcement actions? Zero. But CBC Collections’ pattern of consumer complaints is a different story altogether.
The Better Business Bureau currently lists 29 complaints filed against CBC, LLC, and the pace of new complaints is accelerating. 18 of those 29 complaints were filed in the past 12 months alone. The CFPB’s consumer complaint database shows at least 77 closed complaints, though the actual number is likely much higher by now.
So why is CBC Collections calling you?
Medical debt is their bread and butter
CBC Collections is in the business of collecting unpaid medical bills for hospitals, medical groups, and other healthcare providers. Known CBC clients include Holston Medical Group in Johnson City, Tennessee, and the company has historic ties to Ballad Health (formerly Mountain States Health Alliance). CBC also collects for at least one utility company, JC Utilities in Johnson City.
If you’ve ever been a patient somewhere – especially at a hospital or facility in the southeastern United States – an outstanding balance or insurance dispute could have landed your account on CBC’s collection list. Billing errors, insurance payment delays, and miscommunication about patient balances are routine ways accounts end up in collections when they shouldn’t be there at all.
They might not even be calling the right person
One theme that keeps emerging in complaints about this number is that CBC calls a lot of people who don’t actually owe them anything. Wrong number calls and calls seeking deceased individuals are among the top reasons consumers report calls from 423-354-0175.
“I’m SO TIRED of getting calls from this CBC place,” wrote one exasperated consumer on 800Notes. “They are looking for someone I’ve never even HEARD OF.” Far from an isolated incident, multiple platforms show consumers getting repeated calls for total strangers, suggesting CBC is working off outdated or incorrect databases.
What CBC Collections is hoping will happen when they call you from 423-354-0175
They’re counting on you to panic and pay
This is the emotional playbook collection agencies like CBC are counting on when they call you. They’re hoping the ringing phone is enough to make you pick up, engage, and pay whatever they claim you owe without questions.
The minute you answer and start negotiating, you’ve already done what they were hoping for. Paying an unverified debt doesn’t make the problem go away; in some cases, making a payment on an old or disputed debt can even reset the clock on how long the item can stay on your credit report, making your situation worse.
They’re counting on you to give up personal information
Across multiple complaint platforms, consumers say CBC representatives are demanding Social Security numbers, home addresses, and dates of birth before they’ll even discuss why they’re calling. “I received a call from this number saying that I owe them money,” explained one consumer on 800Notes. “They knew my name, but they were asking for my address, social security number, and my birthday. They kept asking for information that they should have had if I owed them money.”
A WhoCallsMe user described a similar experience, noting when they refused to share personal details, the agent wished them a nice day and hung up. Demanding information before providing context is a major red flag that should put any consumer on guard.
What other consumers are saying about calls from 423-354-0175
Wrong numbers, deceased persons, and constant calling
Across six different platforms where consumers report robocalls and telemarketing calls, descriptions of calls from 423-354-0175 tell a remarkably consistent story. Consumers describe an auto-dialer system, representatives who refuse to disclose their purpose, and calls that keep coming even after they’ve made it clear they’re calling the wrong person.
“When I asked them to identify themselves, they refused other than to say CBC,” said one 800Notes user, who was getting calls intended for a now-deceased parent. “When I told them that my parent was deceased, they requested me to mail them personal information, death certificate. … The caller refused to identify any business purpose for the call.”
Another consumer documented three calls in under 15 minutes while they were at work. A different complainant at the Better Business Bureau described calls as “constant” during work hours, with representatives identifying themselves as CBC but refusing to give further details.
Callback numbers that don’t connect
Several consumers report that when they attempt to return calls from 423-354-0175, they’re greeted by nothing but a busy signal or a ringing phone that never picks up.
As one consumer put it: “I got a call from this number; they left a voicemail. Half the message was cut off, so all I heard was to call back at 423-354-0175 or 877-238-0807. I called both numbers back, and there was no answer, just [the phone] kept ringing.”
This behavior only feeds consumers’ widespread suspicions that the calls from CBC are a scam. While CBC is, in fact, a legitimate collection agency, their calling patterns bear disturbing resemblance to tactics consumers have been trained to recognize as hallmarks of a scam.
The smartest way to handle calls from CBC Collections
Why you should stop answering their calls right now
The absolute smartest thing you can do right now to deal with CBC Collections is to stop answering their phone calls. Every time you pick up the phone, you’re giving a debt collector the opportunity to extract information, pressure you into a payment plan, or lure you into verbally confirming a debt.
Instead of answering, let the calls go to voicemail. The real battle over this debt isn’t going to happen on the phone; it’s going to happen on your credit report, where a strategic dispute can challenge CBC’s right to report the collection account to begin with.
Why removal is smarter than payment any day
Most consumers assume their only options when a debt collector calls is to either pay the debt or ignore it and risk damage to their credit score. There’s actually a third option most collection agencies hope you never discover: getting the collection account completely removed from your credit report.
When you dispute a collection account through the credit bureaus, the collector is required to verify the debt is legitimate, that they have the right to collect it, and that their documentation is complete.
For a small collection agency like CBC – which was formed by consolidating five different regional firms and now juggles accounts in 18 different states – documentation gaps are entirely possible. If they can’t fully verify the account, they have to remove it.
Removal is the outcome that helps you most. Unlike paying or settling a debt, which can leave a negative mark on your credit report for years to come, a successfully disputed account comes off your report altogether.
Take control of your financial identity today
Why DIY credit disputes often come up short
While it’s true you have the right to file your own credit report disputes, the process is more complicated than the average consumer realizes. Collection agencies deal with disputes every day and know just what kind of response it takes to meet the minimum verification requirements. A generic dispute letter probably isn’t going to apply the kind of targeted, procedural pressure needed to force a collector to either come up with the documentation or concede the account should be removed.
This isn’t just a matter of writing a letter. It’s a matter of understanding the specific regulations, documentation requirements, and response timelines that give consumers leverage in the credit dispute process.
What to do next
The calls from 423-354-0175 aren’t going to just magically stop. CBC Collections has been making calls from that phone number for years, and their auto-dialing system will just keep cycling through phone numbers until someone puts a stop to it.
The sooner you act, the better equipped you’ll be to prevent this from escalating further. A professional credit repair team can help evaluate whether the CBC Collections account on your credit report has the kinds of documentation weaknesses that make removal a real possibility. This is about more than your credit score – it’s about restoring your financial peace of mind.
Contact us at FightCollections.com today for a free consultation. The sooner you act, the sooner the calls from 423-354-0175 can be a thing of the past.
