Collections!!

[Solo2driver]

So we had our second child back in June 2009, very large ordeal with my wife nearly dying on the table and many many days in the neuro-ICU afterwards.

I get a phone call today (January 2010) from a collections agency saying that we owe thousands of dollars over several accounts with the hospital. After digging a bit, seems that they had an incorrect address for us and all of the Statements/Invoices had been returned undeliverable. For reference, our address was 9659 and they were sending to 965. (we have since moved into a larger house, so no worries on the personal info).

So we have confirmed fact that the hospital/billing/etc had the wrong address, yet they could have confirmed it with any number of sources...like our insurance company, doctor (who has an office attached in the hospital's new building complex), etc etc etc.

My problem is that they now have these accounts in Collections and it may appear negatively on my wife's credit report. I spoke with a supervisor today with the billing office and they are going to send us a letter confirming that it was their mistake and that they had the wrong address, but it has already been sent to collections and "there is nothing that they can do". We fully plan on paying the invoices/statements IN FULL once we review them and ensure that the medical insurance was billed properly, BUT it is still a collection account.


I plan on running her credit report and then Disputing the items, but I just hate to have to jump through 10 hoops and potentially wait months for this to be resolved. We have paid all of our other bills from the birth, as we did receive several from the same hospital, to our correct address.

Any other suggestions other than what I have posted above? It sickens me that we will be the ones to be screwed over what is someone's clerical error. Worse yet, if there is an insurance dispute (potentially, we've had a few with this claim), this collection agency may not want to wait around for it to be resolved, AND there is the potential that the time for Appealing a medical insurance claim decision in our state (180 days) will have expired.

Halp??

 

[Chris Meutsch]

Go ahead and dispute them. And perhaps hire a lawyer to attend a meeting with the hospital, who I guarantee would quickly contact the collections department and take care of things.

I'm happy your wife and kid are OK. My wife (and I) have gone through two C-sections and I know how concerning troublesome births are......especially when the doctor makes a mistake.

 

[Drew99GT]

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/debt_validation.shtml

http://www.creditboards.com/mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8&Itemid=2

At a minimum, write them a debt validation letter. There are plenty online to base yours off of. This will legally give you 30 days to work it out.

I'd see if you can get a letter from the hospital stating that they sent the bills to the wrong address, try and find out what the original invoices are, call your insurance company and tell them whats up, hope the insurance will pay their part (big if!), and tell the collection agency you'll pay them the amount for the original invoices and not a penny more.

Just make sure and get the debt validation letter in the mail so you'll have some time to work it out without them hounding you (and if they do after you've sent the letter, you can sue them).

 

[Drew99GT]

I can't believe the hospital would sell a debt like this, because it's pennies on the dollar. Debt validation will at least confirm whether the account was sold or assigned to the collection agency. That will help figure out who to deal with. If they assigned it, tell the hospital you'll pay in full with your insurance company.

 

[Jimmy9190]

Sorry you had this happen to you. www.creditnet.com is another really helpful website when dealing with something like this.

 

[crinkles]

sorry about the situation. pain in the arse to get it sorted out. i am glad your wife is OK. fight it tooth and nail!



I don't want to open a can of worms, but i am so thankful for our medical system. we did not pay a cent for any hospitalisation on any of our three children's birth. Yes, I do pay 1.5% tax to fund the health system but we get a lot of tax back for being a family. just a thought, but i don't want to start political yabbering.

 

[Youthere]

remember you entitled to a free credit report a year and you can dispute problems on your credit rating also. you are allowed by law to have a rebuttle statement in your credit report for dings that are not your fault/mistakes/stolen id problems. there should be numbers and guidelines in all three credit agencys websites on how to do this. I have read up on this but never had to so search the 3 reporting agencys and also google is a valuable resource also. also dont forget Consumer Credit Counseling is a true non-profit agency that can be an amazing resouce also during this time for you. good luck it will take time but just keep copies of everything due to sometimes overzelous collection agencies who dont update their records.

 

[JimPghPA]

Get good legal advice. Ask around and find out who will represent you and do a good job for a low cost.

There are attorneys who are not worth the time you spend in their waiting room. And those are usually the more expensive ones.

If the delay causes your medical insurance to not pay, you should have an attorney stand up for you.

Don't believe anything any medical group says about "if you pay this amount you will be paid in full" unless you have it in black and white print. In other words if they say they will reduce the amount owed to what you would pay after the insurance, they are probably lying. They will do that to get you to pay that amount, and after you pay it they will still bill you for the amount the insurance company did not pay. They will lie right to your face. The only thing you can trust from them is what is in writing. And that is questionable.

 

[JimPghPA]

Remember this: 99.999% of the people you are dealing with in medical billing really only care about one thing. And that is "that on pay day their pay check will be there".

Beyond that you are just a cog in their machine and they do not care anything about how anything they do affects you.

Their system that you are now dealing with has to deal with people who do not pay their bills and they do not know you from them, even if you point it out. Their system is designed to recoup as much as it can, even if that means just getting a business tax write off for the bad debt not recovered when they pass you account onto a collection agency for pennies on the dollar. And if they have passed you account on to one of these agencies they are just as bad.

A good attorney representing you is worth their weight in gold. Ask as many of you friends, work associates, and relatives as you can who would be a good attorney that will represent you for a low cost. There are very good attorneys out there who do not charge an arm and a leg, but you have to search them out, they are few and far between.

 

[Gary Allan]

Quote:
I can't believe the hospital would sell a debt like this, because it's pennies on the dollar.


Around here any account past 30 days goes to the hospitals "group" collections agency. That is, the local facility gets what they get within the 30 day period and then it goes "to collections" ..which is in fact owned by the "group".

I figure it's a way to further hide the baloney.

 

[CivicFan]

It is strange that the hospital did not attempt to make a phone call after the mail discovered to be undeliverable. They probably do not have proper AR processes. We have a self pay department that make calls to people to prevent situations just like this - basically, making sure that we are not going to get paid before the account is sent to collections.

 

[greenaccord02]

Well I don't have much advice to offer except to say that I would go ahead and dispute it. It can't hurt.

I must be the only person who thought this thread was about talking about stuff you collected. I thought the exclamations were a sign of excitement rather than frustration. Completely different type of collections.

 

[Bryanccfshr]

I would simply send a debt validation letter with a cease and desist that will keep them from contacting you. Follow up with your insurahce to assure the bill is paid. THis is the very reason why many lending institutions actually disregard Medical billing collections. They are often placed on your credit report prematurely while the billing process goes through. THis will temporarily lower the credit score if it makes it to the credit report (usually if the insurance does not pay within 30 days of the account going to collections and the individual not doing debt vlaidation(that can delay the placement on the credit report by another 30 days)

IUt is important to do the debt validation as it usually goves enough time for the billing to get straightened out before the infor is put on the credit report.

Good luck. I keep a debt validation letter on file just for this type of scenario.

Fill in the appropriate info and send Certified/reciept signature required.



Attempt to Validate Debt.
Under the Federal Debt Collection Practices Act, I am allowed to challenge the validity of a debt
that a collection agency states I owe to them. Keep a copy for your files and send the letter registered mail.


Your Name
123 Your Street Address
Your City, ST 01234
ABC Collections
123 NotOnYourLife Ave
Chicago, IL
Date:
Re: Acct # XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
To Whom It May Concern:
This letter is being sent to you in response to a notice sent to me on September 30, 2002). Be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested.
This is NOT a request for “verification” or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to the above named Title and Section. I respectfully request that your offices provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you.
Please provide me with the following:

• What the money you say I owe is for;
• Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe;
• Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe;
• Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable;
• Identify the original creditor;
• Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account
• Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state
• Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent

At this time I will also inform you that if your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the 3 major Credit Bureau’s (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) this action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws. Due to this fact, if any negative mark is found on any of my credit reports by your company or the company that you represent I will not hesitate in bringing legal action against you for the following:
• Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
• Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
• Defamation of Character
If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested in the following Declaration, I will require at least 30 days to investigate this information and during such time all collection activity must cease and desist.
Also during this validation period, if any action is taken which could be considered detrimental to any of my credit reports, I will consult with my legal counsel for suit. This includes any listing any information to a credit reporting repository that could be inaccurate or invalidated or verifying an account as accurate when in fact there is no provided proof that it is.
If your offices fail to respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of your receipt, all references to this account must be deleted and completely removed from my credit file and a copy of such deletion request shall be sent to me immediately.
I would also like to request, in writing, that no telephone contact be made by your offices to my home or to my place of employment. If your offices attempt telephone communication with me, including but not limited to computer generated calls and calls or correspondence sent to or with any third parties, it will be considered harassment and I will have no choice but to file suit. All future communications with me MUST be done in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter by USPS.
It would be advisable that you assure that your records are in order before I am forced to take legal action. This is an attempt to correct your records, any information obtained shall be used for that purpose.
Best Regards,
Your Signature
Your Name

Debt Validation Letter for Collections or Collection Agencies
Debt Validation form letter. Collection Agency must legally verify my debt

 

[oilboy123]

Nice letter

 

[CivicFan]

I asked around the and the OP seems to be SOL. The fact is that the debt was not paid and it went to the collections. I hope he is able to have the credit reporting status changed but it's gonna be very difficult.

 

[oilboy123]

I have a similar situation that I would like to resolve myself. Problem is I moved to San Diego from Everett, WA. Then I was back in Oregon for a year. I then noticed a flag on one of my credit reports.

The weird thing is I did not see it on a report until Feb 2008.
I left for San Diego in Nov 2004. I never received any bill before I left. My brother lived at the house I moved from and no bills ever came before I left or while I was in San Diego or Oregon.


Date Reported: 10/2006
Date Assigned: 08/2004

 

[Drew99GT]

File a dispute with the credit bureaus. There is a formal process for doing it.

One area where the govnmt really needs to crack down on is credit reporting. Basically anyone can put something on your credit report without any facts or evidence. The whole system is a fraud IMO - people with good credit are getting screwed and people with lousy credit are (were!) buying McMansions with no money down. Arghhh

 

[oilboy123]

Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
File a dispute with the credit bureaus. There is a formal process for doing it.

One area where the govnmt really needs to crack down on is credit reporting. Basically anyone can put something on your credit report without any facts or evidence. The whole system is a fraud IMO - people with good credit are getting screwed and people with lousy credit are (were!) buying McMansions with no money down. Arghhh

I think that is kind of what I'm starting to think. Especially with the bull I'm going through.

 

[oilboy123]

Kind of weird how you can dispute credit card charges fairly easily. But then on the flip side others can ding your credit so easily..........

 

[oilboy123]

I am going to dispute the ding on my reports. It looks like two the the credit agencies say the ding will come off in Jan 2011.

But the third one says it could be on my report for up to ten years. If I knew that I would not have paid the debt so readily.