Debt collection

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by yoji, Aug 29, 2016.

  1. yoji

    yoji Member

    Hello,

    About a week ago I received a phone call from a collector regarding
    a doctors bill from Dec. 2014.

    After contacting the doctors billing company I found out that
    they have a wrong address ! !

    For almost 2 years they kept sending letters to that wrong address.
    The idiots never crossed their mind to call me on the phone.

    After our conversation they transferred my case to the
    management for reevaluation.

    I asked them to call the collectors and tell them to stop until the reevaluation
    goes on but they didn't do that . . . I received today an validation letter.

    Any advice how to handle this??

    Thanks
     
  2. greeneyez

    greeneyez Well-Known Member

    Sorry to hear you are going through this! Have you pulled your credit reports, and if so, does the collections amt. show? What collections agency is contacting you? I would personally mail a cease and desist letter, and also a validation letter while you are waiting on the billing dept.

    I have had a lot of luck by (pretending) to be really, REALLY nice on the phone with the medical billing reps. I've had a collections acct. come off of my credit report in literally three days after paying off the billing dept.
     
  3. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    Here's what I would do.

    I would send them a letter disputing the account in it's entirety; and tell them that their client admitted that it was their negligence that caused the account to go to collections, and if I ever hear from them again, I will add them to my lawsuit against their client for their negligence.

    Hopefully that would impact their client's reevaluation process greatly. :)
     
  4. yoji

    yoji Member

    HI,

    It is Continental Credit Control.

    What is collections amt.?

    Can you provide me a link to those letters,please?

    Thanks
     
  5. yoji

    yoji Member

    Hi,

    Do you have a basic sample of that letter?

    Thanks
     
  6. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    The problem with samples of letters is that CAs know the sample (and their industry association tells them what's wrong with the letters so that they don't have to comply with them).

    Also, every situation is different, which is what's wrong with a form letter, a blank, what are you talking about letter, when there are valid objections to the debt, comes off disingenuous.

    This is the letter that I would draft, if I was in this situation. It's customized to this specific situation, instead of a form letter; and it includes both a Validation Letter (I dispute this account in its entirety) and Cease and Desist (if I ever hear from you again, I will sue), in one short letter.

     
  7. yoji

    yoji Member

    Hi,

    Are these real names? The address is what I have.

    Thanks
     
  8. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    Yep, they are real names for the CEO and Ethics Contact, naming them by name helps to get their attention... :)
     
  9. yoji

    yoji Member

    Just to know my options . .

    What happens if I don't do anything in the 30 days?

    Can they do anything without going to court?

    Thanks
     
  10. yoji

    yoji Member

    So I wont miss the 30 days I sent them today this letter . . .
    .
    Continental Credit Control
    Shawn Suhr, Chief Executive Officer
    Nancy Gabel, Ethics Contact
    22 N Milpas St Ste C
    Santa Barbara, CA 93103-3300

    Mr. Suhr and Mrs Gabel:

    This letter is in regards to account 860061, which your company contacted me about on 12.19.2016.

    Please note that I dispute this account in it's entirety.
    It is your alleged clients’ negligence which resulted in this account being sent to your company;
    1. They billed my secondary insurance first.
    2. They kept sending me letters to a wrong address.
    3. You didn’t notify me about my rights
    as such, you are hereby instructed to cease collection efforts immediately. If I ever hear from your company again, I will add you, and your company, to the lawsuit that I am preparing to file against your client for their negligence.

    Sincerely

    bla, bla

    Now I have to wait and see if they will sue me . . .
     
  11. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    Nothing happens if they don't respond in 30 days, UNLESS they are reporting on your credit files, and as soon as they receive the validation letter, you dispute their reporting with the credit bureaus.

    Then, if they verify without responding, they are violating the FDCPA.
     
  12. yoji

    yoji Member

    Thank you for your responds, but I don't understand that . . .
     
  13. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    There is NO time period that they NEED to reply within. The law just says that they can't perform COLLECTION ACTIVITY.

    Reporting or updating credit reporting is not considered COLLECTION ACTIVITY, responding to a dispute through the CRAs is.

    So, if you send a debt validation request, they can stop updating the account and just let it sit there and do nothing for as long as they want to, and unless you disputed it through the CRAs, they are complying with the law.

    The 30 days only gives them the right to presume that you are confirming that the debt is valid. There is no timetable that they need to respond by, because their response depends on the Original Creditor's response time.
     
  14. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    The only thing that the law says happens if you don't respond in 30 days, is that they can presume that the debt is valid.

    They like to think that that presumption stands until the end of time, but it doesn't. Which is why I love CAs that say it was postmarked after day 35, we don't have to do anything.

    The only thing that is lost is the requirement that they stop collection activities while validating.
     
  15. yoji

    yoji Member

    Hello

    The original creditor has decided to reapply the medical bill therefore he took back the bill from the collector

    I received a letter from the collection company that . . .

    "At the request of (name of original creditor) we have ceased action . . . and we have returned the file . . .".


    Since the bill is more then a year old the health insurance rejected payment.

    My question is if the original creditor can send again the bill to collection?

    Thanks,
     
  16. sharonpope

    sharonpope New Member

    I got such calls from PP, some chargebacks to my account got me into trouble and believe me they were like pain, calling again and again and saying things like they will forward my case to debt collection agency, I had to took care of the chargebacks from my pocket even when I wasn't responsible for them.
     
  17. JoshuaHeckathorn

    JoshuaHeckathorn Administrator

    I don't see why they couldn't send it to a collection agency again if they wanted to. If the bill is valid and should've been covered under your insurance plan, I also don't see how the insurance company could just deny the claim due to the passage of time. Medical claims often take forever to go through the system and get paid. Are they seriously denying the claim because it's an old bill that was just submitted, or did they also give some other reason?
     
  18. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    I would argue that because the insurance was refusing because of the OC's negligence to properly bill, that any future collector would quickly get out of the way.

    BTW: If anyone would bring the account back, I would send an immediate ITS as first contact for their action being a false and misleading representation that the transfer of the account subjects me to activity prohibited by the FDCPA, the resumption of collection activity before validation.
     

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