Validation by CA for Medical Debt

[jmf8756]

I Debt Validated a collection agency for some medical debt. They sent what appears to be reasonable validation, right down to the admission documents with DH's signature on them. Should we approach a PFD with the collection agency, or since they prove that they have a current relationship with the original creditor, pay them? We're just trying to get these lines off the credit report the easiest way.

[lordreyrey]

Handling it through the OC is the best route to go, but a lot of the time they will tell you that you have to go through the collection agency since they have already sold the debt and washed their hands of it. Sometimes you get lucky. I would try them first.

If the debt is something that you owe, and something you can afford to pay off, then offering to pay in exchange for delete is a good idea. Just make sure you are paying what you owe, and not some absurdly inflated number where they added on all kinds of "interest," and "late fees."

For me, just yesterday my wife paid off a collection to a JDB that we didnt even realize we owed. It was a medical bill from when we had our daughter early 2011. We moved and the doctor didnt get our new address I guess. We called the doctor's office, but they told us we had to go through the collection agency.

My wife called the collection agency, and they were more than happy to give us a letter of deletion in exchange for payment. The funny thing is that they are the same JDB that had their token attorney take us to court in 2009 for a bill that they never verified, and was outside the statute of limitations. Suffice it to say we won that one.

Overall, yes, if the bill is verified to be yours, and it is inside the statute of limitations, then you can usually negotiate pay for delete.

[jmf8756]

It is legitimate. The records they sent are for co pays and detailed enough that I know they aren't adding anything on. It was the same reason as you, they didn't have the correct address so we never got the bill. I'll start with the OC first and see what they say. Did you write them a letter and offer PFD or call them?

[lordreyrey]

For the OC, I called the Dr. Office and was told that unfortunately the debt had been sold to the JDB, and I had to go through them as they no longer handled the account.

After that, I did what you are not supposed to do, and I called the CA. For me, I have already dealt with them in the past and won, and I planned to pay them, so I called them. They were very friendly, shockingly, and agreed to the PFD. I drove down there immediately and paid cash, and they gave me the letter....done.

Since you plan to pay, you can give them a call and tell them you did not know you owed this debt, but you would like to take care of it in full in exchange for it being removed from your credit reports. When you go down to pay, bring cash or a money order, and make sure you get the letter stating delete or remove signed and dated before you hand them a dime.

Good luck.