Collection Harrasment - Medical Bills
Q: I am having trouble with a collection agency claiming I owe money for medical
services rendered almost 2 years ago. The original notice was received in May
claiming I owed about $125. I immediately responded saying I was certain there
must be a mistake and requesting complete records of all bills and payments
made by myself and my insurance company. I just received another letter
yesterday, saying I now owe *2* bills for a total of $250. No backup was
included to justify either bill, only a nasty note saying I "ignored their
previous request and must have no intention of paying this bill, so further
action may be taken".
Obviously I am dealing with a drone at this collection agency who has no
intention except to keep sending out letters. Normally I would just ignore
them until they fulfill their end of the deal (justyifying these amounts would
should be easy to do if they want to earn their commission), but I found
recently that these delinquincies (justified or not) will show up on my credit
report. I have spoken to the hospital billing department, and they have told
me that they cannot do anything since they handed this "debt" over to the
collection agency.
What else do I need to do? And while we are on the subject, when did the
policy change regarding medical bills showing up on a credit report?
A:Look up "Fair Debt Collection Act" in Google. Basically, they are
violating the law by failing to provide proof of indebtedness after
you requested such proof.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/fdc.htm
"Q: May a debt collector continue to contact you if you believe you do
not owe money?
A: A collector may not contact you if, within 30 days after you
receive the written notice, you send the collection agency a letter
stating you do not owe money. However, a collector can renew
collection activities if you are sent proof of the debt, such as a
copy of a bill for the amount owed."
At the minimum you need to write a polite letter pointing out that
they are violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by
continuing to contact you with demand letters rather than proof of
indebtedness after you asked them to provide proof of indebtedness,
and you should demand that they cease and desist their illegal
conduct.
If the illegal conduct continues, you're going to need to "lawyer up"
and have your lawyer handle all further communications. Look for one
who is board certified in consumer law, your local bar association
will have a list of such in your locale. Usually when you "lawyer up"
that's the end of the collections activity, they go after the
low-hanging fruit, not the prickly thorny cactus. Do note that you'll
probably need to give the lawyer at least a $500 retainer for his
services, since he's going to have to maintain a file on the case in
case the debt collector *DOESN'T* give up and instead contacts the
attorney about the case (note that the Fair Debt Collection Practices
Act requires the debt collector to communicate only with your attorney
once you "lawyer up", and allows no further direct communication with
you... and your attorney is going to charge for that service).
$500 for a lawyer to