Medical collection reported to credit by agency

[Gizmo]

I apologize for the length of this post in advance and I am not familiar with the abbreviations On 5/15/07 there was a number on my caller ID which I did not recognize so I called it. It was IC System, Inc. When I asked the rep what they did, he told me that they are a customer service company and asked me to identify myself so that he could tell me the reason for the call. After I did that he then told me that they are a collections agency. He then informed me of 3 medical debts that are in collections with IC system. Well, this was news to me, I had absolutely no idea and was truly taken back. I was in a very bad car accident and these debts are a result of my accident. The 3 debts are from Florida and I now live in North Carolina.

He then told me that one of them (debt #3) had been pulled from the company and that they no longer had it. He said that perhaps the doctor pulled it to give it to an attorney. He then moved to debt #2 and explained that it was a dentist and that I should remember if I went to the dentist or not because he remembers every time he sees a dentist. At that point I asked for a supervisor. The supervisor went through debt #1. I asked for proof of the debts and he informed me that a letter had been sent to me on 5/14 and that I had to write them a letter asking for proof of the debts.

On 5/21 I received a letter from IC System dated 5/15 which only addressed one of the 2 debts so I called them regarding the missing letter for debt #1. I again had to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor told me that debt #1 had been reported to the credit bureaus because they had attempted to contact me via mail and I had not responded. I told her that I never received anything. She said that it had been sent to my address in FL (I have not lived there for 3 years) earlier this year. I explained to her that I have not lived in FL for 3 years and that if they had my NC address and phone number which obviously they do, then why did they sent it to FL. She said that they did not have the address in NC until debt #2 was given to them. My issue with this is that the doctor who gave them debt #1 has my address in NC. I received bills from this doctor periodically. Is this legal? Can they do this? They never informed me of their attempt to collect for debt #1, claimed that they sent it to FL and that it was returned with no forwarding address and then reported it. I will be sending the validation letter from this site for debt #2. She also told me that debt #3 which was pulled from them was only with them for a few days which is why they had not taken any action on it. Any help that you guys can give me is greatly appreciated.

[bigjohnstud4200]

I apologize for the length of this post in advance and I am not familiar with the abbreviations On 5/15/07 there was a number on my caller ID which I did not recognize so I called it. It was IC System, Inc. When I asked the rep what they did, he told me that they are a customer service company and asked me to identify myself so that he could tell me the reason for the call. After I did that he then told me that they are a collections agency. He then informed me of 3 medical debts that are in collections with IC system. Well, this was news to me, I had absolutely no idea and was truly taken back. I was in a very bad car accident and these debts are a result of my accident. The 3 debts are from Florida and I now live in North Carolina.

He then told me that one of them (debt #3) had been pulled from the company and that they no longer had it. He said that perhaps the doctor pulled it to give it to an attorney. He then moved to debt #2 and explained that it was a dentist and that I should remember if I went to the dentist or not because he remembers every time he sees a dentist. At that point I asked for a supervisor. The supervisor went through debt #1. I asked for proof of the debts and he informed me that a letter had been sent to me on 5/14 and that I had to write them a letter asking for proof of the debts.

On 5/21 I received a letter from IC System dated 5/15 which only addressed one of the 2 debts so I called them regarding the missing letter for debt #1. I again had to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor told me that debt #1 had been reported to the credit bureaus because they had attempted to contact me via mail and I had not responded. I told her that I never received anything. She said that it had been sent to my address in FL (I have not lived there for 3 years) earlier this year. I explained to her that I have not lived in FL for 3 years and that if they had my NC address and phone number which obviously they do, then why did they sent it to FL. She said that they did not have the address in NC until debt #2 was given to them. My issue with this is that the doctor who gave them debt #1 has my address in NC. I received bills from this doctor periodically. Is this legal? Can they do this? They never informed me of their attempt to collect for debt #1, claimed that they sent it to FL and that it was returned with no forwarding address and then reported it. I will be sending the validation letter from this site for debt #2. She also told me that debt #3 which was pulled from them was only with them for a few days which is why they had not taken any action on it. Any help that you guys can give me is greatly appreciated.

STOP CALLING! Do everything in writing so you don't talk yourself out of some money. As far as the letter you got, make sure you request validation before the 30 days is up. Read read read the stickies on this forum. Since you are in NC and the debt was incurred in FL, they can use either the NC sol or the FL. NC is only 3 years, I believe, and FL has some pretty good consumer protection laws that extend past the federal FDCPA.

Good luck.

[thomassl]

I would definitely get the collection agency's address and send them a certified DV letter. (You need to keep a paper trail) There are sample letters on this forum for this. Use the search fixture to find them. If you haven't already received your free credit reports for the year, I would definitely get them! You have not indicated just how old these debts are and possibly you might be out of the statue of limitations. Do not send any payments until you look at your credit report and verify the SOL. (There is a list of abbreviations on this site which you need to make a copy of for future reference). From your credit report we will be able to determine who owns the debt...either the original creditor or the collection agency. Sometimes the collection agency is employed by the creditor and sometimes the debt is sold.

[Gizmo]

Thank you for replying to my post!