sje123 Posted July 13, 2006 Report Share Posted July 13, 2006 I rec'd a bill from a collection agency in CA from a doctor in CA and I live in NY. This was the first I'd heard of this bill and this doctor never submitted to insurance and the bill was over 2k and now there is like 800.00 interest on it.I told the CA that I disputed the bill and sent a letter to the doctor stating this is why I disputed it (they failed to submit to insurance etc) and copied the CA. The doctor sent the CA a lengthy rebuttal to what I had written and the CA forwarded it to me. I wrote one back to both the CA and the doctor.These letters have been going back and forth for about 4 months.Then I get a brand new notice from a NY CA for the SAME BILL. I write them that this has been in dispute with both the doctor and the CA in CA for four months. They send back that these letters have nothing to do with them and please submit this money.Is there any recourse? Do I need to start this dispute process all over again? What is the significance of them going to a NY CA? Any? Please help...I have put so much time and effort into this dispute and now they are telling me I have to start all over again!!!! PLEASE HELP!!! this is driving me crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elyse449 Posted July 13, 2006 Report Share Posted July 13, 2006 Get a basic letter together and than, when necessary simply change the letterhead to the current collection company. Make sure you check dates/amts and such-but overall, it should be the same if it's regarding the same debt.If a NEW CA got this account and they ignored your dispute letter you have them on violations. Report them IMMEDIATELY to the following: BBB, FTC and the AG for your state and the state they're doing business in. You'll need to make sure to clarify that you have been disputing this debt as NOT YOURS and that these people refuse to honor your dispute.Sometimes that's the only way to get results. It's how I got a CA to remove their crap from my CR's and to quit bugging me. Enough is enough, don't let them make you waste your time. Put them in their place.One question: Did you request validation at any point? Can they prove it's your debt? It may be just an out of state CA that these people use--make sure you check into that if you haven't. If you have and you still dispute it, report to those agencies I listed.Good luck.Elyse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sje123 Posted July 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2006 I acknowledged that I had the services that are being charged for. In 2003 I had a car accident and went to this provider (among many, I was hospitalized for over a month). They asked for both my primary insurance and my car insurer even though I told them that I didn't have medical on my auto insurer.My primary insurance was very good and paid 99.9 percent of the bills from this accident as soon as I let them know I had no medical on my car insurance. This doctor never submitted to my medical insurance and now claims they were waiting for the auto claim to be paid. The insurance company denied the claim and I wound up suing them for a small settlement. The doctor stated she was waiting for the claim to be paid. If that were the case, did the bill go away the day the claim was denied? Would I ever had heard from them had I not turned around and sued the insurance company? However, I don't even believe they were waiting for a settlement because I was clear that this insurance company was NOT inclined to settle with me (they let me know that from day one).The doctor also claimed several other untrue things, such as sending bills (I never got one), calling me and finding my phone disconnected (it wasn't) and saying that I had a 3000k deductible that needed to be met before my primary insurance would pay their claim (they never submitted bills and I had SO many bills from that time that I believe I would have met it).I spoke with my former insurance co who stated that they were never given bills and would have paid 70 percent of them. The doctor then backed down from that position and said it was my responsibility to submit bills to my insurer. I had no bills. My claim was that they did not submit bills and there was a 15 month timeframe in order to do so and it closed. I stated I was not responsible for them failing to enforce their rights at the time. All of my other providers (MANY providers) WERE paid by me and my insurance AT THE TIME. I wrote all of this in my last letter (2 weeks ago) which was 5 pages and sent to the original collection agency and now I have a new collection agency who is claiming ignorance about all of this.The California collection agency had been sending the dispute letters and the dr's response back and forth. We were fairly well along in the process and then suddenly a new collection agency is involved who states they have NO KNOWLEDGE of this lengthy history and it's not their problem. I'm so damn aggravated right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elyse449 Posted July 13, 2006 Report Share Posted July 13, 2006 When did all this happen?Ok, but yet none of the OTHER providers who took care of you at the time had an issue submitting their billings to your medical insurance?? Do you have records of those payments? Could you maybe request an accounting of the billings at the time from your previous medical insurance company??It sounds like THEY messed up and are now trying to hold YOU liable. It almost sounds like either they didn't bother submitting the claim AT ALL or otherwise it was a coding error on their part. Typically when a claim isn't paid they then bill to the patient themselves and you say you never got one...something is definitely amiss... Submit your complaints to the BBB, FTC and AG and see what happens. Just make sure you have your facts in line, dates in place, etc. You've made a valiant effort to work with these people and it's not getting you anywhere, time to call in some help. I would make it clear that this is a debt that was not properly handled off the get go-you were in the hospital and could not otherwise make those kinds of decisions on your own/for yourself--what do they mean, "you should've submitted the claims..." A-holes....how they heck can ya do that when you're layed up in the hospital or recovering??? Besides, I don't know of TOO many medical practices that force their patients to file their own claims-if that is a policy usually it says so up front. If it were me, I'd report them and go from there...Elyse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin3344 Posted July 13, 2006 Report Share Posted July 13, 2006 (edited) In most cases a CA that buys a debt does not know the history of the debt, nor do they care. They simply want you to pay. Of course, all of this wasn't your fault but do you think that matters? No, as long as they can come after you they will.First things first, have you sent them a C&D? Tell them not to contact you going forward about this debt. That will end most of your stress. Second, as mentioned earlier, have you requested validation? Don't produce bills - the burden is not on you! It's on them to prove that you owe this debt. If they cannot produce, that's their problem. However, sending the C&D will cause all but the most diehard CAs to cease contacting you. Start there.Oh, and stay off the phone at all costs. No one has ever gotten anything accomplished over the phone. If it's not in writing it doesn't mean anything. All that will serve to do is stress you out.________Live Sex Webshows Edited September 9, 2011 by kevin3344 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sje123 Posted July 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2006 The last collection agency sent me the letters of the doctors as proof that I owe the debt and a copy of the billing statement that I saw for the first time when the CA sent it to me.Why did the last CA get rid of it? Did they think, based on my letter (which always ended with "I don't owe this money") that it was too much of a hassle or did they sell it to a NY based collection agency to take me to court? I don't know if the change in CA is a good thing or a bad thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin3344 Posted July 14, 2006 Report Share Posted July 14, 2006 (edited) Sometimes when you move the old CA is not licensed to collect in your state, and they pass it off to another one. That's what happened to me. Some CA sent a letter telling me I owed them money. I said "ok, prove to me the debt is mine and you are licensed to collect in my state". I never heard from them again. About a month later, I received a letter from another CA - this time they prominently displayed their NC license number in the letter. Fine. I wrote them back and said "prove to me the SOL has not expired on this debt". I never heard from them again. Just for emphasis I put the C&D in the letter underneath my request, and I haven't heard from either one since. I never talked to anyone on the phone or produced an ounce of paperwork regarding the debt. Neither one has ever appeared on my CR. Do the same and you should be ok.________Courneit cam Edited September 9, 2011 by kevin3344 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Nashville/Savannah Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 In order to protect your rights, you must follow the debt dispute/validation process with every CA that contacts you; that's true whether it's one CA or 50...it makes no difference. I know it's frustrating but each CA has to be addressed every time.That said, if you received the services (as it appears you did) then you are probably on the hook for this bill no matter how much the provider screwed up his billing...I'd start thinking about a settlement offer to put this to rest.You may yet be able to get some relieve from your primary insurance company...if they've never been billed for this then it's at least worth a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sje123 Posted July 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2006 Today I received a notice from the original CA AND from the new CA both dated this week. What? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sje123 Posted July 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2006 Today I received a notice from the original CA AND from the new CA both dated this week. What? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin3344 Posted July 16, 2006 Report Share Posted July 16, 2006 (edited) They know you are taking this personally and both are tormenting you to the point of paying. Don't let them do it. Send them a C&D. Simply write BOTH of them a letter that states:"This will serve as notice under the FDCPA that you are to cease all communication with me in regard to the debt referenced above."That's it. Here is the link to a sample letter if you need help.http://ihatedebt.com/DealingWithYourCreditors/DealingWithDebtCollectors/Cease_and_Desist_Letter_for_Debt_Collectors.php________Vaporizer Video Edited September 9, 2011 by kevin3344 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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