breezey79 Posted April 13, 2005 Report Share Posted April 13, 2005 My husband is currently deployed to Iraq and I have begun trying to repair our credit while he is gone so we can buy a house. He has a collection account listed with all 3 credit bureaus's with the same account #'s but different collector names, different dates of activity but same balances. They also have the same phone numer. I called the collection agency and from what I understand they have just changed names. Here is the problem, they told me it was a medical bill from a hospital in the city where he went to college. he was covered under 2 insurance policies at the time that paid 100% of the bill. I have called the hospital and explained the situation, a woman there mailed me all bills stating a 0 balance, i have explained this to ca and they claim it is from some separate dr. within the hospital but apparently they do not know who he is or how to contact him and according to them because this account is so old, may of 2001, it is to old to verify the insurance paid it, he does have a different ins. policy now b/c he is enlisted but surely this can't be legal, i have spoken with these people on the phone several times and no matter what I say or ask I get the same response, "we can take a check by phone?" I have disputed this account with all 3 cb's and it was verified each time. How can an account be verified when the ca does not know who the $ is owed to or what it is for! Please help me!! This collection has my husband's score so low we will never be able to buy a house! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocDon Posted April 13, 2005 Report Share Posted April 13, 2005 File a complaint against them with your state Attorney General, their state Attorney General and the FTC.Enclose copies of the statements showing the accounts have been paid in full prior to collections and send them to each AG. You need not send copies to the FTC.The CA is obviously using the negative information they put on your credit reports to extort money from you. They made a grievous error in judgment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezey79 Posted April 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2005 thanks so much for such a quick reply. i have a few questions for you if you don't mind, what happens when i file the complaint, how long to get a response, how do i file the complaints, what if there is some dr. that he owes money to? according to this collection agency there is and the hospital is not aware of him b/c he is billing separately, but wouldn't the procedure or something be on a bill? does stuff like that happen? sorry i got carried away with the questions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocDon Posted April 13, 2005 Report Share Posted April 13, 2005 Do a Google search for the state AG you are looking for (ie: "Iowa Attorney General").Go to the site and look for something directing you to Consumer Protection or File A Complaint... you'll find info you need to file.Once they receive your complaint, they will state whether it falls within their jurisdiction or not, or if there's a specific office, they will forward it there.They will then contact the CA and expect an explanation from them. A copy of that info will be sent back to you.Medical billing is screwy to begin with, and as a result the patients are usually the ones who get the raw end of the deal. There should be a "master" file that lists all the physicians that ever laid a hand on you - if you compare this with the itemized billing statements, you can see if somebody does in fact bill separately.Then contact your insurance company and see who they paid since this whole affair started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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