topic Re: Frustrated! Collection now showing on Transunion in Rebuilding Your Credit

Frustrated! Collection now showing on Transunion

Anonymous — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 07:01:59 GMT

On October 31st, I received a letter from a debt collector about a medical bill for 90 dollars. I asked them to send me the bill, because I honestly had no clue about it . 3 weeks later (November 21) I receive a print out of the bill. I didn't think this was enough so I wrote them a letter, and sent it November 26th USPS Certified Mail with Signature , they signed for it December 1st. I then sent them another letter two weeks later Certified Mail with Signature. Both letters were delivered and signed, I sent them to the right address also. I never received a letter back for either letter. Now this account is showing on my Transunion report. What do I do? I have Proof of the two letters being delivered and signed for. I've been trying so hard to get my credit improved, and now this . They just ignored my letters... Do I have any chance of clearing this up?

I have proof of delivery, but I didn't make a copy of either letter. I regret that.

Re: Frustrated! Collection now showing on Transunion

Anonymous — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 07:12:17 GMT

I would suggest contacting the medical facility they claim the debt is from. There is a good possibility you may be able to work out payment with them and they can rescind the collection from the CA. If they do that, the CA no longer has authority to report this debt/collection.

Re: Frustrated! Collection now showing on Transunion

Anonymous — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 07:19:10 GMT

I did and the lady said they can't do that. I had her ask a manager and she said they couldn't either. I am so frustrated, I've done my best to get my score up. A 90 dollar bill, to go on my Trans report just gets me irked. I'm not trying to get out of paying a 90.00 bill, I just didn't remember what it was from. So I requested infornation from the Debt collector after the first letter they sent me, never got anything from them after Two Certified Letters being delivered and signed for by them,

Re: Frustrated! Collection now showing on Transunion

TURNERHOOVER — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 14:33:38 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I did and the lady said they can't do that. I had her ask a manager and she said they couldn't either. I am so frustrated, I've done my best to get my score up. A 90 dollar bill, to go on my Trans report just gets me irked. I'm not trying to get out of paying a 90.00 bill, I just didn't remember what it was from. So I requested infornation from the Debt collector after the first letter they sent me, never got anything from them after Two Certified Letters being delivered and signed for by them,

Challenge the collection with the credit bureaus where it's currently listed. If you think it's a mistake and if so, it should be deleted right away.

Re: Frustrated! Collection now showing on Transunion

Anonymous — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 16:38:16 GMT

It's only on my Transunion. I wish I made copies of the letters, but i didnt. I just sent them certified mail, and i have that proof. I dont have anything else.

Re: Frustrated! Collection now showing on Transunion

Anonymous — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 03:28:07 GMT

I feel your pain. I am going through the a similar issue. My medical collection is $150 from a clinic I had an MRI done back in 2009. My copay is $150 and I always pay them at the time of service. I called the clinic, they couldn't verify I had an outstanding balance. My social didn't pull up at all in billing. She stated if I had any type of balance, even in archives that my social would have pulled it up. She basically said I didn't owe anything. I did mail them a letter and emailed it asking for a letter stating I do not owe them anything. I doubt they will respond. I disputed it with Experian as a trial. They came back 3 days later and said it was a verified collection. WHAT??? Well apparently, they don't have to prove anything. They just verify they have my name on some sheet of paper that I owe.

I am now sending the CA letter to verify the debt and give me PROOF within 30 days. I want a billing statement from the clinic or ANYTHING to show the date of service, how much the claim was and how much my insurance paid, not the date they say it started. I am hoping I can at least use the date of service as my date to have it removed from my report. It has been 6 years and 4 that it has been on my report. I have a feeling when my scores update, I am going to take a hit. It didn't change the date it comes off but it does update to show it is a collection. Up until now, it only reported once in 2011. If you had your original letter to back up the 2 certified mail receipts, you have a good case for deletion. Without that letter, I am not sure what you can do. Hopefully, someone else can give advice. Medical collections are pure B.S.

Re: Frustrated! Collection now showing on Transunion

gdale6 — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 04:12:55 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I did and the lady said they can't do that. I had her ask a manager and she said they couldn't either. I am so frustrated, I've done my best to get my score up. A 90 dollar bill, to go on my Trans report just gets me irked. I'm not trying to get out of paying a 90.00 bill, I just didn't remember what it was from. So I requested infornation from the Debt collector after the first letter they sent me, never got anything from them after Two Certified Letters being delivered and signed for by them,

Try PFD with the CA and if that fails Google the HIPAA Process, you can contact its creator for help. Good luck

Re: Frustrated! Collection now showing on Transunion

Anonymous — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 17:06:29 GMT

I don't want to even mention PFD to the CA, because they record the calls, then that is me admitting to the debt. They never validated this debt, clearly ignored my 2 letters, and still placed it on my Trans report. I sent the letters in the right timeframe . This just irritates me.

Re: Frustrated! Collection now showing on Transunion

Anonymous — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 17:27:47 GMT

Three weeks after you requested validation, you recieved a copy of the bill. Honestly thats about all they are required to provide under case law. You can certainly argue that its insufficient, and they will argue that it is sufficient. So at this point, your only REAL option is to take them into court to get a judge to evaluate the facts and make a determination.

Offering a PFD is not legally admitting to the debt. People make settlements all the time without it being an admition of anything.

Re: Frustrated! Collection now showing on Transunion

Anonymous — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 01:35:44 GMT

I don't think it was enough. Just a print out that anyone could send . This CA admitted to on OCT 31st mixing up another file that belonged to my Father due to me having the same name, so I asked for more proof that the bill was mine. The proof that they sent me 3 weeks later like I said it was just a print out. That's why I sent letters asking for more detailed information. If they mixed a file once already, then they surely can do it again. I have a paper that states they did mix a file up . To not respond to the letters, and never return 2 voicemail's , it's irritating.

Re: Frustrated! Collection now showing on Transunion

gdale6 — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 01:52:11 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I don't think it was enough. Just a print out that anyone could send . This CA admitted to on OCT 31st mixing up another file that belonged to my Father due to me having the same name, so I asked for more proof that the bill was mine. The proof that they sent me 3 weeks later like I said it was just a print out. That's why I sent letters asking for more detailed information. If they mixed a file once already, then they surely can do it again. I have a paper that states they did mix a file up . To not respond to the letters, and never return 2 voicemail's , it's irritating.

If you have a letter from them saying this debt is a mix up just file a CFPB complaint against the CA.

Re: Frustrated! Collection now showing on Transunion

RobertEG — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 02:37:30 GMT

The DV process is not one of proving the debt. It is one of conducting an investigation and providing a determination that their assertion of the debt is supported.

In my opinion, they have validated.

If you disagree, then you simply consider their validation to be inadequate. Having sent what you donsider inadequate validation is the same as the debt remaining, at least in your opinion, unvalidated. That is not per se a violation of the FDCPA.

If and when they resume active collection on the debt, it is that activity that would then become a violation, to which you could chose to initiate legal action for an seerted violation of their cease collectin bar.

I concur that your option is to get your assetion of inadequacy of validation before a judge once you have a violation of the cease collection bar.

Re: Frustrated! Collection now showing on Transunion

Anonymous — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 03:34:19 GMT

I did everything I could- Sent letters Certified Mail during the allowed time frame. Asked for specific information because they messed up with accounts before so honestly How can I be sure it was my bill? It's ridiculous they can send it off to the Credit Bureau, without providing more than a quick printout. No response to the letters, no calls returned, nothing. What's the point in even trying ? I appreciate the replies, just am frustrated. I give up.

All over 90 dollars. I just think it's ridiculous, just because they send a quick printout that didn't show much at all, that they can report to the Bureaus. I guess I wasted my energy. I try to get documentation that really shows it's mine, and I would glady pay it, it's only $90.00 . They instead want to ignore my attempts, and get nowhere. I don't want to goto court, all over $90.00, is it wrong for me to ask for more information showing that it's my debt? They mixed files before, so I think I should be able to get more proof. Sorry for the rant.

Re: Frustrated! Collection now showing on Transunion

Anonymous — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 16:40:30 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

I did everything I could- Sent letters Certified Mail during the allowed time frame. Asked for specific information because they messed up with accounts before so honestly How can I be sure it was my bill? It's ridiculous they can send it off to the Credit Bureau, without providing more than a quick printout. No response to the letters, no calls returned, nothing. What's the point in even trying ? I appreciate the replies, just am frustrated. I give up.

All over 90 dollars. I just think it's ridiculous, just because they send a quick printout that didn't show much at all, that they can report to the Bureaus. I guess I wasted my energy. I try to get documentation that really shows it's mine, and I would glady pay it, it's only $90.00 . They instead want to ignore my attempts, and get nowhere. I don't want to goto court, all over $90.00, is it wrong for me to ask for more information showing that it's my debt? They mixed files before, so I think I should be able to get more proof. Sorry for the rant.

Yes, its ridiculous that we often have to drag these incompetant clowns into court for not correcting mistakes over trivial amounts of money, but when they become intransigent, that really is the only recourse.

Re: Frustrated! Collection now showing on Transunion

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 07:50:24 GMT

Hey guys, please read what has happened in the past few days. I have good news!!!!!!!!!Sorry that it's kind of a read.

On Thursday, I called the Collection Agency, and yet again was given the run around. The manager was in a meeting ( they always say this ) but they would have her call me back. Well, I got fed up because I have been given the run around, so I called back and bugged them again. They gave me the same run around, and this is when I really had enough. I told the lady on the phone this- I have sent letters certified mail, and I have proof the letters were signed and delivered. The lady responded " We have been investigating this, that's why we haven't responded " . I replied "Well, its ridiculous that I can be given the run around, when I have been asking for proof that this is Bill belongs to me, due to my files being mixed before by this agency" She replied " Well, we sent you a copy of the Bill, and you received it " I replied " I never received anything from this agency after I requested Validation". She replied " We sent it!" . -I responded -: "Oh really, how would you know if I received it? Can you provide proof that I received it, like a tracking number/ or anything showing that it was delivered to me. I asked for validation of this debt, and I havent gotten it. My letters have been ignored, and so have my calls. It's ridiculous, and it's been reported on my TU credit report without providing one piece of validation. I then said I would contact my lawyer because I know my rights, and I then fired off what rights I knew.

The second I said all of that, she immediately got very angry at me, and said "Have a good day sir" and hung up without me even being able to respond. I then called rigjt back, and she answered and said "Our lawyers will be contacting you, have a good day. " She hung up again. Within 20 minutes I received a Email from one of the partners of the Law Firm/ Collection Agency, and she responded saying this :

This office is certainly not ignoring you or your concerns regarding your account. In fact, I have personally responded in relatively great detail both to you directly and through the Better Business Bureau in response to your Complaint filed with that entity. We have not responded to your prior email because it is simply our office policy not to communicate with consumers via email. At this point, however, I am making an exception because I can see that you are very upset. The problem now is that I’m not sure what we can tell you or provide you that we have not already provided. If you will tell mespecifically what information you are looking for, I will do what I can to provide it to you.

My Email back

Ms. XXXXXX,

Thank you for responding, I am very concerned about this debt. In fact, I am not sure that I am even responsible for it. Per the Fair Credit Reporting Act, I know that I am entitled to see the original service agreement that created the debt. I also know that I have 30 days to try and resolve the debt before you report it to the repositories. Even though I have responded promptly with my request for the validation of my debt. I did not hear back from you until after you reported it to the repositories. I am tired of dealing with this and would consider paying the debt in full IF you agree to remove it from all repository files. I expect that you will send over written documentation that the "Account was reported in error" on company letterhead and that you will report the error to the repositories. If you are interested in that type of arrangement please let me know. Call me when you would like to solve this.

The next day she called me back, and she told me "It was all just a miscommunication, and that she could see I have been making several attemps to get this taken care of . She then told me that she apologies for this experience, and that she feels bad that this has turned out the way it has. She said "Since I feel bad, and have looked into this personally, I am going to write the Credit Bureaus we report to and ask them to remove it due to "Account was reported in Error". I will mail you a certified letter on company letterhead explaining that this account was reported in error, and it is being removed from all Bureaus we report to. She then said " Also, since I feel bad, I will not request for any payment , and this will be written on the letter also. I will send the letters out Monday, if you don't receive your letter by Wednesday please call me. Again I want to apologize . Thank you "

So when I get the letter this upcoming week, I will have proof that my hardwork paid off! I'm glad I didn't give up!!!

Re: Frustrated! Collection now showing on Transunion

gdale6 — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 19:07:46 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hey guys, please read what has happened in the past few days. I have good news!!!!!!!!!Sorry that it's kind of a read.

On Thursday, I called the Collection Agency, and yet again was given the run around. The manager was in a meeting ( they always say this ) but they would have her call me back. Well, I got fed up because I have been given the run around, so I called back and bugged them again. They gave me the same run around, and this is when I really had enough. I told the lady on the phone this- I have sent letters certified mail, and I have proof the letters were signed and delivered. The lady responded " We have been investigating this, that's why we haven't responded " . I replied "Well, its ridiculous that I can be given the run around, when I have been asking for proof that this is Bill belongs to me, due to my files being mixed before by this agency" She replied " Well, we sent you a copy of the Bill, and you received it " I replied " I never received anything from this agency after I requested Validation". She replied " We sent it!" . -I responded -: "Oh really, how would you know if I received it? Can you provide proof that I received it, like a tracking number/ or anything showing that it was delivered to me. I asked for validation of this debt, and I havent gotten it. My letters have been ignored, and so have my calls. It's ridiculous, and it's been reported on my TU credit report without providing one piece of validation. I then said I would contact my lawyer because I know my rights, and I then fired off what rights I knew.

The second I said all of that, she immediately got very angry at me, and said "Have a good day sir" and hung up without me even being able to respond. I then called rigjt back, and she answered and said "Our lawyers will be contacting you, have a good day. " She hung up again. Within 20 minutes I received a Email from one of the partners of the Law Firm/ Collection Agency, and she responded saying this :

This office is certainly not ignoring you or your concerns regarding your account. In fact, I have personally responded in relatively great detail both to you directly and through the Better Business Bureau in response to your Complaint filed with that entity. We have not responded to your prior email because it is simply our office policy not to communicate with consumers via email. At this point, however, I am making an exception because I can see that you are very upset. The problem now is that I’m not sure what we can tell you or provide you that we have not already provided. If you will tell mespecifically what information you are looking for, I will do what I can to provide it to you.

My Email back

Ms. XXXXXX,

Thank you for responding, I am very concerned about this debt. In fact, I am not sure that I am even responsible for it. Per the Fair Credit Reporting Act, I know that I am entitled to see the original service agreement that created the debt. I also know that I have 30 days to try and resolve the debt before you report it to the repositories. Even though I have responded promptly with my request for the validation of my debt. I did not hear back from you until after you reported it to the repositories. I am tired of dealing with this and would consider paying the debt in full IF you agree to remove it from all repository files. I expect that you will send over written documentation that the "Account was reported in error" on company letterhead and that you will report the error to the repositories. If you are interested in that type of arrangement please let me know. Call me when you would like to solve this.

The next day she called me back, and she told me "It was all just a miscommunication, and that she could see I have been making several attemps to get this taken care of . She then told me that she apologies for this experience, and that she feels bad that this has turned out the way it has. She said "Since I feel bad, and have looked into this personally, I am going to write the Credit Bureaus we report to and ask them to remove it due to "Account was reported in Error". I will mail you a certified letter on company letterhead explaining that this account was reported in error, and it is being removed from all Bureaus we report to. She then said " Also, since I feel bad, I will not request for any payment , and this will be written on the letter also. I will send the letters out Monday, if you don't receive your letter by Wednesday please call me. Again I want to apologize . Thank you "

So when I get the letter this upcoming week, I will have proof that my hardwork paid off! I'm glad I didn't give up!!!

Grats

Re: Frustrated! Collection now showing on Transunion

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 20:43:01 GMT

Thank you Gdale6!!! Until I get the letter from the CA stating everything, I don't want to get my hopes up yet. So I will see in the next few days if she really is serious. I love how in her email it says "It says that she hasn't responded to emails that I've sent because it is not office policy to respond to emails, but she is making an exception" . This whole time I've called the CA and was given the run around, and left Voicemails, and none were returned. The manager of the CA would give me the run around. The second I mention to them how I knew my rights, and stated to them what exactly I know, and pointed out there flaws, suddenly the part-owner of the firm decides to email me back, and call me. I probably could have done things differently in the beginning, but I didnt and I learned from it. I stood up for myself though, and it paid off.