Beware of CREDITORS COLLECTION BUREAU

Anonymous · ‎04-20-2011

So, I have CREDITORS COLLECTION BUREAU (CCB ) for a medical bill. I called and asked them if I could make payments on my $2600 bill. They said sure. They asked what type of payment plan would I need that would work for me. I said before I do that, can you tell me if you will remove the entry from my report when the balance is fully paid? The rep said yes, all you to do is dispute it with the Credit Bureau and they will remove it. I started to laugh and told them that is not a true statement. I asked if they could provide me in writing something stating that they would remove the entry from my credit report. They told me know. Just dispute it. So, I told her no that I would not continue to setup the payment plan if they can't remove the entry.

Has anyone made a payment plan with CCB before and disputed it and had it removed? Or have any completed a pay for delete with them before?

Thanks

guiness56 · ‎04-20-2011

I think what the CSR is trying to tell you is after payment, if you dispute, they will not repsond. Therefore it would be deleted.

I have seen this work before. And one of the few times I would actually dispute a TL.

On the other hand, you risk the chance of them verifying.

Have you attempted to contact the OC to see if they still own the debt, will take payments from you and recall the account from the CA?

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Anonymous · ‎04-20-2011

Hi dbell9, and welcome to the FICO Forums!

Would you mind my asking if this debt is still within the SOL? If so, I'd advise you to stop calling the CA, and definitely don't get the collector on the phone stirred up by pointing out their dishonesty, and making ultimatums when you're in the disadvantaged position. This, because you've acknowledged that the debt is yours, and tipped them off that you *can* pay. If the debt is within the SOL, what would their motivation be to NOT sue you, after you refuse to make good on the debt? They're not obligated to delete, after all.

Especially if the debt is within the SOL, or the SOL can be reset by making a payment, or even a promise to pay (it doesn't sound like you did, but just in case...) you'll want to, ideally, keep all communications to writing. All agreements made should be in writing, period. And, if the debt is w/in the SOL, you'll want to be fairly certain that you can pay if you start poking at a CA.

Have you read up on the HIPAA process? You may want to Google it (we don't discuss it here in the FICO forums), and pursue that as a possible means of delete. You will need to be able to pay the debt in full, however.

Also, as Guiness suggested, you might try contacting the OC, and asking if they can pull the account back from the CA.

Anonymous · ‎04-20-2011

@guiness56 wrote:
I think what the CSR is trying to tell you is after payment, if you dispute, they will not repsond. Therefore it would be deleted.

I have seen this work before. And one of the few times I would actually dispute a TL.

On the other hand, you risk the chance of them verifying.

Have you attempted to contact the OC to see if they still own the debt, will take payments from you and recall the account from the CA?

I never thought about calling the OC. Didn't think that they would recall the account from the CA. That's worth a try. I will give that a shoot.

Anonymous · ‎04-20-2011

Thanks LilMirth. Is there a link to the HIPAA Process that you can point me to? BTW, I didn't tip them to anything.

Shogun · ‎04-20-2011

You have to google the HIPPA method. Not allowed on the forums.

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Anonymous · ‎04-20-2011

One more question. Is it against HIPPA for the collection to show up on my credit report as the following:

Original Creditor: MED1 02 DUPAGE ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY C

Lawstudent007 · ‎04-21-2011

Don't want to hijack this thread, but have a quick question: why can't the HIPAA process be discussed on the forum. There are so many posts that refer to it...

llecs · ‎04-21-2011

@Lawstudent007 wrote:
Don't want to hijack this thread, but have a quick question: why can't the HIPAA process be discussed on the forum. There are so many posts that refer to it...

Great question! Someone else, outside of these forums, claimed to own the HIPAA process. Instead of challenging ownership concepts of a federal law (HIPAA), the forums are directing others to google the info.

At one point the HIPAA process worked very well. IMO, the CRAs were scared into removing CAs due to medical privacy, and it worked. However, EX started to catch on and now the other two are following suit. The magic is no longer there, as far as I can see. Besides, I read HIPAA over and over and over again and could never find a basis for those letters, assuming the CA didn't know what the medical issue was.

Lawstudent007 · ‎04-21-2011

Thanks for the update llecs. Claiming ownership huh, interesting...

So is it more lile a hit or miss with the CRAs, or does HIPAA not work at all?