Medical Bill paid - now what?

[cassie3783]

If you need to catch up, read this post.

To recap: medical bill for anesthesia wasn't paid by my insurance two years ago.  Account from anesthesia wasn't paid by me either, therefore went into collections.

Contacted insurance company last week, they reviewed & discovered that it should have been paid by them.  Called them again today to get an update on the status & was informed that they electronically sent payment to the original creditor (anesthesia office).

I have to wait to call the OC tomorrow, but any advice for me since this account is now w/ the collection agency & no longer w/ the oc?  Insurance informed me that they could only send payment to the OC, which is fine, but IDK what I can do from this point to get the CA account removed from my credit report.

Thanks in advance, y'all!

[cassie3783]

:bump:

Anybody?? 

[RobertEG]

Technically, the debt collector does not have to delete based on payment to the OC, so just notifying them that the debt is satisfied wont compel them to delete.

However, your situation is a bit different.  You have evidence in the form of agreement by the OC that the debt should have been paid.

Thus, at the time of collection referral, you have their agreement that their actually was no debt.  That makes the fact of the collection itself inaccurate.

I would request the OC to send a letter to the debt collector, not simply requesting that they delete, but rather informing the debt collector that their referral of the collection was, in fact, inaccurate, and that the debt collector should delete based on no collection in fact.

If you cant get OC involvement to that degree, then i would at least ask them for a letter stating the facts, and would use that letter as basis for a direct dispute with the debt collector, also asserting update of accuracy by deleting their collection.

In my opinion, you have firm legal basis for compelling deletion.  It is just a matter of getting them to agree without having to go to court.

[cassie3783]

Thanks for the input!

I'm really hoping it doesn't come down to legal proceedings, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if that's exactly what has to be done.

So far I've only dealt with one csr w/ the CA & she's been a pain in my backside, but I'll be looking up upper management info via BBB website when it comes time to get in contact w/ the CA.

Wish me luck!

[RobertEG]

Your supporting facts now reside with the creditor.  I would not even contact the debt collector until I had a firm statement of the facts from the OC.

[Lasardo]

I had a medical account that should have charged my insurance and they did not for whatever reason. This was basis for a dispute therefore a deletion.

[2NE1]

Sent you a PM! Good luck!

[RobertEG]

You dispute through a CRA.  The CRA forwards the dispute to the furnisher.  The furnisher is then required to conduct a reasonable investigation of the accuracy of the disputed information, and report back to the CRA.  If the furnisher verifies that the reporting is accurate, they dont have to prove it by way of documentation sent to the CRA.

The CRA will then, based upon the assertion of accuracy by the furnisher, almost always conclude their reinvestigation by verification. 

If, based on the supporting documentation, the OC affirms that the debt should have been paid by them, they should not verify the accuracy of any prior reporting of a delinquency on the debt.  The dispute process relies upon the furnisher conducting a reasonable investigation, and accurately reporting the results to the CRA.

If the OC has verified, yet is telling you that they should have paid the debt befire the reported delinquency, that is blatantly contradictory.

I would follow up with a direct dispute sent to the OC, pointing out the clear inconsistency.  They are the party at fault, and I would get the CRA out of the picture.