Hi guys - thanks to reading this site and seeing so many inspiring stories, I am FINALLY taking the plunge.
First up:
Medical Collection
Shows on all 3 credit reports - EQ, EX, & TU - as:
Collection Agency: RECEIVABLES MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Original Creditor: PATIENT FIRST
Original Balance: $88
Current Balance: $116
There is only 1 entry on each CRA report, from the CA. In other words, OC is not reporting, just CA.
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Date of Service (which I guess is also DOFD?): 01.29.2009
SOL in MD: 3 years = 01.29.2012
PLUS I just reset SOL last week. By accident.
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After exhaustive research re: "HIPAA process", and being unable to actually find a citation ANYWHERE in the actual HIPAA law or ensuing regs or court cases that says ANYTHING about ANY entity - OC, CA, or CRA - being required to delete medical collections after they are paid, I have come to conclusion articulated by this guy:
Namely, the "HIPAA process" may work, but there's no absolutely no legal reason it should.
I WAS going to use it on this debt in place of PFD, but now will be saving the "HIPAA process" for a last resort in case nothing else works.
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With that said, here's what I've done so far:
Called OC's main billing phone number yesterday. Spoke to first-line rep. Asked if OC still owned the debt, or if it had been sold to CA. He said OC still owned it.
I asked if OC would be willing / could pull the debt back from CA if I PIF, immediately. He said it would be up to his supervisor, but he seriously doubted she'd say yes. He gave me her name, sent her a note via their computer system, and said she'd be calling me in the next day or so with an answer.
Questions:
1) How do we know who really owns a debt?
Is there any sure way to find out? Specifically, how do I know this kid was a) correct, or b) telling the truth, when he said OC still owned it? Do we just have to take people's word for who the real owner is? CRAs don't have info re: actual debt ownership, right? And DV letters also don't help re: actual ownership (vs. assignment), right? So how do we find out?
2) What does it mean, exactly, for OC to "pull debt back from CA"?
Is the OC owning the debt a prerequisite to being able to "pull it back"? Like, if it's already been sold to CA, is OC out of the loop entirely? (I ask for other, older medical collections.) Does "pulling the debt back" have any effect on credit report? Is CA required to do anything - like, say, delete the item with each credit bureau? Or is that OC's responsibility? Or nobody's? Or mine, via some kind of dispute process?
3) Basically, when the supervisor from the OC's billing department calls me back today or tomorrow (hopefully), do I:
a) Stick with original request for OC to "pull debt back" from CA, in exchange for immediate PIF?
b) drop the whole "pull debt back" request entirely - and offer a PFD?
Which is better - having debt pulled back, or getting a PFD?
It seems to my unexperienced eyes that PFD might be better, b/c if the item still shows on my credit reports after I PIF, and I have to dispute it with CRAs, a PFD letter from the OC promising to delete with all CRAs, as opposed to a letter from OC that just says they'll "pull account back" from CA, seems more likely to get the CRAs to delete. What am I missing?
Then, once I decide whether to ask for "pull back" or PFD -
Do I NEED to get a written agreement from supervisor? What if she says she WILL do either a) or b), but WILL NOT give me anything in writing? Would it be OK to just trust her and PIF?
My gut says no, don't trust, don't pay, if they won't provide anything in writing, just keep calling/emailing/sending PFD letters until they cave.
What do you think?
Thank you for reading this far!!!!
1) How do we know who really owns a debt?
ask the OC who owns the debt.Also if the OC is reporting a $0 balance, that means the OC sold the debt.
2) What does it mean, exactly, for OC to "pull debt back from CA"?
It means the OC only assigned the debt to the CA to help collect.Pulling back----the OC tells the CA, that you will be paying the OC
and that the CA needs to delete because the OC no longer needs the help of the CA to collect.The OC can not delete the CA, the CA has to do it.
3) Basically, when the supervisor from the OC's billing department calls me back today or tomorrow (hopefully), do I:
pulling back a CA and doing a PFD of the CA........is the same thing
what you dont want is a paid collection on your CR's....FICO scoring see a collection as a collection--paid or unpaid.
It seems to my unexperienced eyes that PFD might be better, b/c if the item still shows on my credit reports after I PIF, and I have to dispute it with CRAs, a PFD letter from the OC promising to delete with all CRAs, as opposed to a letter from OC that just says they'll "pull account back" from CA, seems more likely to get the CRAs to delete. What am I missing
The CRA's have an agreement with the CA's NOT to delete a collection just because of a payment.
Do I NEED to get a written agreement from supervisor? What if she says she WILL do either a) or b), but WILL NOT give me anything in writing? Would it be OK to just trust her and PIF?
Ask the OC nicely if you PIF, would they agree to not report anything on your CR's.
Also ask if they can cancel the agreement they have with the CA or pull back.
Try to get an agreement in writing, just tell them that you prefer it that way. But if the OC will not give you it in writing I would still PIF and
start wrting GW letters for a delete because you are still within you SOL were the OC can sue and win.
I would suggest reading What Steps Do I Take? DV?PFD? you may use the link below
Thank you Lightnin!
SUCCESS - the supervisor at the OC's office - the same person who the lower-level guy I talked to first said he "seriously doubted" would agree to any kind of PFD - AGREED TO MY VERY FIRST PFD!!!
Woo-hoo!!!
This supervisor could not have been nicer. She talked to HER boss, and he said yes!
OC pulled account back from CA, I paid OC over the phone today, and supervisor is having CA delete the account from my credit reports AND fax me a letter saying so, for proof.
This is SO COOL! I can't stop smiling!!!
1 down, 8 to go... (and that's just collections). Oh well. Nothing like success to keep inspired!
THANK YOU AND KEEP IT UP Y'ALL! If I can you can too!!!
P.S. For new people like me, here is the process I used and exactly what happened; reading these "step-by-steps" from other people who had gone through the same things really helped me.
1) CALLED OC - didn't write letter or email, just used phone first - less intimidating to me!
Guy who answered the phone said OC still owned the debt; I asked about possibility for PFD/having it pulled back from collections - he said it would be up to his supervisor and he'd give her the message but he seriously doubted she would agree to it. Said supervisor - he gave me her name - would call me back in a few days with an answer.
2) After a few days, no call - so I CALLED OC AGAIN -
Asked for supervisor by name - she was at lunch; they said call back in about 15 minutes - I got busy and didn't - called back after 5 pm & she'd left for the day. That was a Friday.
3) On Monday still no call back, and I was starting to lose hope, so I broke the rules and CALLED CA -
Asked for PFD. The lady who helped me was really, really nice (same as supervisor at OC!) - said they couldn't do a PFD - but she did know that with this particular OC, once payment had been made, if I sent a GW letter there was about a 50/50 chance they'd delete from credit report. I said okay thanks let me think about it and call you back.
4) Hung up and figured I had nothing to lose so CALLED OC AGAIN -
Asked for supervisor again, by name - actually got to speak with her - she said she'd look into it and call me back.
5) OC CALLED ME -
Agreed to PFD; they will instruct CA to delete from all bureaus AND instruct CA to fax me a letter saying so, for proof.
I took a chance and paid OC *BEFORE* receiving the fax; that was purely on "feeling", since the supervisor had been so kind and helpful and had really gone out of her way to help me; basically I trusted her. Then there's also the logical point Lightnin brought up, above, which is that I really don't have any other choice, since SOL hasn't run out, than to PIF, with or without anything in writing.
This was something I was confused about earlier (necessity of getting something in writing and what to do if they said no) so I'm including my experience in case it might help shed light on it for anyone else.
6) PAID OC -
over the phone, today...
7) WATCH THE SCORES RISE!!! 