I'm so confused I don't know whether to scratch my watch or wind my butt... I just pulled all three CR and found a new collection account. It is from 2001, but this is the first I have seen of it. I pulled all three bureaus back in September, and this WAS NOT THERE. I have NEVER heard from this collection agency. The OC is a doctor's office that I recognize. However, any charges should have been covered by health insurance long ago. According to the best information I can find (Thank you, NanaC), the CA doesn't appear to be licensed and bonded in NV to collect. The wording in the NV statute is funny, though, so I have some folks at the NV financial licensing board researching this for me. So, do I: 1) Send them a "you're not licensed, go away" letter 2) Contact my insurance company and the OC to resolve this the way it probably should have been resolved three years ago. 3) Try the validate/dispute route with the CA and the CRAs. 4) All of the above. 2 seems like potentially the most permanent, but if I do that, and the Dr. says "Great, we're happy now.", do they have the authority to make the collection account go away on my CR? They're not the ones reporting...And, if I do 2 and can't get it resolved that way, have I blown my chances of 3 working, if that's my last resort? HELP!!
The plot thickens... Butch had posted a reply on NanaC's Notions that because the CA reported without contacting me within 5 days, I have them on a violation. I am intrigued by this, BUT...I called TU to see when they show this as originally posting. They say May 2002. I argued that I got my report in Sept. 2003 and it wasn't there. They say that's not unusual?!?!? So, one of the following is true: 1. It genuinely wasn't there until after my Sept. 2003 pull, and I can 100% guarantee I've had nothing from the CA in that time period, so after 5 days in case it just posted yesterday, I have them on the violation. 2. It was there since May 2002, and I don't remember getting anything from the CA back then, in which case I don't have them on a violation, and claiming that I do might just pi$$ them off. Violation, or no? Do I even worry about this, since I have other avenues to pursue?
If the doctor's office is "in plan" with a PPO or HMO, they may be contractually bound both to accept what the insurance company allows, and to submit their bill to the company in a timely manner. Is this the case?
Actually, since this post, I contacted the OC and found out that this was from office visits in 1999. I was pregnant at the time. The dr. says they billed the HMO and were never paid. Needless to say, I called Cigna, demanded a manager, and demanded that they resolve this. The manager was extremely apologetic, explained that the doctor never should have billed me, and said that his first call was to the doctor's office to have the account removed from collection. There is a contractual obligation between Cigna and the doctor, so Cigna will force the doctor to stick with it. Too bad, in a way...I was really looking forward writing some emphatic letters to the CA. Just because they got the account when it never should have existed doesn't mean they aren't still unlicensed and in violation of collection law.
