[mfp509]

Just curious as to how many people have had a debt collection agency call you about some outstanding bill, especially a medical bill, and you were clueless because you had never received a bill. This happened to me last week. It was for a service last October and when I gave my insurance company the date of service, they assured me I had zero patient balance (my insurance company goes by date of service). It took me a week to find out that it was a radiologist and when I called their billing department, they had not submitted the claim to my insurance company, apologized and said it should have never gone to the debt collection agency. I checked my account online this morning - they submitted the claim on the 15th and it was processed and paid in full this morning. There should be a law or regulation stating that before a creditor (store, Dr, Dentist etc) can turn an account over to a debt collection agency, they must provide documentation of their efforts to collect the money from the customer, patient etc - submission of claim to the insurance company, bills sent, 2nd notices whatever. This would indicate they have a legitimate reason for having a debt collector intervene. This experience was extremely stressful for me - humiliating and insulting. I have golden credit and have always paid my bills on time. I did write a letter about requiring documentation and sent it to the Florida Department of Consumer Services, Seniors Against Crime, and the Better Business Bureau of Central Florida. Hey, maybe they will make it into "Marilyn's Law"!!

[Mikitv]

Make sure that they clear your credit report too if it got on there.

[sandybill2]

Can't speak for the physician's office that turned you over to Collection Agency--but I worked in a Physician's office for 30+ years---business office manager the last 15 years or so. We made sure that the patient had "X" number of bills with messages on them before we sent to Collection Agency---and we also researched the patients as well--reading their history, etc., to make sure that they could "pay". We "charged" off hundreds of dollars of debt from patients that we knew had responded and couldn't pay but sent balances of 20.00 to Collection on patients that had good jobs and ignored all of our attempts to work out some sort of payment plan. Obviously, the office that sent you to Collection is not the norm---or I would like to think they weren't. I'm glad you sent the letters. This office certainly needs to change their process of collecting outstanding accounts. Your letters may be the reason that they do.

[mfp509]

I check my credit report regularly and the debt collector did tell me that this isn't reported to any credit agency because that was my big argument. I also read that this is something a debt collector is not allowed to do - report it to a credit agency. I will keep a check on it anyway.

[TrudyM]

I recieved repeated threatening phone calls from collection agencies a year after my mothers death. I had kept all the records for the last years of her life and the amounts they were trying to get me to pay had been taken off the original bill as they exceeded the allowed amounts by medicare. You know how it goes the doctor or other provider bills say $150 medicare allows $100 medicare would then pay say $80 supplimental pays $20 and the remaining $50 is adjusted off by the provider. It was the accumulated adjusted off bits they tried to get me to pay. Someone thought that because my mom was now dead they could get the money out of here estate and no one would know it wasn't owed. I turned it over to the county procecuters office and they were charged with attempted fraud.

[BlueHeronFan]

Kind of related but not because a bill did not get paid. Our bank at our last address made a processing error, that caused several bills to have the checks bounce.

We all know that can affect one's credit rating. We insisted that the bank send a letter to each bounced check, and to the 3 credit rating services, with a copy sent to our home address. They did as requested, and we have never had a problem since.

[Mikitv]

I worked with a collection company in Ark and they do send debts to the credit reporting bureaus. They usually wait a certain period of time once they start trying to collect the debt before reporting it to the various bureaus. I myself had a debt from a hosptial that was on my credit report even though I never received a statement. Once I contacted the hospital it was there error. My account had a credit balance while my husbands had the debt. I made them write the letters to all three bureaus since I found it on my reports.

[skyguy79]

Originally Posted by Mikitv

I worked with a collection company in Ark and they do send debts to the credit reporting bureaus. They usually wait a certain period of time once they start trying to collect the debt before reporting it to the various bureaus. I myself had a debt from a hosptial that was on my credit report even though I never received a statement. Once I contacted the hospital it was there error. My account had a credit balance while my husbands had the debt. I made them write the letters to all three bureaus since I found it on my reports.

Similar happened to me over a lousy $20 co-pay. I had actually paid for it in advance because of their (wound care service) error and couldn't get them to straighten it out. They turned it over to collections and it was reported to the credit bureau.

The only way I could eventually take care of the problem was to pay the $20 a second time. Yea, payed twice for the same service. Most collection bureaus, some medical services and ALL credit bureaus couldn't care less if you've been wronged or not. They couldn't care less and no one will help at all, including the service that wronged you. The credit bureaus are near impossible and won't even talk to you if you can even find a phone number for them. BTW, I even had to pay an extra half point to CB in my TV home's mortgage rate because of these

Another peeve of mine is how creditors can get things on you credit record almost immediately, but once you straighten out the problem, guess what? It can take up to 2 months for the service to get it lifted, if they do it at all! Too much power and not enough accountability in this area!

This is not just one incident. I've had similar experiences with other medical services as well as with a utility where the problem I had was taken care of more than a year before I sold the house and I didn't discover it was on my credit report more than a year afterward.

These places want you to be responsible, but no, not them! They just don't practice what they preach! BTW, becausee of these erroneous marks on my CR, I even had to pay an extra .5% on my TV home mortgage (thankfully I had an excellent report otherwise or I might have not been able to even buy in TV) and all because of those money hungry !

Rant off!

[mfp509]

I definitely will be checking my credit report to make sure nothing like that was done. I was actually waiting for an arrest warrant for the obscenity I shouted at the debt collector when I slammed down the phone - nothing yet.

[runnermi]

Last fall, I was getting calls from Discovery Financial over my idiot brother's unpaid credit card debt. Companies can legally do this a couple of times. They wanted his phone number. It sucked to be them.

I researched it on the internet and based on what I found online, I told them that my brother did not live at the address they were calling nor could he be reached at this number. When I threatened to write a cease and desist letter to their legal department, the calls stopped. Either that or the moron finally started paying his over due bill, truly not sure which nor did I really care.

I did have fun telling a couple of them what they could do with my brother's debt though.

What really infuriated me was that I am meticulous about paying my bills and on time and then I start getting harassed because brother dearest is a moron? I bet you are all feeling the love, aren't you?

[mfp509]

Funny I should just read your post - made me feel better. Following the advice of Seniors Against Crime, I wrote a letter to the Radiologist's office and the Collection Agency asking for a letter stating that it was their error and I was not responsible. Then if it shows up on my credit report, I have letter in hand to prove it. Actually, it should be the Radiologist's office because the Collection Agency people were only doing their job. Just sending these two letters by registered mail, I felt so humiliated and wondered what the postal clerk was thinking. I'm one of those people who really cares about what others think of me. Oh well - I'm over it now.