Avoiding litigation: collector doesn't report; I don't want to pay

[ACG23]

Hi all, as you'll see in this thread, I'm involved with a medical collection from CBCS. Part of it I paid to make it go away; part of it, for >$8,000, is for non-emergency medical services that I did not request (!!!!!).

As it turns out, CBCS doesn't report to the credit bureaus. At all. It's just their policy, they say. Since they don't report, and I don't want to pay a debt I don't owe, I think there's a risk that this is headed to litigation. My question is how to avoid that. Are collectors interested in settlements below value and payment agreements? Are there other things I can do to convince them to just drop this altogether? 

Sadly there's no chance of this going away on account of the SOL. I'm in New York state. Our statute is 6 years, only 2 of which have run. 

[Anonymous]

I would be most concerned that a medical provider has charged for services not requested/approved. I would not even consider settling at this point, rather I would consider possible fraud charges against the provider. I would consult an attorney an possibly the local DA. Fraud charges would also allow you to not only extinguish the fraudulent debt, but open up a possible civil suit on your behalf.

[ACG23]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I would be most concerned that a medical provider has charged for services not requested/approved. I would not even consider settling at this point, rather I would consider possible fraud charges against the provider. I would consult an attorney an possibly the local DA. Fraud charges would also allow you to not only extinguish the fraudulent debt, but open up a possible civil suit on your behalf.

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Well I tend to agree . The problem is they might reply and say "your doctor authorized us, oh, he didn't tell you?", which they probably can't prove, but I can't disprove. There could be any number of unfortunate surprises down that road. That's why I'm a little wary. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I would be most concerned that a medical provider has charged for services not requested/approved. I would not even consider settling at this point, rather I would consider possible fraud charges against the provider. I would consult an attorney an possibly the local DA. Fraud charges would also allow you to not only extinguish the fraudulent debt, but open up a possible civil suit on your behalf.

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This is what I recommended in the previous thread. I wouldn't pay a dime if the they are non-emergency, unauthorized charges. Time to consult an attorney, provided you can meet the requirements for such a lawsuit. 

[Anonymous]

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@ACG23 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I would be most concerned that a medical provider has charged for services not requested/approved. I would not even consider settling at this point, rather I would consider possible fraud charges against the provider. I would consult an attorney an possibly the local DA. Fraud charges would also allow you to not only extinguish the fraudulent debt, but open up a possible civil suit on your behalf.

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Well I tend to agree . The problem is they might reply and say "your doctor authorized us, oh, he didn't tell you?", which they probably can't prove, but I can't disprove. There could be any number of unfortunate surprises down that road. That's why I'm a little wary. 

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I'm confused now. Were you charged for tests / treatment that you DIDN'T receive? If so, that's REALLY easy to prove.  

[Anonymous]

If a provider does an expensive non-emergency procedure on me - they better damn well have my signature an an authorization form, or its malpractice suit time. My doctor is not authorized to sign such an agreement in my stead.

[RobertEG]

Additionally, the entire structure of the identity theft/fraud provisions of the FCRA is to AVOID any need for proofs on either side of the issue.

It relies on the willingness of the consumer to make a statement before a law enforcement agency that they never authorized the alleged debt/transaction.

The criminal penalty for knowingly false statements in a police report is adequate to sufficient to weed out spurious assertions, and it thus adequate under the statute.

File a police report and send a copy to the CRA, and they must block the info from your credit report, which removes it from scoring.

It does not determine the actual fraud/identity theft, but at least gets it removed from credit impact.

[ACG23]

Well, they said they don't report. And I'm not sure criminal is the way to go. But I'm just collecting options for now . Fight hard, fight dirty is definitely one. But I don't want something public enough that will affect my own legal career

So here's another option I'm considering. Do agencies ever accept long term payment plans? $8k is something I can't do. $100/mo for years is. Sigh.