Collection calls before validation

We live in Missouri:
In March 2003, my minor daughter broke her ankle in NYC and was taken to a hospital.
My insurance company used another company to negotiate a discount and paid the negotiated rate. This was followed up with an EOB explaining my part, but the hospital kept sending me a bill for the entire amount with NO discount OR payment applied to the balance, so I refused to pay anything, but kept in contact, requesting a corrected bill.
It was turned over to a collection agency. The CA was provided with all the information they needed to check the facts and when they did, they called and said I needed to call them immediately. Instead, I sent them a validation letter, which they signed for on November 3, 2003. The letter requested a copy of the agreement that grants them authority to collect on the alleged debt; the agreement that bears my signature (which there is none); any payments and adjustments made by any entity on the account; and a final bill from the hospital that included the payments and adjustments.
So, the account is now in dispute, right?
I received a corrected bill from the hospital and mailed payment on November 19, 2003 marked PAID IN FULL.
Today, November 21, I received another call from the CA, who left a message on my voice mail.
How many violations (and which ones) do I have on these guys at this point?
I'd dearly love to get at least one CA back for all their illegal activity!
Anybody?

 

Nope. There's nothing on my CR, as far as I know...yet!
The payment was to the hospital, whom I recieved a proper bill from, at last!
But, what about collection activities during the validation period?
Validation, which as I pointed out, was impossible. There was NO signature agreeing to anything. I was in Missouri; my daughter was in NYC. (There was telephone permission to treat)
C'mon, I know they violated SOMETHING! I just need the specifics to get them on!

 

Oh, dang it! I didn't want a "gold mine"! Just a pay back! That's all.
I still think that a collection call DURING a validation period is a violation.
But, if you guys say no, then it's no, I guess!
You're the experts.

 

lb,
Hasn't said much, yet. Only to call them.
Should I call? Should I 'get' them to say something?
Like I said, I don't want to get rich quick, I just want the bast***s to get a little payback.
No, they never should have been involved. The hospital should have acted properly in the first place. But still, whenever I have had contact with the CA, it has been typical CA speak ... NASTY!
And it is a CA ... ANY CA .. I want to strike out against!
Know what I mean?

 

NervousNuB was right. I answered that the CA hasnâ??t said much by way of voice mail, but they have asked me to call. They donâ??t seem to attempt a call when I am home, so they leave voice mail. They have sent demand letters. And the letter reads, in part, "Unless you notify this office within 30 days after receiving this notice that you dispute the validity of this debt, this office will assume the debt is valid, etc, etc."

I did NOT indicate that lb hasnâ??t said much, only to call.

Ontrack
"You're better off not having a problem to fix."

Why is it you feel I donâ??t have a problem to fix? A hospital sends me an inaccurate bill and then attempts to extort money by referring it to a collection agency when they had already negotiated a discount and been paid by the insurance company. I only owed them the co-pay. I didnâ??t pay it because the bill was wrong and all attempts to correct their error fell on deaf ears. They stated flatly that NOTHING had been paid on the bill. And you donâ??t feel this is a problem? Somehow, I miss your point completely. because if I donâ??t fix it, the calls and letters will continue and probably will result in a TL on my CR or worse. And that is a problem doubled.

Lbrown59
"There is a difference between a collection call and a collector calling, but we can't ascertain what kind of calls you got from the CA because you haven't told us what they said in their calls!"

Might I inquire as to HOW a collection call and a collector calling is different?
They always call to demand money be tossed their way, one way or another. This collector is not a personal friend of mine who might call to ask me over for dinner.
If I call him, what do you think he might say?

Keepmine
"You don't need a written agreement to have validation. Nobody can be expected to produce that which never existed.
They really done nothing here. You've a corrected bill and that'll get the CA off your back. It's not on your credit report. No gold to be mined on this one."

You don't need a written agreement to enforce a contract or validate a debt? Without a written agreement, no validation can be sent. I was aware of this and was trying to get the hospital to deal with me directly or call the CA off. I guess it half way did the trick. After they turned it over to a CA, they reversed their decision and sent a corrected bill directly to me.

And as I indicated, the corrected bill has been paid and still, the CA called and left a message on my daughter's voice mail, not mine.

You folks usually give great advice and perhaps it's my fault, but I feel you've missed something here.

And whether I'm "Looking for a gold mine" is very much beside the point, isn't it?

What I'm looking for is violations of the law and which laws have been violated.

If there are no violations, there are no violations, but it sure seems to me that there have been violations.