| 12/05/2020 |
Yes |
- Debt collection
- Medical debt
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- Written notification about debt
- Didn't receive enough information to verify debt
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Web |
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CREDIT AGENCIES AGREE TO WAIT BEFORE ADDING MEDICAL DEBT TO RATINGS XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, TX XXXX THE E & A GROUP XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX ACCOUNT # XXXX {$1000.00} ACCOUNT # XXXX {$1000.00} At this time I make the claim that the medical debt procured against me on any or all credit reporting agencies, should be deleted permanently.
Too many consumers have learned the hard way that their credit rating can be tarnished by medical bills they may not owe or when disputes delay insurer payment. That should change under new policy agreed to this week by the three major credit reporting agencies.
The agencies say they will establish a 180-day waiting period before medical debt is added to someones credit report. In addition, the agencies agreed that when an insurer pays a bill, the debt will be promptly removed from the consumers credit report, unlike certain debts that remain for years.
The changes are part of a settlement between the credit rating agencies XXXX, XXXX and XXXX and the New York Attorney Generals office that aims to improve accuracy and enhance procedures for disputing credit report errors. The agreement covers consumers across the country.
The three agencies gather information from banks and collection agencies about consumers credit such as payment history and how much someone owes to credit score for more than 200 million individuals throughout the country. A persons credit score is used as a measure of credit worthiness, and can influence peoples ability to get loans and the interest rates they are charged, among other things.
This is going to help millions of people access more affordable loans, says XXXX XXXX, a principal at community Health Advisors in XXXX XXXX, XXXX. People will no longer be penalized for having a medical bill slip past them and get on their credit report even though the bill gets paid.
Insurers sometimes wrangle with patients and providers for months before paying a bill. The new six-month waiting period will give consumers time to resolve such disputes, XXXX noted.
Medical debt accounts for more that half of the collection items on credit reports, according to a report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Among people facing collection for only medical debt, about half have otherwise clean credit reports with no sign of past debt collection problems.
XXXX XXXX Company Mishandled Consumer Credit Reporting Disputes, Prevented Consumers From Exercising Debt Collection Rights WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) announced an enforcement action against a medical debt collection company for mishandling consumer credit reporting disputes and preventing consumers from exercising important debt collection rights. These practices potentially affected the credit scores of thousands of individuals and caused consumers distress and confusion. The CFPB is ordering the company to provide over {$5.00} million in relief to harmed consumers, correct its business practices, and pay a {$500000.00} penalty.
XXXX XXXX XXXX mistreated consumers and prevented them from exercising critical debt collection rights, said CFPB Director XXXX XXXX. These violations are particularly egregious given the challenges many consumers already face who are attempting to navigate the medical debt maze. Today we are putting a stop to these illegal practices and getting consumers the relief they deserve.
XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, which does business as XXXX XXXX XXXX, is a debt collection agency that primarily collects medical debt on behalf of hospitals, doctors, and other healthcare providers. The company is an indirect subsidiary of XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, which provides billing and other services to more than 600 hospitals nationwide. XXXX XXXX XXXX, a publicly traded healthcare services company based in XXXX, Texas, is the parent company of XXXX XXXX XXXX.
Companies that collect medical debt and supply this information to credit reporting agencies have a significant impact on consumers credit scores. More than 43 million Americans have medical debt adversely affecting their credit reports, and more than half of all overdue debt on consumer credit reports is from medical debt. A recent CFPB report found that the complex processes by which medical bills are incurred, collected by a wide range of debt collectors, and reported to credit reporting agencies can create unique challenges for consumers. The Bureau also found that medical debt can overly penalize consumer credit scores.
As part of its debt collection business, XXXX XXXX XXXX regularly supplies information on the status of its medical debt collection accounts to credit reporting agencies and is considered a furnisher under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Credit reporting agencies track a consumers credit history and other consumer transactions based on information supplied by furnishers. The reports that credit reporting agencies sell are used in determining everything from consumer eligibility for credit to employment decisions.
XXXX XXXX XXXX typically initiates collection efforts through letters and telephone calls to consumers. Within five days of their initial communication, debt collectors are generally required to send debt validation notices to alert consumers about their right to request proof that a debt is valid or dispute the debt. A CFPB investigation, however, uncovered that XXXX XXXX XXXX failed to send debt validation notices to thousands of consumers.
The CFPB also found that the company mishandled consumer credit reporting disputes by failing to investigate and respond to consumers within the 30-day timeframe required under the law. Because the company furnishes information related to past-due medical debt, the information consumers seek to dispute or validate has the potential to lower credit scores.
The CFPB order charges the company with violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The violations specifically include : Mishandling consumer credit reporting disputes : XXXX XXXX XXXX failed to respond to more than 13,000 consumer credit report disputes within the 30-day timeframe required by law. On average, the company took more than 90 days to respond to consumers disputes and, in some cases, took over a year. Consumers spent time and money attempting to follow up on unresolved disputes and experienced distress and confusion due to the delays. The CFPB found that the company had no policies or procedures in place to investigate these consumer credit report disputes. Instead, the company treated consumer credit report disputes in the same way as other consumer complaints and had no deadline for responding.
Preventing consumers from exercising important debt collection rights : XXXX XXXX XXXX failed to send debt validation notices to more than 10,000 consumers. During this time, the company continued to collect over {$2.00} XXXX from consumers who did not receive the notices. Failing to provide notices denies consumers the opportunity to assess whether the debt is valid and whether the amount or source is correct. These notices can be an especially important consumer safeguard with regard to medical debt, where issues like insurance reimbursements and medical billing processes are commonly fraught with complexity, confusion, and delay, and can lead to consumers being unsure of how much to pay or even whom to pay.
Together, these violations had the potential to harm thousands of consumers and in some cases, negatively impact their credit scores. This can hinder consumers ability to obtain credit or increase the rates they may pay for credit. In some cases, the company reported inaccurate information to the credit reporting agencies and then failed to provide a timely response to consumer disputes about the errors. Some consumers may also have been able to avoid negative information on their credit reports if they had known about their right to assess and dispute the debt in question.
Enforcement Action To address these violations, the CFPB order requires XXXX XXXX XXXX to take the following actions : Provide over {$5.00} XXXX in relief to harmed consumers : XXXX XXXX XXXX must identify all affected consumers and provide monetary relief. Consumers who were never sent a debt validation notice and who made payments to the company will receive a full refund and have remaining account balances forgiven. The company will pay {$100.00} to consumers who were never sent a debt validation notice and did not make any payments to the company. The company must also pay damages ranging from $ XXXX {$1000.00} to each consumer who did not receive a timely response to his or her credit report dispute. The amount that each consumer receives will correspond to the duration of the companys delay in responding to the consumers credit report dispute. The company must submit a written plan to the CFPB for approval detailing how the company will identify affected consumers and provide relief.
Correct errors on credit reports : XXXX XXXX XXXX must identify all consumer accounts affected by its illegal business practices and fix any inaccuracies. The company must also update the account information it has furnished to the credit reporting companies and notify all affected consumers of this update, to the extent it has not already done so.
End illegal credit reporting and debt collection practices : The company must cease its illegal business practices and develop new policies to comply with federal consumer credit reporting and debt collection laws.
Establish consumer safeguards : XXXX XXXX XXXX must change how it does business and establish safeguards to ensure it has the staffing, facilities, systems, and information necessary to timely and completely respond to consumer credit report disputes. It must also establish a strong oversight program to identify any systemic inaccuracies to ensure that it informs consumers of their right to validate and dispute inaccurate debts in collection.
Pay a civil monetary penalty of {$500000.00} : XXXX XXXX XXXX will pay a {$500000.00} fine for the illegal actions.
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| 09/02/2021 |
Yes |
- Debt collection
- Medical debt
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- Written notification about debt
- Didn't receive enough information to verify debt
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Web |
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XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Texas XXXX Social Security # XXXX DOB : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, Texas XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, GA XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, PA XXXX MEDICAL DEBT COLLECTIONS DISPUTE BASED UPON STATE MANDATES ON CREDIT REPORTING DISCLOSURE : THIS IS NOT AN IDENTITY THEFT DISPUTE, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM TAKING ANY POSITION OF IDENTITY THEFT EITHER WITH ANY CREDIT REPORTING AGENCY OR ANY SUBSCRIBERE THAT PARTAKES IN THE PRIVLIDGES ON REPORTING CONSUMERS PAYMENT HISTORY, IT IS A DISPUTE ON GROUNDS OF VALIDATION PURPOSES ONLY.
LEGAL DISPUTE REQUESTING FULL DISCLOSURE OF TRUE TIMELINES PERTAINING TO TRADELINE PROCUREMENT, IN ADDITION TO ACTUAL PAYMENT HISTORY PROVING ACTUAL INITIAL DATE OF FIRST 30-DAY LATE PAYMENT HISTORY, THUS TRIGGERING THE 7-YEAR RULE THAT RELATES TO ERRONEOUS OR OBSOLETE INFORMATION.
605. Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports [ 15 U.S.C. 1681c ] ( a ) Information excluded from consumer reports. Except as authorized under subsection ( b ) of this section, no consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report containing any of the following items of information : ( 1 ) Cases under title 11 [ United States Code ] or under the Bankruptcy Act that, from the date of entry of the order for relief or the date of adjudication, as the case may be, antedate the report by more than 10 years.
( 2 ) Civil suits, civil judgments, and records of arrest that from date of entry, antedate the report by more than seven years or until the governing statute of limitations has expired, whichever is the longer period.
( 3 ) Paid tax liens which, from date of payment, antedate the report by more than seven years.
( 4 ) Accounts placed for collection or charged to profit and loss which antedate the report by more than seven years. ( 1 ) ( 5 ) Any other adverse item of information, other than records of convictions of crimes which antedates the report by more than seven years.1 ( b ) Exempted cases. The provisions of subsection ( a ) of this section are not applicable in the case of any consumer credit report to be used in connection with ( 1 ) a credit transaction involving, or which may reasonably be expected to involve, a principal amount of {$150000.00} or more ; ( 2 ) the underwriting of life insurance involving, or which may reasonably be expected to involve, a face amount of {$150000.00} or more ; or ( 3 ) the employment of any individual at an annual salary which equals, or which may reasonably be expected to equal {$75000.00}, or more. ( c ) Running of reporting period. ( 1 ) In general.
The 7-year period referred to in paragraphs ( 4 ) and ( 6 ) ** of subsection ( a ) shall begin, with respect to any delinquent account that is placed for collection ( internally or by referral to a third party, whichever is earlier ), charged to profit and loss, or subjected to any similar action, upon the expiration of the 180-day period beginning on the date of the commencement of the delinquency which immediately preceded the collection activity, charge to profit and loss, or similar action.
THE E & A GROUP XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX ACCOUNT # XXXX ACCOUNT # XXXX Several states such as Texas and Oklahoma have recently passed state legislation on the reporting of medical debts. There are restrictions either dealing with the reporting of medical debts in general, or if a pre-determined good faith estimate was issued before services were performed or after emergency services. Accordingly, I live in such a state where my right are protected from aggressive medical debt collections and their longstanding abusive effects. As in Senate Bill 1037 by Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, and Rep. Eddie Lucio III, D-Brownsville, which was signed Friday by Gov. Greg Abbott. The law takes effect immediately and represents a major step in protecting consumers from the longlasting damage that can result from surprise billing in Texas, where patients are at an uncommonly high risk of receiving expensive surprise bills. The law requires the exclusion of medical debt from a patients credit report in limited circumstances : if the patient had health coverage at the time of the health care service and if the collection account is related to billing for an outstanding balancenot including a copayment, deductible or coinsurance owed to an out-of-network emergency care or out-of-network facility-based provider. Your agency must delete all references to medical debt collections effective immediately. '' DELETE THE AFOREMENTIONED MEDICAL DEBTS COLLECTION FROM ALL CREDIT BUREAUS!!!
Thank you for your full consideration in this matter.
Sincerely, XXXX XXXX
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| 01/12/2021 |
Yes |
- Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
- Credit reporting
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- Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
- Their investigation did not fix an error on your report
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Web |
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They said they would do an investigation but then they still reported the items. I asked how they investigate and they said " we call the collector and verify your name and DOB '', I then asked if they asked for proof like signatures, identification or anything else and they said " no ''. How is that an investigation??? Of course whoever they call will give them my name, social, DOB because that's what they need to report it!!!
These items are so-called medical, which I think I would remember getting medical attention. Obviously it's not mine and XXXX is refusing to investigate properly and make sure the information they are providing to people is accurate. Clearly this is in violation of my rights.
And clearly these are creditors that are preying on people trying to get them to pay and hold their credit ransom. When I call them they refuse to show proof too. I will reporting them separately.
They refuse to investigate because these people are paying for their services.
Here are the 3 accounts in dispute : Acct # XXXX Collection Agency : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Group Original Creditor : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Amount : {$2300.00} Acct # XXXX Collection Agency : XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX Creditor : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Amount : {$860.00} Acct # XXXX Collection Agency : XXXX XXXX XXXX Original Creditor : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Amount : {$1800.00}
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| 05/18/2020 |
Yes |
- Debt collection
- Other debt
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- Written notification about debt
- Didn't receive enough information to verify debt
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Web |
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A debt of {$460.00} acquired by this collection agency in XXXX/2019 was unknown to us but showed on our credit report when refinancing. While trying to resolve the issue the collection agency still is not returning phone calls or answering calls. A letter is said to be mailed but returned to them. We receive our mail fine. We have received 0 paperwork. When calling we have been given an extension to enter for a specific person. This person has returned our calls 0 times with us leaving numerous messages. We did receive a call back from another company who could not help us but did offer to send information through the mail again. We continue to call months into this with him not answering or calling back. We have called 7 times in the last 3 work days with 0 response. Today we contacted another customer service representative who told us of the letter being returned to them and gave and email address. We have emailed and are still waiting for any correspondence or further information. We would not know of this debt if not refinancing. Now that we are, the inability to get more information or even communication we are very frustrated.
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| 08/12/2019 |
Yes |
- Debt collection
- Other debt
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- Attempts to collect debt not owed
- Debt is not yours
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Web |
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I tried to explain that this debt is not owed because the manager at the apartment complex this amount is for, reported this debt and lied about the amount when it was paid in full when I moved out of the apartment building, the collection agency has not been cooperating with me and a woman by the name of XXXX XXXX is the one who is in charge of this collection was very spiteful and because I told her I wasnt paying this debt she went and ran a hard inquiry on my credit report, there was no reason for her to run a hard inquiry! Ive tried to get in contact with her and shes not answering, I DONT OWE this money.
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| 04/01/2021 |
Yes |
- Debt collection
- Medical debt
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- Attempts to collect debt not owed
- Debt is not yours
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Web |
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Still in credit report i want file disputes credit this debt not my this not my fault
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| 09/30/2022 |
Yes |
- Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
- Credit reporting
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- Incorrect information on your report
- Information belongs to someone else
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Web |
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| 12/20/2021 |
Yes |
- Debt collection
- Medical debt
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- Attempts to collect debt not owed
- Debt is not yours
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Web |
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| 09/06/2021 |
Yes |
- Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
- Credit reporting
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- Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
- Their investigation did not fix an error on your report
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Web |
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| 09/06/2021 |
Yes |
- Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
- Credit reporting
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- Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
- Their investigation did not fix an error on your report
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Web |
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| 03/08/2021 |
Yes |
- Debt collection
- Medical debt
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- Attempts to collect debt not owed
- Debt is not yours
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Web |
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| 03/04/2021 |
Yes |
- Debt collection
- I do not know
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- Written notification about debt
- Didn't receive enough information to verify debt
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Web |
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| 02/28/2021 |
Yes |
- Debt collection
- Medical debt
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- Attempts to collect debt not owed
- Debt is not yours
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Web |
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| 11/09/2018 |
Yes |
- Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
- Credit reporting
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- Incorrect information on your report
- Information belongs to someone else
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Web |
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| 11/24/2014 |
Yes |
- Debt collection
- Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.)
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- Disclosure verification of debt
- Not given enough info to verify debt
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Web |
Servicemember |
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